Anyone have this blast cabinet and wish you went bigger?
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45411

like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39170

The bottom one I have found for about $175 delivered.

I have one that is similar to the 2nd link you had listed. Im often wishing for a bigger one than what I have, but overall it works very well. If you have the airpower and space for the bigger blast cabinet, Id say go for it. It will be alot handier than the benchtop model.

Mine's bigger than the second one and I'm still wishing for a bit more room...

All depends on what you want to fit inside of it.

Yea I should probably bite the bullet for the bigger one, when I restored cars we had one that could fit a whole motorcycle or bike frame inside.

If I had the free time I would make one myself so maybe I'll just buy the bigger one and add onto it someday.

We have one that you could easially fit a big block into and spin around inside. Its about the right size. The only problem is do you have the air to run something of that size? I am not sure what CFM they use but I know we had an outside pot style one and our free standing 80 gal compressor had a hard time keeping up with it if you used it for a long period of time.

I think blasting in a cabinet or pressure pot uses huge amounts of air in general, not sure if the cabinet size has much to do with it. I know the motor on my large compressor just went so I have to find a good source for a 5HP replacement, using other compressor which is oiless will make me go deaf. :eek:

how about just building a box out of wood and buying the other gadgets for a much cheeper alternative

I used to have a link on someone building a pretty nice cabinet out of wood, anyone have some pictures or linksfor this?
For me time is very limited though, build a cabinet or :idea: fabricate some new EB and TJ bumpers.


how about just building a box out of wood and buying the other gadgets for a much cheeper alternative

Im building one out of an old clothes dryer case. Cheap to build, will post pics if interested.

Here is the one I built last year, it's not pretty but it works!!!

Cost was low (about $35) because most of the material came from my neighbor. The fiberglass screen floor is removable and it pre-filters the sand before it goes into the bucket at the bottom. I am glad I made it so big (2.5' x 2.5' x 4') but I do need to make larger arm holes.

photos:

http://www.crazypetersons.com/Truck/Tech/blasting1.jpg

http://www.crazypetersons.com/Truck/Tech/blasting2.jpg

dads idea was to build a large shop(30 x 80) and wall off the last 20'. so you'd have a 30x60 shop and one bay that was 20x30. the last bay would be completely sealed off from the rest of the shop and be used as either for absolute clean building or sand blasting and paint. kinda nice to have the room for a large shop. when i did my frame i used a harbour freight 2 bag pot with an 80 gallon 7hp 2 stage compressor and it kept up.

I like the idea of a designated bay for sandblasting. But I'd wonder how good it would work to be BOTH for sandblasting AND painting. I'm not sure that you could ever clean the dust out well enough to get a good paint job.

Make the cabinet as big as you can -- it is tough to have one that is too big, when it comes time to actually use it. Problem is you may not want to store it or work around it if it is huge, so it depends on how much shop space you have.

If you're building a cabinet from scratch, make the doors, windows, and lights as large as possible. I'm currently blasting in a purchased cabinet but eventually plan a sandbox for outside, and it will be in the middle of a bench with a door on either side. A big side door on the cabinet allows you to blast the end of an axle assembly by leaving the door open and duct-taping plastic to the blast cabinet itself. Doors on either side lets you blast the whole axle in stages, with the the doors open and parts hanging out sealed to the cabinet. This sounds hokey, but works surprisingly well, since you really only work under the window, and the plastic-baggy-sides just keep the media in the cabinet.

The other nice thing to plan for is easy access to a media dump on the bottom to switch media. This is especially handy of you blast outside (keeps the grit outta the shop) and still allows easy media storage inside where it will stay dry year-round.

Randii

Red85toy, mine is almost exactly like yours except it is a little larger, 3 x 3 x 6. The front opens down just under the glass, the side opens like yours, and the whole back will open. Got a 1-1/2 hp fan for the exhaust. Mine is about 20 years old now.
I had a 5 ton rockwell in it last summer.

Here is the one I built last year, it's not pretty but it works!!!

Cost was low (about $35) because most of the material came from my neighbor. The fiberglass screen floor is removable and it pre-filters the sand before it goes into the bucket at the bottom. I am glad I made it so big (2.5' x 2.5' x 4') but I do need to make larger arm holes.

photos:

http://www.crazypetersons.com/Truck/Tech/blasting1.jpg

http://www.crazypetersons.com/Truck/Tech/blasting2.jpg

That is cool but I see you have play sand, that's gotta suck. Anyway - very cool making your own..