What kind of Sand Blaster should I buy?

[IMBLITZVT]

Well I asked this on the old site and before I bought it... the info was gone.

I now know the info for my Compressor so I need to start looking for a blaster and other parts to get my blasting cabinet together.

I need suggestions again! What do you have and how does it work?

Thanks guys!

I will also need gloves...etc

[weasel_master]

What did you buy for a compressor? I'm interested in hearing what people have to say as well.

[M1 Tanker]

Matt, you know my answer....build your own. What harbor freight offers isn't big enough for a barreled action. http://www.tptools.com/ has nice cabinets...but they aren't cheap.

I built my own, bought the gloves/trim rings/gun/etc....all for under $150.

[weasel_master]

I've got a 50 gallon drum I was thinking of making into one. You got a picture of your setup Tanker?

[M1 Tanker]

I wish I would have built mine about 4 inches longer and 6 inches wider.

1197

[rustypirate]

You know you can just add a piece of 6" or larger PVC pipe to one of the side walls for the additional length.

Just stop midway and swap ends around.

[IMBLITZVT]

Ok guys here the specs on my compressor. If this will no do, then I will have to wait a good bit longer...

Its a SpeedAire model 3Z355J, 2Hp, 8.1 CFM, 6.2 @100PSI free air, 20 gal tank, 125 max working pressure compressor. What can I get that will work with this...

Or should I just resign myself to buying another compressor?

[IMBLITZVT]

If this will work, what kind of gun do you suggest and where can I get it?

[M1 Tanker]

My compressor has less stats then yours and it pushes mine. I bought the Husky sandblaster gun from Home Depot for $12.99.

[pjm204]

I think the gun is the least important aspect of the setup. I bought my cabinet at HF on sale with a coupon for 40 bucks out the door, I can fit a barreled ak receiver in it nicely but I do wish it was longer for the cetme and other actions. Overall I am happy with my purchase, it does leak a bit out the top though. I have a 20 gallon tank and its running quite often while I blast.

[IMBLITZVT]

ok so cheap gun...

What about the air system with a shop vac?

Where did you guys get the gloves...etc?

[M1 Tanker]

The gloves/rings came from tptools.com

I use a shop vac to control dust.

The light is a standard spot light after at home depot.

You are welcome to call me Imblitz and I can help you out.

[IMBLITZVT]

Thanks Chris, I think I lost your number with the old site... Do you mind sending it to me in a PM again?

I know someone posted a link build it at home kit or demo build or something like that... I am going to make my own but still was looking for ideas...

[okie shooter]

Imblitzvt, the biggest thing on your compressor, is you will have to wait when you run out of air, siphon guns do use more air. I always have to remember my friends do body work with their air tools and sand blasters, not rifle parts. I would like chris says, work with what you have, then decide if you can live with the down time.

As for your setup, there was a nice website where a guy ran his air hose thur a ice bath to dry the air before hitting the sand blast system this collected the moisture in the air before hitting the sand and deposting it back on just cleaned metal.

[bataanboy]

I have a 5 horse 2 stage 60 gal. vertical. Filter dryer as the air leaves the tank and a regulator/filter dryer/moisture trap as the air enters the blast cabinet. I bought the cabinet at Northern Tool here in Mpls. I do some powder coating so I use mostly glass bead media. Tools for me are like guns....I have more than I need but not as many as I'd like

[IMBLITZVT]

Ok, I went yesterday and got the $13 sand blaster from Home Depot that Tanker suggested. The specs on the side about match my compressor!

So now, where to get replacement nozzles?

What kind of media do I want for blasting gun parts? Where Can I get it?

Thanks for the help guys!

[M1 Tanker]

Matt, I ordered replacement nozzles from http://www.campbellhausfeld.net. The part number is MP3109.

I use 80 grit Aluminum Oxide. Don't forget a particle mask...even with the shop vac. I get it from tractor supply company.

[GreenWolf]

I wish I would have built mine about 4 inches longer and 6 inches wider.

Just what dimensions do you have there?

[GreenWolf]

Matt,

I'm about where you are as far as setting up for sandblasting. I had pretty much the same questions you do on the old site. Based on the responses there, and elsewhere, I decided to get a bigger tank. Not buying enough compressor seems to be a common theme. I didn't want to go the $1k+ route, and little $150 compressors were too small for the job, IMHO. You could get by with even a hobby compressor and an airbrush-type sandblaster, but I didn't want to just get by. I also have more use for an air-compressor than just gun refinishing.

So I bought a CAMPBELL HAUSFELD™ 3.2 H.P., 60 GAL. AIR COMPRESSOR (http://www.mytscstore.com/detail.asp?pcID=1&paID=1010&sonID=469&page=1&productID=17628) from Tractor Supply. I put it on layaway so I could pay it down over a few months. It's not the best you can buy, but it's not the smallest either. It's made in Ohio too.

I will be building a box like what Chris showed us, and adding a shop vac to control dust. I'm concerned about dust, so I also bought a pail of 80-grit garnet blasting media from Tractor Supply. Garnet media doesn't create as much dust as aluminum oxide when it breaks down. It isn't as hard as aluminum oxide, so it doesn't cut into steel as aggressively. So I might have to use more, but my garage won't get coated with aluminum oxide "moon dust." Silicon carbide is another "low dust" media to consider.

[IMBLITZVT]

Well I got the compressor for free some I am going to make a run with it. Its not to bad and actually matches what the Husky Blaster gun requires... so for $13 I have a compressor and gun... So thats how I will start. If I need a larger tank and better gun I can go from there.

So whats the draw back of Garnet?

What do you guys think about this? I can just go to sears and get this and do not have to pay shipping... I guess I could also check and see if there is a tractor supply near me.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Compressors+%26+Air+Tools&pid=00916295000&vertical=TOOL&subcat=Blasting+%26+Cleaning&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Whats a partical mask?

This is the only mask I could find on Tractor Supply:

http://www.mytscstore.com/images/productImages/prod_200_by_200/5023964.jpg

[okie shooter]

So whats the draw back of Garnet?

The problem with any abrasive is breakdown of the particles when they hit the steel, they are rough and large but as they are used, they fragment, and breakdown. We use iron blasting media here at work in the large industrial gritblasters, but they sling with four twenty hp motors at 1750 rpm to clean an entire bomb in a minute. I dont think media is going to be a huge cost for blasting gun parts, thus buy what you figgure is best, and make sure if you try to reuse it you get a seive and sift the fines out of the mixture(when our abrasive recycleing system has problems we lose quality on surface cleaning, it sifts the fines and the too course particles out continiously), as they will not be as agressive, but like glass beads will leave a smooter finish. I guess what I am saying is the sharp new abrasive does the hard work, the worn abrasives leave finer finishes.

[MicroPilot]

Whats a partical mask?

http://www.dick-blick.com/items/349/13/34913-1050-2ww-m.jpg

Google is your friend!!

[M1 Tanker]

I don't use those mask though. I got a real mask with replaceable filters.

[GreenWolf]

Real Masks....

http://multimedia.mmm.com/mws/mediawebserver.dyn?6666660Zjcf6lVs6EVs666s_yc7rrrr Q-

[okie shooter]

If you get a mask with replaceable filters, you can filter more than just dust, they make canisters for all sorts of organic solvents and vapors.

[IMBLITZVT]

So Tanker, why did you use Aluminum Oxide? What does Perro use?

Well I might not want my skin exposed either so I will go with something like this:
http://www.patrickkellogg.com/travel/images/Space%20Suit_small.jpg

[M1 Tanker]

Perro and I both use 80 grit AO. Its cheap, has excellent cutting action and its what I used at Armscorp. Garnet is nice, but breaks down faster and is twice as expensive.

If you use a shop vac, its not going leave the cabinet...but I wear a mask just in case.

[weasel_master]

Perro uses 80 grit AlOx too I believe.

[IMBLITZVT]

How does that work on brass?

Is the gas toxic/harmful?

Where does your shop vac suck from?

[M1 Tanker]

Works fine...why would there be gas? I blasted my 1917a1 tripod without an issue. Now all that lead paint on the other hand......

[IMBLITZVT]

I guess fumes ( AL ox. in air) is a better term then gas. Are the fumes toxic?

Lead chips... thats nothing... I eat them like potatoe chips!

[okie shooter]

I guess fumes ( AL ox. in air) is a better term then gas. Are the fumes toxic?

Lead chips... thats nothing... I eat them like potatoe chips!
Are you guys wondering about my comment for masks and such, I was just saying that if you got a good resperator, you can just get both filters to handle dust and ones to handle other toxics, for things like painting, cleaning, and degreaseing. Maybe too many years of inhaleing stuff have killed too many braincells to put that in the post. The actual sandplasting fumes may have a problem with lead or other metals in the paint when you blast them. The real hazzard to your liver and such are in solvents and the like.

[GreenWolf]

I guess fumes ( AL ox. in air) is a better term then gas. Are the fumes toxic?
The term, dusts, is more accurate, I think.... Toxic? Not aluminum oxide, but you don't want to be breathing in fine dusts. It gets down in your lungs and can stay there. Hence, "diseases" such as black lung, silicosis, asbestosis, that really mess you up. Engineering controls like a well-sealed cabinet and shop vac to catch the sand blasting dust prevent that. A mask will be an extra line of defense. Overly fussy? Could be... I don't want to breath the stuff, but actually I'm more worried about putting a fine layer of the stuff all over the garage.

[IMBLITZVT]

Tanker, How big did you make your cabinet?