Projects Recommendations for blasting cabinet @ $500 budget

I have a TP unit, and a Harbor Freight unit.
both work fine for me. When the HF gun wears out, get a replacement gun from TP Products. I bought 3 guns from TP, just to have spares when I need them. I have had both units about 8 years, and no problems. The TP set-up came with the dual stage filter can, but I just use a cheap $ 40.00 shop vacuum for the HF unit. Much cheaper than the dual stage filter can, and you can buy shop vacuums all over the place when you need it, no down time.

 

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=blast cabinet&sort=rel

 

I built mine, it's about 40 inches wide. You can get the parts you need at TP tools like was mentioned.

 

Ryan's sister runs the Garage Journal?

 

Didn’t say Ryan’s sister’s site.

 

If Ryan did have a sister running the Garage Journal, my guess is that she would have a killer ride(s) like her brother's. Haha.

 

Built mine with TP Tools plans, added another 12" h box for add'l height. Got pedal and parts from TP. Lined the inside of the box with ductwork pieces from home depot, get grit from HF. Most of my avatar has been through it and still using the same H Depot shop vac. Just clean the filter when the cab starts to dust up.

 

Watch craig`s list. Buy a big one and modify so it works good. Mine is a Hotsy unit. Big enough to put a wheel in it with room to spare. Had a home made unit I bought that was 10 foot long one that you could put a fender in. Sold it to someone with user rights. Then he sells it 2 years later. It was forsale again at the Greenfield swapmeet last year. It taught me a lesson, never sell large tools. Unless you find something bigger.

 

Down here the problem is water, the humidity in the air causes a mess. Im running a hf with different gun and hf compreddor (the big one). It runs great so long as I keep things dry (TP can work to help remove moisture) and only cycles on for a min ore so to rebuild the pressure.

 

I had a friend that worked for a company that built telephone truck utility beds. I bought 2 of the build your own kits from TIP 1 for him and one for me. He built 2 good size cabinets and we both had one. The TIP products are good quality I would not hesitate to buy one of their cabinets or kits.

 

We made several, generally following the TP plans, all worked good using TP guns.
Still have a top load version at home (been meaning to paint it for a decade or so).
A Dust Deputy cyclone is a good addition. It reduces frequent filter changes and saves on your vacuum.

 

I have a 20' shipping container for storage. In a previous life it was used as a blast cabinet. It has lights, and scars all over the walls from blasting.

 

I just use my "Tempo". Here in Quebec they are very popular in the winter (CAN$350 on sale). I line the floor with a cheap tarp, and use my Princess Auto (Canadain version of Harbor Freight) pressure blaster. It works great, but there still is lots of dust, however I live out in the country so no issues. I can recycle the media a good 3-5 times. It would be nice to have a blast cabinet, but just another piece of equipment taking up space I don't have.

 

So this is a bit harder than I expected.


If I build my own from that oil tank,,,
$350 for this
https://www.tptools.com/Skat-Blast-...-45-XL-Lens,7196.html?b=s*Build+your+own+trim



Then on top of that I need a dust deputy, a shop vac, vacuum hose and fittings, a trap door for the bottom, hinges, handles and latches, gaskets. Some sheet metal and my fab time. I’ll end up with a pretty nice sized cabinet but over my budget plus I’ll have to figure out where to cut the time from.

I’m not really interested in running a cheaper POS dust spewing cabinet in my shop.

 

Home Depot is selling a cyclonic vacuum attachment that uses a 5 gallon bucket as a trap.

Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Mine wasn't that it didn't last my problem was the amount of light it put out.

 

Checked Facebook Marketplace and there was quite a variety of used cabinets listed, ranged from industrial to box store units. Even found this $50 economy model.

 

I have had very good luck with the barrel blaster as well. He used to sell them at swap meets.

 

Harbor Freight is selling their sandblaster for $ 139.00. That should stay in your budget.

 

We made ours out of an old fridge

 

Took your advice,,, thanks !

Scratch and dent for 1000 plus the 3 hrs drive.
Has some dolly damage took just a few mins to straighten it out.

Need to find it a home. Side door only so it will be tricky

 

You will not be disappointed! I have the 970 from TP & love it...So does my Dad!
Mine was also a scratch & dent...Just a scratch & I also drove out & picked it up.

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

I've had my Barrel Blaster for almost 20 years and it works GREAT! I also have a Dust Deputy dust collector, which is key. I even keep it outside, covered with two cheap Home Depot BBQ covers --> no issues!

 

I have the Harbor Fright unit. The gun is junk, the light is junk. However I changed the gun to the TP unit; works great. That added maybe $75 to the cost. I also use LED lights with magnets and stick them to the cabinet inside roof. I recently added the Dust Deputy. My shop vac filter was clogging up after short use. I may have $250 into it. Also, the HF unit requires good silicone sealer at all seams during assembly.

 

Nothing will work well as you buy with that budget, however, on a $500 budget, you can buy a HF blast cabinet and modify it to be an excellent performer. Some important modifications you want to make are to immediately throw away the HF nozzle and pickup tube, and buy the Skat Blast (yes that's actually the name, clearly not manufactured in Germany) pickup and gun from TP Tools. Then add better lights inside, hook up a shopvac to the exhaust, and perhaps even add an agitator to the bottom of the hopper to keep the abrasive material loose and even. You may also want to add a better, glass window instead of the polycarbonate one, and make sure you use plenty of silicone to seal up the unit on assembly.

 

You will like the skat blast. I just bought a five footer. Mine is the 970. I love it. Lippy

 

Back at the beginning of this thread, Rusty o'tool had this idea of using a 4 cylinder engine and running 3 cylinders to pump and run on the one. Anyhow, my friend Jim found this old compressor made up from a Model A engine that ran on two cylinders and the other two were for the compressor. I researched on the web and discovered that these were used to blast Mount Rushmore. Unfortunately, Jim passed away before he could get the thing going.

 

Years ago Eastwood offered plans to build your own sand blasting cabinet from plywood, I built mine and has served me well for the last 15 years. I think I had less than 200 bucks in it. HRP

It's the big red box in the background.

 

Mentioned above was an agitator. The cabinet I picked up has 4 tubes running down through the sand. Every few minutes I push the peddle the opposite way and it blows air into the sand in the bottom and stirs it up

 

Here’s my home made blaster, I copied the barrel Baster with tp tools ( pick up tube and gun ) guts. The end is removable but most of the time i use the window to load and unload. All in I have about 200$ in it( I bet the wood was 40 or 50$). It works great!!!!