road to a new blast cabinet

[krymis]

Being that i am getting into more powdercoating and projects are getting bigger, I need to upgrade. I need a bigger pc oven, but before that i need a way to clean the parts to go into the oven. To remedy this problem I decided to build a better faster blast cabinet. I figured it is a big project so i broke it down into two parts: 1. the cabinet design 2. the media feed system. Since i am good with woodcrafting I figured I would tackle the harder part, the supply system. I have a sort of mentor that used the pa blaster plans to build his setup and swore by it. So naturally i bought the plans and started building. Best money i ever spent. Attached is a shopping list in excel format. I did leave out certain parts to assure that if you wanted to build one you would buy the plans from rob. Most of the stuff can be bought locally. THe hardest part was finding the 0-30 psi gauge.

[krymis]

I live a few miles away from the grizzly industrial warehouse. I went there yesterday to get an upgrade gun for the blaster and found that they sell a nice blaster gun recommended by many. While there i also found that grizzly has carbide tips for the gun. As a little mod i converted over to carbide and also made a better jet at 5/32ths instead of the factory 3/32ths jet. I highly recommend the conversion. If anybody needs one of these setup i can get them to you cheaper since there will be no cost for the rejet and I have cheap shipping compared to the grizzly. I also have a second fully built unit ready to go if anyone needs one.

[krymis]

here it is finished and ready to test the setup. It should hold a good amount of media. The total cost was still significantly less than the ones available in this size range. The harbor freight one cost me 120 out the door and can barely hold any media.

[cdaeme]

Good to see you got it all together!! Let us know how it blasts!! I would be willing to bet you will be very pleased with the results especially compared to siphon and the other pressure pots. Keep in mind it will be a small learning curve to find the sweet spot but when you find it it will flow smooth and blast like you won't believe....

Jason

[chromo]

I been planning to buy the PA blaster plans but been low on money and trouble with computers and such here. $10 is not much to spend, it's buying parts I may need and being able to get online to get to the info etc.. I may have troubles with at times.

For now what I did was take on old chest freezer and just start cutting!
I like to use junk to make good stuff when I can. I really should have used a better freezer since this one had been outside for years and was kinda rusty, but I wanted to see if it worked, it did!

The lid I left on for a top loader for parts. I cut a hole in the back for the window. 2 sheets of metal here so I cut 2 window holes. I used a tape putty that is used around outside doors and window frames for a seal, took the plexy window from a junk camper shell for a pickup truck.
Cut the plexy, drilled holes for the screws, drilled smaller holes in the freezer shell and used self tapping screws to install the plexy window. Make sure you get a good seal here.

I cut a small hole in the side of the freezer and my airline and a shop vac hose comes in here. I cut slits into a plastic bottles sides and bottom for easy airflow, placed a panty hose section and an old tube sock over it, duct tapes onto shop vac hose, makes a good pre filter! I only got a little oxide and some dust into my shop vac so far, not much for all that blasting I did.

Of course I cut holes for PVC pipe inserts for arm holes, I only had 4" handy and it works for me but tight, 6" would be better later. I would have used old Jeans for arm covers but wife had some old nice welding sleeves with elastic on each end, from work but replaced with new ones. Kinda cheap rubber gloves like dish washing worked, I bought better last night that are cloth lined and heavier $5. I put on gloves, pull on the sleeves which are attached to outside of PVC then insert arms. Works nice and I can change gloves as hands get sweaty, elastic holds nice to the glove cuffs once I slip in the hands.

For a blasting gun, not the best but working good!
I'm in the boonies here, 150 miles or better to HF store and not allot here. I had bought a top load Sandblaster for spot blasting some auto body parts on the cars. Got it on sale for like $10. Well of course if it only holds about 1-3lb of media it's pretty useless in a cabinet right! As long as it has media it works pretty well, of course it needs refilled far to often. I tried a couple things and what work best is just use a gravity feed!
Guns a bit heavy loaded with media, gravity feeding the hopper worked a bit but not well unless the hose was nearly perfect straight. The gun has a decent suction to the hopper though. I was only using air hose scraps so a larger hose would work better.
So I drilled a hole in the freezer lid for an air hose, took the hopper off the gun, force threaded an air fitting into the hole for the hopper, connect air line to fitting and up to a small tank on the lid. My small tank is a plastic coffee can right now with a air fitting screwed into the bottom. This lets the Oxide gravity feed to the gun right where it feeds out into the airstream. The gun provides a good suction in use also and draws the oxide down the hose.
Only 2 problems I have right now, the can is a bit small for lots of blasting so have to refill often but I can replace it with larger tank easy, and the tank on the lid means it hard to open with out spilling media etc... but easy fix for that too. I'll put the larger tank on a pole over the freezer, easy to fill and the air line flexes so tank won"t be tipping.

In all the chest freezer is working very well for a blast cabinet, though not done yet. I have not made any holes for the bottom to reclaim media yet so it's been mostly scoop up large piles into a can as needed. The only real problems I have are because this junk freezer is too junk! The magnet seal for the top seems to work well except where it's broke up, need a better junk freezer. Being a beat up rusty freezer creates some problems. But I know it works well if I select a better junk freezer (I just had this one) so I will be looking for a better one.

The only thing I don't like about the freezer and no big deal really is this one had loose fiberglass insulation instead of the solid foam like some others I have used for others projects. I would preffer the foam filled for various reason, but this type works as well I guess.

I do have a light inside, a 100watt bulb. Being an insulated freezer the heat does build up when not in use. I forgot and left the light on for an hour or so when doing something else, got pretty warm in there. I don't think much problem in use though, air blowing in and being sucked out, should be fine.

I will be placing a small pipe in the bottom for a drain hole to flow meadi into a bucket to re-claim, just not done it yet.

[corecoatings]

I love the chest freezer idea.

[BerkelUSA]

As the designer (big title but it sounds cool dont it?) let me put it this way.. "IMPRESSED!"..

My first PVC unit worked just as good as the first air-tank model..

(neighbor stole it from my cabinet for his)

That's OK I stole his 6-pack intake for a future "Hotrod"..