Got to concur with ya on the blast cabinet Munk, I got stuck with a hundred bucks worth of Harbor Freight junk and had all the same problems the other guys mentioned, i.e., leaks like a sieve, fines all over everything and taper not steep enough to drain sand, lack of lighing, etc. I ended up resealing the whole cabinet (which by the was is made about as thin as a tin can) with weatherstrip from Ace hardware, adding my own light inside of a glass jar to protect it, making an adaptor that would work with standard vacuum fittings and finally gave up on it, so there it sits in the corner, I think I’d take $4.00 for mine Lee.
As far as filtering, I had one of the bigger Shopvacs that I picked up on junk day, just needed a good cleaning, a new switch and hose, well it really is pretty much junk again after trying to use it to clear the blast cabinet a dozen or so times. They just taint made to handle the fine abrasive dust generated by a blast cabinet and it gets into everything, motors included. The bag clogs right away and your lucky if you get five or ten minuets before you have to stop and disassemble every thing and clean it.
As far as venting it out side, that could be pretty expensive since you really need to recycle the sand a few times until it breaks down to make it practicle, same thing with a water trap, there is no way to reclaim it.
So as Alvin suggests, I think I’ll save my pennies for that TP stand up cabinet and a good filter system. I have a few buddies that have them in their shops and are happy with them.
By the way Munk, how’s that Hot Rod doing, you been able to put a few miles on her this summer????
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL
