Doing something I really hate

[Bogstandard]

Recently, I treated myself to a small blast cabinet, I was fed up with the grit going everywhere from my blast guns. A 99 squid special off eblag, and what a wonderful bit of kit it is, much better than I expected.

To cut a long story short, it needed a stand to get it up to my working height and also to squeeze it into a very tight space that was earmarked for it in the back room.

So up at dawn with the coughing sparrows, and out to the DIY store to pick up some of the dreaded brown stuff.

Bandit out for a 1 hour walk and I still had this finished well before lunch, despite numerous rest breaks. The dark brown (and green) stuff was already in stock, I just bought some of the nearly white stuff and a box of curly type screws to hold things together.

Out with the chop saw and power driver, and it was soon ready to take the light weight of the cabinet. Not very pretty, but functional.

I've just got to make a 1/4" BSP elbow, so that I can fit a pressure regulator, and I will be ready for doing a bit of cleaning, without the dust and grit going everywhere.




Over the next week or so, if I can, I will be getting this into my shop, and also clearing the shop out of machines and bits that are no longer needed, I am desperate for room, so expect a few bits 'n bobs up for sale, and others for charity donations.


Bogs

[bry1975]

Watch those machine mart type cabinets they still leak at the lids seals and if the gun is left unattended the cabinet swells up like a balloon.

I've got two of those bogs would've sold you one if I'd known.


Bry

[Brass_Machine]

I have that same cabinet John. I found that after using it for awhile... it leaked. I solved that by tearing it down again and reassembling it with sealer in all the seams. I think it was just some latex tube sealer. Works well now.

Eric

[bry1975]

The best place for new parts is Clarke international based at Epping.


Hemnall Street
Epping CM16 4LG
01992 565 300

[Dean W]

Sorry you had to lower yourself to messing with the brown stuff, Bogs.  Looks like it will do the job just fine, though.
I have such a hard time with wood.  We just don't get on!  ; )

[John Hill]

Nice functional job John..

BTW,  how come you still have clear floor space? I thought your shop was utilised to the nth degree, still, you can box that in a bit and make a cupboard under there.

[Bogstandard]

if the gun is left unattended the cabinet swells up like a balloon.

Bry, I don't see how that could happen as this one has a rather large filtered breather vent on the back, and the same sort of sized vacuum vent (for extraction) on the side.
Also, at this sort of price, they would not be worth buying second hand, especially if they were balloon shaped. I wouldn't fancy trying to make a round stand, this one was bad enough.

Thanks for the spares link BTW.

I have that same cabinet John. I found that after using it for awhile... it leaked. I solved that by tearing it down again and reassembling it with sealer in all the seams. I think it was just some latex tube sealer. Works well now.

Thanks for that Eric. This one seems to have been completely built and sealed with silicone along all the joints, but I will keep an eye on it.

I have such a hard time with wood.  We just don't get on!

Dean, I have exactly the same problem, my brain cell and hands just don't seem to be able to cope very well with the stuff. I only wish I had a little of the skill some of the lads on here have shown what they can do with it.
It is a bit late for me to start learning a new trade, so I will just carry on muddling along, making 'that'll do' bits.

BTW,  how come you still have clear floor space?

John, this is actually going into my tiny metal prep area, not the main shop. I have a stainless oil drip tray on the floor in there, tucked away in a corner. This will be going where the drip tray was and the oil moved to a smaller place. Actually, I will in fact be making a bit of space in my main shop. The shop vac will be stored under this stand (hence I left the bottom brace off the front), extracting the cabinet when it is being used, and then being dragged into the shop when it is needed in there.

As I have said before John, every square inch of my shop space has to be accounted for. So from now on, if any capital equipment comes in, something has to go to make room for it. I would love to get a pedestal drill in there, but I just don't have room for one, and there is no way I am getting rid of my surface grinder, just to get a drill in there, besides, I have found that my mill will drill more perfect holes than a pedestal ever will.


John

[John Hill]

Aha, I knew you would have it sorted out John!

[Rob.Wilson]

Hi John 

I also have the same blasting cab    ,,,,,, your best off removing the filters and plugging in the shop vac ,, this stops all the leaks , NEG pressure in cab,  also makes it much easier to see what your doing as they fill with dust very quickly .

I also were a pair of disposable cloves if i am blasting for a long time ,,, stops the inside of the blasting gloves going funky with long term use .


Rob 

[John Rudd]

Bogs,

I got one too.....
After initial use I found that the grit gathers any where but where the pick up pipe is.....

Searches on t'internet revealed this.............http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=20261

Looks like I may need to do some tin bashing..

What size compressor are you guys using? I have a 50l tank on mine with a 3 hp motor( allegedly.. )

[Rob.Wilson]

Bogs,

I got one too.....
After initial use I found that the grit gathers any where but where the pick up pipe is.....

Good point John R  ,,,,,,,,,i forgot about that   ,,,,, i removed my hose from the pick up pipe and replaced it with a more flexible hose with a weight on the end ,, it just sits on the blasting stuff now and  works its way into the media ,,,,,,,, pick up is greatly improved ,,,,,,  

Rob

100 ltr tank ,,,, 14cfm

[Bogstandard]

Thanks for the tips Rob. I will be plugging the shop vac into the same electric point as the cabinet, so that the vac should be on all the time.

I have a few dozen hours of cabinet blasting under my belt. When I was into designing and making parts for dot matrix printers, we were grit blasting up to 1200 parts a day, all for prototyping, tiny items that had been auto silver soldered together, and needed cleaning up afterwards. The problem was that we were using the finest grade of glass bead available, it was like talcum powder, and even when new, you could hardly see anything inside. But the worst was Arm & Hammer baking soda, that was so fine, it even got past the vac system seals and filters, and the whole place clouded up.

Oh the joys of being in work.

John,

This is my compressor

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/sev11c-ol-air-compressor

I'm not too worried about the pickup at all, even big commercial jobbies can suffer with that problem (most have a big hide hammer somewhere close to bang the cabinet to get the grit down to the bottom), it will only be used for small items that will be done and dusted in a couple of minutes. It's not as though I will be trying to clean up a car engine or wrought iron gates.

Also, I am regulating the air input, hopefully, that will stop most of the problems scavenging the blast material, plus I will have more control of the surface finish, sometimes less is better.
I will mainly be using my airbrush blaster in there, not the main gun, purely using the cabinet to stop the fine dust flying about everywhere. It just depends if I can operate the trigger with big thick gloves on.


John

[Rob.Wilson]

Hi John

I no what you mean about soda blasting  ,,,,, i just do mine outside now with one of those pot guns ,,,,   ,, i will be blasting some of the parts on the Kerzel engine 

Rob

[bry1975]

Have any of you chaps tried Guyson blast media they sell about every type under the sun?


http://www.guyson.co.uk/consumables/media.html


Bry

[Bogstandard]

I tend to use small glass bead, purely because it comes for free, and suits my style of effect that I want.

For anything heavier, like Rob, I will use my pot blaster outside into a box, and the heavy stuff I use in that seems to appear as if by magic, also free as well.


John

[bry1975]

Bogs,

Can I ask where you get it from for Free?

At the moment I've got plenty of glass beads and ALox but usually have to buy 20kilo bags of glass beads.


Thank in advance.


Bry

[John Rudd]

I'm currently using Garnet which is environmentally friendly and it came free..( we have fabric mtce contractor working for us ) and can be readily disposed of

[bry1975]

Kool I haven't tried Garnet only tried fine Soda lime beads and brown aluminium oxide.

Is Garnet sharp cutting like SiC?

[John Rudd]

Bry,

The finish I'm getting is smooth, ready for priming/painting.....

[bry1975]

I will have to try some sometime.

[Bogstandard]

I finally managed to get the stand and cabinet thru the shop and into my metal prep back room.

This shot, from the main shop, shows that it doesn't stop me getting in. In fact, I have now pushed it back a tad and it is now flush with the frame, and as designed, the shop vac sits nicely underneath.



Head on, from inside the prep area, it fits just nice, and I can still get to everything (with a little bit of machine sliding along the bench).



I fitted a secondary air controller onto the cabinet feed from the mains air, this allows me to control the air pressure to the gun. For what I do, I normally use somewhere around 30 psi.

Second one down on here.

http://rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/Manifolds_and_Regulators.html

Using very fine glass bead, it gives me just what I am after, a nice satin finish, just removing the surface dirt and very little else, as shown on these two bits, some steel angle and a piece of phos bronze. If I want it any heavier, I will just use my pot gun with large grit and 100 psi, into a cardboard box, as I have done before.




Despite the cries from other members, this cabinet came FULLY sealed with silicone, not one bit of leakage.


Bogs