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Bead Blaster??

  • Thread starter Thread starter mortation
  • Start date Start date
Very , very tight. I had one but would only use it for small parts. You need to hook a shopvac to it to keep the dust down, and the plastic window will cloud over quickly from scratches even if you put the plastic tape on window guards on the inside of the window. I replaced mine with a "real" blast cabinet after 6 months. I'd say no. Save your money and buy a decent one for a bit more money. Your better off if you get one with a replaceable glass window
you will not be sorry you bought better quality.


I just looked on ebay and there are larger ones for about the same money
 
madjack57754 said:
Very , very tight. I had one but would only use it for small parts. You need to hook a shopvac to it to keep the dust down, and the plastic window will cloud over quickly from scratches even if you put the plastic tape on window guards on the inside of the window. I replaced mine with a "real" blast cabinet after 6 months. I'd say no. Save your money and buy a decent one for a bit more money. Your better off if you get one with a replaceable glass window
you will not be sorry you bought better quality.


I just looked on ebay and there are larger ones for about the same money
Click to expand...

Hmmm any links?
 
You could also build one. I made one this winter, to use on various parts, with the size of wheels and an engine in mind. I built a basic top loading unit, with a tapered basin as a bottom, out of 3/4 or 5/8 mdf, with a 1/4" glass window, and used a $12 siphon blasting gun from Home Despot. My compressor is just barely enough to work, but it got the job done on a set of wheels and alot of various other parts. Aluminum ends up looking nice and "satiny" using glass beads. All told, it cost about $125 to build it. I can post pics if you're interested.
 
LeeGS550E said:
You could also build one. I made one this winter, to use on various parts, with the size of wheels and an engine in mind. I built a basic top loading unit, with a tapered basin as a bottom, out of 3/4 or 5/8 mdf, with a 1/4" glass window, and used a $12 siphon blasting gun from Home Despot. My compressor is just barely enough to work, but it got the job done on a set of wheels and alot of various other parts. Aluminum ends up looking nice and "satiny" using glass beads. All told, it cost about $125 to build it. I can post pics if you're interested.
Click to expand...

Please do! Did it take out the OEM paint on the rims?
 
Yes, it took the OEM paint off of a set of katana rims relatively easily. Areas that were a cast finish, like the "legs" of the rim were a bit tougher than areas that had been milled smooth, as in the outer portion of the rim. This was in preparation for paint, but if you spent more time on the cast areas, you would eventually get it super clean and it would look equally nice without paint. All in all, I have used the blaster for everything. It makes the black painted calipers look way cool when they are bare aluminum. Plus its cool for wowing the neighbors. And for doing dishes.

I'll post some pictures when I get home tonight.

How strong is your air compressor?
 
Pics

Pics

These picks make it look like crap, and well, it kind of is borderline crap. It functions well, but I didn't take the time to seal everything up...just the major seams. I also didn't need a port for a vacuum until the glass media started to fracture more (after blasting many parts), at which point it started to give off more dust.

Blast001.jpg


The shelf inside is made from old refrigerator shelves that happened to be in my garage. Also note that I used two outdoor porch light fixtures, which cost me something like 6 bucks a piece. You'll need lighting for sure:

Blast002.jpg


Make sure you put a moisture separator on the air hose inlet:

Blast005.jpg


I used heavy duty rubber gloves that are sold in the concrete portion of lowes or home depot. They are attached through 4" plumbing couplings.

Blast003.jpg


I need to clean my garage. How embarrasing.
 
What size is your compressor? That's actually an impressive setup for a homebuilt job, I always assumed they had to be made out of metal. And where would the shopvac attachment go? I would never have thought of those light fixtures, I knew you needed light but that's an ingenious solution.

Dishes? That must be one heck of a meatloaf!
 
txironhead said:
What size is your compressor? That's actually an impressive setup for a homebuilt job, I always assumed they had to be made out of metal. And where would the shopvac attachment go? I would never have thought of those light fixtures, I knew you needed light but that's an ingenious solution.

Dishes? That must be one heck of a meatloaf!
Click to expand...

Tanks! My compressor claims to push 8.6 scfm at 40 psi, and 6.?? scfm at 90 psi. I'm not sure I believe it. Its a 20 gallon craftsman (re-badged Devilbiss) oil-less that I got off craigslist for $60. First time I ever came out ahead on a hobby related purchase, because I then sold my pancake compressor for $75 to a guy at work. Anyway, back on topic, the compressor gets the blasting done ok, but any less would not do it...its right on the edge of not enough.

But it took care of my wheels, which was Mortation's original idea, I think. Well worth the week it took me to build it.
 
I built my own. It even has a lid. I still have a few bugs to work out, like sand escaping around the lid, and I've spent too much money trying things out...But once I get it sorted out it wouldn't be hard to reproduce without so much trial and error. I know the guy that wrote the page I patterned mine after from IRC.
 
jtolbert said:
I built my own. It even has a lid. I still have a few bugs to work out, like sand escaping around the lid, and I've spent too much money trying things out...But once I get it sorted out it wouldn't be hard to reproduce without so much trial and error. I know the guy that wrote the page I patterned mine after from IRC.
Click to expand...

I like it! \\:D/ Please share your "refinement" details - I'm seriously thinking about making one. I've used a total loss system in the past and it's MESSY. The garbage can deal has got to be better.
Thanks for sharing.
 
The "refinements" I made to his design was to set the gun up to a line that passes through the can so I can connect up an air hose and call it done. Also, Mike's original idea just had flaps that you stuck your arms through and put gloves on inside...That didn't seem like a great idea, cause it'd let tons of sand escape. I decided to see about using gloves mounted to the can.

The problems I've had have revolved around the glove mounting and the sand getting out. The glove mounts are currently two PVC flanges stuck back-to-back around the can. It works, but you can't get your arms very far in to them. I couldn't find just a flat flange, so I had to use ones that were actual pipe flanges. I'm thinking about just cutting the outer ones flush with the flange and calling it good.

The sand escaping is cause I didn't give it anywhere to go. The thing's completely closed off. You get an overpressure condition inside the can and anywhere air can escape, sand goes with it. This happens to be around the gloves and around the lid. I've got two ideas...The first one is to seal the gloves and lid area better, then just put a filter over a hole in the side of the can. That would let the pressure escape but keep the sand (or whatever media) in. The second idea is to stick a tube through the side of the can with a filter on the end, then hook up a shop-vac to the other end of the tube. That would do the same thing as the passive air bleed, but more effectively keep pressure down.

A third idea someone suggested was a catch-can type setup. You'd have a tube running from the blast can in to another can, then a tube running out from that venting to the outside air. In theory, the sand/dust/whatever would get caught in the catch can, while the air would move out freely. I'm not sure the catch-can idea would work, mostly cause the dust stays in the air for quite a while.

I'm certainly open to ideas. :)

I need to finish building the rack for the inside of the can. I'm cutting down a barbecue pit grill to fit inside the can about a foot down from the arm holes.
 
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I'm all for taking any excuse to buy or build groovy new tools, but this seems like an awful lot of work and expense just to avoid buying a can of paint stripper.
 
bwringer said:
I'm all for taking any excuse to buy or build groovy new tools, but this seems like an awful lot of work and expense just to avoid buying a can of paint stripper.
Click to expand...

Have you ever used a media blaster? Paint stripper is MESSY and does not take off rust. Media blast takes off both paint and rust at the same time and gets into nooks and crannies. MUCH better than using chemicals.
 
jtolbert said:
A third idea someone suggested was a catch-can type setup. You'd have a tube running from the blast can in to another can, then a tube running out from that venting to the outside air. In theory, the sand/dust/whatever would get caught in the catch can, while the air would move out freely. I'm not sure the catch-can idea would work, mostly cause the dust stays in the air for quite a while.

I'm certainly open to ideas. :)
Click to expand...
If the pressure is great enough you could have water in the catch can to trap the escaping dust.
 
I was going to make or buy one when this came along on ebay. Cost me $45 + 8 for new gloves. I L O V E this thing!:clap::D

afb0_1.jpg
 
Nessism said:
I was going to make or buy one when this came along on ebay. Cost me $45 + 8 for new gloves. I L O V E this thing!:clap::D

afb0_1.jpg
Click to expand...
How big is it? Is that price with shipping?

I've been checking Ebay and haven't seen anything that cheap - yet.
 
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