Another place you might look for a blasting cabinet is use-enco.com. If you time it right, you can get discounts and free shipping. No affiliation, just satisfied customer.

Bead blasting should clean the parts up nicely. The most important thing to know is if you have enough clean, dry compressed air. Those rascals will go through a ton of compressed air in a hurry. Even if the parts are small and you are patient, you're going to spend a lot of time waiting for the compressor to catch up if you're using a 5 gallon, 3.5 cfm model. I have the 60 gallon, 13 cfm and it does the job nicely.

Also, the guns in those cabinets work by the suction method. The air blowing through the gun sucks the media out of the bottom of the cabinet through a tube (venturie effect) and after being blown on to the work piece, falls back into the bottom of the cabinet. There is some mess, because the seals around the doors aren't perfect. But for the most part, the media is recycled.

Those suction type guns tend to pulse and not shoot a continuous stream of media, again wasting some time and compressed air. Also, they are easy to clog, hence the 'clean dry' air listed above. I've been thinking of getting a pressurized blast pot for mine. That should give a more constant supply of media.

For media, I use glass beads, they won't harm the metal. I think crushed walnut shells work about the same, but I never used them. DON'T use aluminum carbide...I use that to etch glass. You're parts will never be the same. And don't use play sand as there is a hazard of silicosis (sp?). I'm not familiar with soda blasting.

Yes, a shop vac will cut down on the dust, but use the bag filter instead of the foam one, or it will just blow the dust into the air outside the cabinet.

It says that the nozzle is ceramic, so it should last a long time shooting glass beads. Not sure why you're worried about the hose length. You're going to need a supply hose no matter which cabinet you get.

And if you need to buy a compressor for this project, that's a whole other discussion!

HTH's.

Blastic is messy business. The cabinet doesn't keep it all in it, take it from me. You need to use aluminum oxide as your blast media for deburring.

Then if you plan on doing anything to the parts they need to be bathed after blasting. Before paint, you are going to want to dip them in acetone to remove any trace of the media.

Then you can either powder coat or paint. Paint won't cover the rust if you werent able to remove it all.

Glass beads aren't going to deburr and walnut shells are used for polishing and basic paint removal.

If he is going to blast parts aluminum oxide is the only way to go. Then from there they need to be painted or powder coated. We are dealing with steel parts, you can't hurt them with basic blast media.

on a side note. I did pick up a bottle of the pyramid shaped green, resin media for my vibratory tumbler (which is used to remove rust and oxidation) and have used it.

it's much, much, much more noisier (if you're going to run the tumbler in your house). however, due to the pointed ends, it does appear clean concave areas (inside corners for instance) better than the walnut media.

I run this and then the parts through a 2nd bowl with the walnut media

ps
it's got that lovely resin smell too (thankfully, it's not too strong)

if you're going to look at a blast cabinet, you may want to think twice about the one from HF. my neighbor purchased one last year, and while we've used it a bit, it does leak pretty bad and the design isn't what it should be.

a good blasting cabinet opens from the top, the HF one opens from the side. you need to make sure that you blow all of the media that collects near the right side of the cabinet prior to opening the door with each use, otherwise a lot of the media will come spilling out.

Add some novus 2 to the pyramid media to really get the cleaning going.. novus3/brasso for rust.

alex:
better than flitz?

Glass beads aren't going to deburr and walnut shells are used for polishing and basic paint removal.

OP said clean, didn't say anything about debur. Glass beads are used because they're remove paint and dirt without any degredation to the metal. If the OP wants to deburr, I guess that's his choice.

We are dealing with steel parts, you can't hurt them with basic blast media.

This is what aluminum oxide will do to stainless steel:

knife.JPG

I wouldn't want to use it on any precision surfaces.

This is a link to a post I started for my Hyperball restoration. All of the parts pictured have been blasted with glass media. I am not blasting the stainless parts. I will sand them and regrain them. http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hyperball-resto-project

OP said clean, didn't say anything about debur. Glass beads are used because they're remove paint and dirt without any degredation to the metal. If the OP wants to deburr, I guess that's his choice.

This is what aluminum oxide will do to stainless steel:

I wouldn't want to use it on any precision surfaces.

He said clean RUST. Not some kitchen utensil.

I'm well aware what it does to stainless steel. It's how I prep all parts. If you have surface rust that's one thing but anything that's set in past the surface isn't going to be cleared by glass bead and will continue to grow.

But what do I know, I only do 300 games a year

image.jpg image.jpg

You are one busy guy Alex, how do you do it all ?

You need to be careful with plated parts, if your pressure is too high or the media is too hard, it will strip the plating off.

I could have bet any amount of money you would reply to one of my posts in a trite and condescending manner.

I would ask if you had anything better to do but I already know the answer.

If you ever need pointers on how to be productive, be sure to drop me a line.

If the part is plated and the rust is further than surface the plating isn't salvageable anyway.

I've got two of those blast cabs, one for soda blasting and one for aluminum oxide.

You can switch between media by emptying out the cab, but for $180, I just set up two of them.

The older of the two had the worst directions you have ever seen, but the one I got early last year had good directions and a blister pack of all the nuts/bolts - CLEARLY LABELED.

The door seals better on the new one too, but I had to slightly elongate the latch holes because the latch was so tight the door was warping.

As you assemble, look carefully at all the foam seal around the edges. If you see a gap anywhere two ends meet, caulk it during assembly. Literally let the caulk squeeze out as you tighten the bolts.

The newer one has a single florescent bulb completely sealed, the old one had dual bulbs, but completely exposed.

Don't install the gloves until last, they will be in the way otherwise.

Put wheels on it if you are going to be swapping media all the time. That is a job best done outdoors!

Like a pinball machine, you have to tweak anything from HF to make it work at its best.

We have one of the red HF blasters in our auto shop and use it on a daily basis. It has a shop vac hooked up and we did the extra caulking one we saw all the gaps when assembled. After this, the gun was swapped out for a decent one($70) and we have never have a problem with it. We blast brake caliper brackets in it 10 - 12 times a day.

Cylinder heads ! The soda is water soluble so it rinses out of the little places you can't see.

I use Soda blasting to clean the corrosion from circuit boards.

Yes, exactly.

I bought a standup cabinet, and I didn't pay anywhere near that. Wasn't the HF something like this?

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=325-0001&PMPXNO=5765762&PARTPG=INLMK3

I don't do a lot of blasting, and my compressor is in the shop (oh, the noise!), so it has a supply of conditioned air, I haven't had a problem with water. I guess it depends on the amount of blasting you're going to do. Maybe start with a good filter/water trap. If that can't handle it, get a dryer later.

Sorry, got my oxides and carbides confused. Aluminum oxide and silicon carbide. Silicon carbide cuts better, but is more spendy.

Not every part gets paint. I wouldn't use it on any smooth surfaces. A scoring reel shaft, for instance. Too rough. I don't know if a modern pinball machine has any precision surfaces in it, but I sure wouldn't use it on something like a press fit bearing race.

So THAT'S what that's for! I always wondered if my buddy got all the glass beads out of the cylinder head I blasted for him.

I bought a standup cabinet, and I didn't pay anywhere near that. Wasn't the HF something like this?

This is the one that is on sale for $180 (or $160 at sidewalk sale) all the time

image_20770.jpg

I would not suggest buying a cab that was too small to put pinball legs into, if you know what I mean...

Ok, that explains my confusion. The SKU you put on your original post came up as a bench top model.

http://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-blast-cabinet-42202.html

This is the one I ended up with:

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=803-0036&PMPXNO=3009582&PARTPG=INLMK3

Don't remember what I paid, it's been a few years.

Edit: Or at least it's a picture of a benchtop model.

Looks like a nice unit.

This is good and cheap from your TSC > http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/little-fury-fine-blend-%2830-60%29-blasting-grit-50-lb

For clean air my regulator has the oil vapor filter and for the final filter I use the M-60 >> http://motorguard.com/air_2.html

Yes, I have that bigger blaster (^pictured above^)from HF but like most stuff from there a little upgrade/modify is in order.

Ain't that the truth. And it seems like the problems are not as much in design or material, but assembly.

The guys that do etched glass use what's called a "pass thru" cabinet (tried to find a pic, but no joy). There's a slot on each side for the glass to slide through. The slot is covered up with 'bristles' to keep the media leakage to a minimum. Maybe a smaller cabinet could be modified to do cabinet legs with a 4" hole saw and a couple of cheap paint brushes. Just a thought.

Use a vacuum ^ to extract the dust (wet dry vac)

I used a ^ butyl type caulk. But an acrylic latex is cheaper alternative too.
In addition to using a vac if you are not using one is that you are creating a positive pressure which has a tendency to push debris out the seams,adding a vac creates a negative pull which prevents the blow out.
If you get a smaller nozzle for the blasting gun that will address some of the starving issues you get when using a smaller comp. as the volume of air is much better with a larger comp.
I have a 7-1/2 80 gal unit that works well in addition to a smaller oil-less 22 gal unit which works ok for small pieces.

Heres a good site for replacement parts -> http://www.tptools.com/Nozzles-Air-Jets-Gaskets.html
in addition to other info on blasting.

My uncle is a mechanic and has that harbor freight blaster. He is restoring an old Willys coupe right now. It works fine for his purposes.

Both of mine came with a glass & a plastic window + some disposable window protectors.

I use only the glass one with a protector on it. I had to use my own foam weather strip to form a window gasket.

The vacuum hose fitting is the standard Craftsman (Shop-Vac) size. You can get step-up or step-down adapters at Sears or Woodcraft.

http://www.amazon.com/Woodstock-W1039-Universal-Reducer/dp/B0000DD2TM/ref=pd_sim_hg_7

You want to un-cork the rear vent, then attach your shop vac to the vacuum port.

Then your views will be clear as you blast & you won't have all the media escaping all over your shop.

If you want to save every bit of media that gets sucked up, without saving the lead paint you strip off; you can have the Vac hose dump into a 5 gallon bucket and then continue on to the Shop-Vac. This will drop the heavier media, but take the lightweight dust.

Don't buy expensive media at Harbor Freight, get a 50 lb bag of Black Beauty for $11 at a real sandblasting joint

http://www.blackbeautyabrasives.com/products/black-beauty-original-abrasives.php

It should be fine as it just takes longer for the comp. to keep up with demand. Just takes more time thats all.

You can buy adapters to fit dust port/hose connection. Duct tape? ^ till you get the adapter. At least you will see.

Some customer review tips/mods you may not have seen. http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capacity-floor-blast-cabinet-68893.html

My window had foam tape for a dust seal but maybe as time went by they felt that people were using caulking and decided not to include it any more?

Also the instructions on mine are not as vague as the newer one.
Fyi the port in the back and the side remain in when not using a vac (the back is the intake port-the side is the vac input creating a up/cross draft flow)
As the manual you have does not describe them as well. (Cryptic chinese translation)

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/little-fury-fine-blend-%2830-60%29-blasting-grit-50-lb
You have a TSC near ? its coal slags just like BB but cheaper.

TSC Has them too^

Unscrew the port and bring with to size it up ,saves headaches and gas.

Cheap stuff = huge headache!

If you are buying a blaster or blasting cabinet you need to size the gun nozzle to your compressor CFM output. The cheap Harbor Freight cabinet works pretty well with a replacement blast gun and vacuum system. The Harbor freight cabinet is pretty good once set up properly. Replace the junk gun that comes with it for one of these:

http://www.tptools.com/USA-Cabinet-Gun-and-Pickup-Tube-Upgrade-Kit,2320.html?b=d*8026

When you put the cabinet together get a couple caulking gun size tubes of RTV silicone and use it on all joints and bolts. Doing this and using a suction system the media stays in the cabinet. A shop vac with one of these hooked up works very good :

http://www.oneida-air.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=AXD001004&CatId={6EE79B16-EB63-43E7-8F30-1E06240A24A4}

The dust separator saves the shop vac from being burned up from abrasive or plugged filters. For general blasting glass beads handle most clean up tasks and leaves a satin finish. Its not as aggressive as some other abrasives and that's good. If you want something more abrasive TSC / Tractor supply sells garnet which cuts like aluminum oxide and Black-beauty which is coal slag abrasive.

You can catch the cabinet on sale and use a 20% off coupon for a better deal. Blaster.jpg