bead blasting

[paintballkidz]

im looking for a small bench top bead blaster setup. I am starting to pick up business but i am worried about aluminum grain and all that stuff...

so what kind of (small) cabinet & compressor do you recomend? i won't be using it a whole lot. budget is always important, i do not have a whole lot of money to spend.

[850Maffia]

Harbor Freight has a decent one for $150....

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

and another for $125

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

You will need a decent compressor to go with it though.

[paintballkidz]

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices
for the 125$ model?

[850Maffia]

I would recommend a 20 gallon if you can afford it, but that is a start.

[mrcodewiz]

I picked up one of the above HF sand blast cabinets when it was on sale for $99.



It is an acceptable unit but it lacks a light and a stand. I built a stand out of 2X4s to set it on so I could easily dump the media out into a 5 gallon bucket. I also installed a cheapo $5 light inside.

You will also have to do some sort of air filtering. I use one of the small craftsman shop-vacs. If you don't set up some sort of dust management system, you will not be able to see what you are doing fairly quickly.

Also, I have a 12 gallon horizontal compressor and it is not anywhere close to what is required for a sandblaster. On a full tank, I can blast for about 5 seconds before the motor kicks in. It severely wears my compressor if I have more than a couple small parts to do. I have been scouring craigslist for a while hoping a 60 gallon compressor comes up for a decent price. That being said, I have been using it for a while now - just takes patience.

[850Maffia]

Agreed, the smaller the tank (Gallons) your compressor is the more it will run while you are sandblasting. You can get by with most any cabinet to start but spend the money to get a decent compressor.

[acidrain]

Agreed, the smaller the tank (Gallons) your compressor is the more it will run while you are sandblasting. You can get by with most any cabinet to start but spend the money to get a decent compressor.

And a good in-line filter... a big one.

[850Maffia]

Almost forgot that one! You definitely need a filter to protect the parts from elements getting beat into it.

[850Maffia]

If you can budget for this, it's a good deal....

Dewalt D55168R 200 PSI 15 Gal Electric Compressor - eBay (item 310106653271 end time Jan-04-09 21:45:48 PST)

[acidrain]

You need about 10cfm... better to go with one like this:
Air Compressor
Look for a 5hp, 240v unit. You can find them used for $100 or less all the time.