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fuslit
102 Posts |
 Posted - 02/22/2010 : 15:23:05
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I haven't fallen off the face of the earth this winter (although it might seem it.) I've been busy with small business & working on things in my garage, we picked up some old retro 50's metal kitchen cabinets that I'll be stripping down and re-painting.
Found out how long it was going to take (and how dusty it was) with a wire wheel, decided to trawl craigslist and found this for $200. (I couldn't pass it up)
bought it and brought it home, a tad rusty for my liking...
So, tore it apart, wirebrushed, repaired and repainted things and this is the almost final result. (Still in progress at the moment)
I've got a few parts I need to order for the dust collection unit as well as a few things to wrap up on the overall project, but i'll soon be able to sand blast some projects that will make my life a ton easier.
Along the way i've picked up an air compressor to drive this (also on craigslist) It's an IR 60 gal, but it may not be big enough to drive it, it's single not dual stage. And worked on many other car and garage related projects... (this has been a "as time and money allows" and it's starting to be wrapped up!)
I've got to wrap up the lighting get some tempered glass the top and order parts from the company (who are still in business believe it or not)
Overall, I think it's turning out fairly good for the amount of effort I've put in. I think the finish is pretty decent for using a foam roller.
-T |
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Dougzilla
USA
59 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2010 : 15:41:36
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| Ironic how rust attacks equipment used to eliminate rust. My dad once had a can of w-d40 that had a hole in it caused by rust. We kept it around for conversation. Cabinet looks like it's ready to rejoin the fight, great work. |
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B112
USA
5230 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2010 : 17:49:17
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| Very nice! I sent this link to my friend who's into sandblasting and we've been talking about making and setting up a work zone. |
Michael |
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olcowhand
USA
5115 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2010 : 18:12:26
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NICE unit, large, plus that collection unit is priceless! You'd need 2 of those compressors to keep up, but one will do if you have patience waiting for it to catch up. I have a smaller cabinet & similar compressor & I have to wait on it, BUT just got another 50' air hose to reach the farm shop so I can tie the 2 units together. There will be NO waiting for air pressure to build back up. The farm compressor is 2 stage (150+psi), so I'll have to put a regulator on the coupled line to keep pressure at 120, same as my compressor. Already have a couple true regulators, so will be a cheap air volume fix.
I know a guy who has a blast cabinet same size as yours, but I haven't room for it. He has the collection system too, and all needs work as yours "did". I could likely get it for $200 or maybe half that.
Edited: After looking closer at pics, the one I could get is much larger. Yours is bigger than the one I have for sure. |
Daniel in Ky -- So much to do, so little time!
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Edited by - olcowhand on 02/22/2010 18:14:26 |
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fuslit
102 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2010 : 21:05:11
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Yeah, the irony of rust on the sandblaster was not lost on me...
I figured that depending on the gun & with the single stage compressor I will have to wait for it a bit to catch up, but for the moment I'll go with it and keep my eye out for a better deal on craigslist. it's much better than my old one that I have. and I'll be able to get my money back out of the compressor fairly easily I think.
150psi is alot of pressure, what does/did the farm use it for? My brother has a large compressor at his farm to run the parlor he has.
Here's the link to the 'closest' recent model they sell
http://sandblasterparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=288&products_id=3996
mine has a rough inside dimension of
DEPTH: 24"
WIDTH: 36"
HEIGHT: 23"
For what ever reason the dust collection unit I have, has two dust
collection ports compared to the ones they sell now with only the one.
should be ordering the final parts I need to wrap this up this week. Was thinking about ordering a smaller blast gun to be more in-line with my air compressor.
my guess is I'll have between 3-400 in the cabinet all said and done. (steel for the bottom, casters, paint, hose & other bits.)
Not bad for an american made heavy metal cabinet and cheaper than I'd be able to buy one new. I guess the proof will be in the final product it produces.
-T |
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olcowhand
USA
5115 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2010 : 21:23:38
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The farm compressor when we bought was set at 170psi, but we set it down some. Our problem was with airing up the 2 ton truck tires. They require 90+psi and the old compressor at 120 was very slow at inflating them even with the 30psi differential. The old compressor required us to hand jimmy the pressure switch to get enough psi to run the large 1" impact to remove the lug nuts/lug bolts, and was hard on the old single stage. Now it's a breeze!
A few years back, the final straw was removing the lugs on both our grain trucks before getting the large impact. I used to have to use long cheater pipes on the lug nuts back then. I was working the pipe hard when the nut popped free & it whipped my neck violently. It felt like I broke my neck...seriously! I had an electric charge sensation run through my entire body & couldn't hardly stand for several minutes. I felt strange the rest of the day. After that I decided it was time to get a large impact, then later the 2 stage compressor. With age/injuries comes hard earned/learned wisdom! |
Daniel in Ky -- So much to do, so little time!
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skunkhome
USA
12827 Posts |
Posted - 02/22/2010 : 22:56:49
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| now if you could use the cabinet to blast rust off itself you would have it made. Very nice job! |
  Phil
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty."
Benjamin Franklin |
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fuslit
102 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2010 : 08:50:56
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Wow, I sometimes use cheaters on my breaker bar, but I imagine the force built up to take off one of the lugnuts on the big trucks... that must have hurt quite a bit, your lucky you were not injured seriously. I did buy an impact when I had to do some car work and needed to remove the crank pulley bolt, would have been almost impossible without it. Yep, I'm a big fan of working smarter not harder :)
I would like to plumb hardline (iron, copper, or aluminum) in the garage to put drops at all my benches. I found a really neat garage rebuild thread on garagejournal.com http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51567 where the guy ran the aluminum line. It's very nice, just costs $$$. (the aluminum air line is http://www.transairaluminumpipe.com/
For now, I just bought a 50' auto retractable air reel from TSC (tractor supply company) with the amount that I kept tripping over my air line, having to re-coil it I figured it would pay for it's self in the amount of time and energy I'll save. That will let me figure out what I want to do airline wise (and start saving up for it)
-T |
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olcowhand
USA
5115 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2010 : 09:14:42
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| T...have you ever used a blast cabinet? If not, You're gonna love it! Do you know about putting moisture "drop traps" in your air line? |
Daniel in Ky -- So much to do, so little time!
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sleepy
195 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2010 : 11:07:54
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| The pipe line needs to be made with Black Iron pipe. The air moving thru has a reaction with other metals and can come apart. Some people use thick wall pvc but when it explodes you have a lot of schrapnel. Also you need to shut off the compressor before taking any trips as if the line should leak or break you will burn up the compressor. Alan |
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fuslit
102 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2010 : 11:28:24
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I've never used a sandblaster for my own stuff, but i know the results and I'm pretty excited it should be a huge . I'm planning to try auluminum oxide to begin with for abrasive.
Alan,
Thanks for the heads up on the compressor/lines. I've read quite a few horror stories on people that use pvc. I plan on looking into using either iron pipe or Thick walled copper silver soldered together. (Or the aluminum air line made by the transair company, they have quite an impressive product it is just very expensive...)
I'm only 31 but I've come to realize that in many cases, time is worth more than money to me (even at this point in my life) unless you're able to make more time (which I haven't found away) If the cost difference between the aluminum setup and the iron or copper setup is with in a price range I deem workable I might go for it. (As it will save me time) Otherwise, it will depend on which is the most cost effective.
Rest assured I've been doing research on what I need to put in. @Daniel: Yep, I do plan on putting in moisture drop traps inline.
Here is a setup diagram for various air tools that I've found useful in my research www.tptools.com/StaticText/airline-piping-diagram.pdf
Also, from my reading on the garage journal, it appears the black iron (not galvanized) or copper are a personal (monetary) preference, both have positives and negatives, I haven't decided which I want to go with yet.
quote:
The pipe line needs to be made with Black Iron pipe. The air moving thru has a reaction with other metals and can come apart
I have not read of anyone have their non-iron line come apart, (thinking silver soldered copper in particular) do you have some examples?
Currently I keep my compressor unplugged and all lines disconnected when not in use.
Thanks for the input!
-T |
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sleepy
195 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2010 : 21:50:29
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| Copper is usually much thinner than iron pipe, also copper can become brittle with heat. It does take some time but can happen. You only have to see one shop that the air line broke to want the best the first time. Alan |
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sleepy
195 Posts |
Posted - 02/23/2010 : 21:54:18
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| I forgot to say most iron pipe comes china or india which is not quality so don't skimp. The other thing is the larger the pipe ( within reason) the more air capacity you have in addition to the air compressor. Alan |
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fuslit
102 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2010 : 20:54:14
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Alan,
from my understanding there are two different thickness's of copper pipe, the thicker one would be the one I would look at. But, it is interesting to hear that it could become brittle with heat, I would rather not experience an airline blowout. I think Iron pipe is cheaper in terms of the joints compared to copper, but I will be putting together a spread sheet with part costs and breaking things down to figure out what it will cost.
I'll start another thread most likely when I go to start running the hardlines.
Got some glass to put over the top holes where the lights will go, it's fairly thin, but until I can get some tempered glass cut it should work ok.
I picked up some couplings I needed to attach the dust collection hoses to the blast cabinet, they are pvc couplings that the dust collection hose fits snugly in. I think it should work well. I turned on the dust collection unit and there is quite a pull of air on the intake side of the cabinet even with a few openings still in place.
Things left:
I have to order the filter bags, and large band clamp that holds the two barrels of the collection unit together. Debating on the grill for the inside, I think I'll order that as well. I'll will probably do that tomorrow or friday (most likely friday as it's pay day friday...)
thats the update, but I forgot to charge my camera so you need to wait for the most recent pics.
-T |
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sleepy
195 Posts |
Posted - 02/24/2010 : 21:55:41
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| The light units I used were ther same ones as used in Dry Cleaners and in locker rooms at swimming pools. They are sealed, have tempered glass globe and a wire basket over it. They aren't that expensive but last a long time and protect the bulb. Depending on the suction of the vacum and the seal of the cabinet you may have to drill a small hole to keep the cabinet from distorting with the force. Alan |
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olcowhand
USA
5115 Posts |
Posted - 02/25/2010 : 09:56:18
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| All cabinets I've seen have the suction port, plus a inlet port on opposite end for venting. This provides a constant flow of air to purge the dust, and no vacuum will form inside the cabinet when gun isn't blasting. |
Daniel in Ky -- So much to do, so little time!
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trinco sandblaster project
