The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Tempered Glass in Sand Blast Booth

I'm getting tired of replacing the plastic screens on my cab window. Question for you guys that have replaced the plastic window with tempered glass. Is it a significant improvement or so so?

I use and throw away a inner lens/glass protectors.

We have laminated glass on ours. We also have a stack of them because they get cloudy quick.

Glass last longer but does get "bead blasted" into translucent. One thing that helps is to double your bulb wattage. I use a flood light bulb.

I have double flood lights in my Skat Blast cabinet and I buy the lenses from TP Tool. On sale, and buy several they are not a bad price to be able see good.

Depending on the size of your window you can check around and but it by the bulk roll and save some money.

Mine is a fairly good size so when a friend gave me some sheets smaller than my window I left the full sheet stuck to my glass and just stuck the "smaller size" sheet he gave me over my bigger sheet. Worked for me for a year or so and I do a lot of blasting. All kinds of way so cut cost!

Thanks fellas. I have the same Skat Blast setup with TPtool replacement lenses. I changed the lens before blasting 3 extremely rusty 8 lugs 2 pce wheels on my 48. I needed to replace the screen about 1/2 way through the 2nd wheel. For me the glue never quit comes off so have to scrape it first with a razor blade, then get the goo gone out to get the rest of the old adhesive off, then clean with windex....it takes about 30-45 minutes to do. Maybe all the curves on the wheels threw more than usual material back at the screen. Anyway, I got the material to add a second flood light today, and 2 led 100 watt flood lights, also going to add a switch so I can turn the vacuum and both floods on vs. plug/unplug. Next project, I'm going to extend the vacuum vent over the window with 1 1/2" pvc to hopefully pull the dust out quicker.

Allen, sometime I just pull the old sheet off and stick a new one on. However, once installed I run a piece of duct tape across the top of the replacement sheet which keeps the sand from somehow getting behind the plastic. Takes about 10 minutes and I clean/scrape the glue off about once every 3rd or 4th sheet.

......I have used mine for almost 15 years and after a while I learned it makes a difference the angle and direction we blast at...which I am sure you already know. The original motor finally gave out even though I kept the bearings changed ...... I had a big Craftsman big horsepower vacuum in the shop and the hose fit. I stuck it in the side of the cabinet and it makes a world of difference. Been using it for 4-5 years now and still going strong. Pulls out the dust quickly and is easy to clean.

.....if you have the original Vac-35 motor set up and need some bearings contact me by PM. I have quite a few of those small bearings.

Thanks Alvin. I've got a smaller shop vac connected, but I'm going to have to upsize it. I'm probably pushing my media too far as well.

I guess everyone knows the easy to do, 5 gal paint bucket water filter trick that protects the shopvac. Be sure cabinet intake holes are up high and are large enough for the vacuum power you are using.

Picture?

Please impart your wisdom on the paint bucket filter. Does it catch the fines?

This is a general idea. I'm sure everyone will have better ways to set it up. But a bucket and some PVC is all you need.
I use Home Depot Black Garnet. The water trap catches most of the fine dust. Not all. Keep long tube, from cabinet outlet, to about 1 3/4 from bottom of bucket. Fill water to 1" deep. I have that screen in there between inlet/outlet to eliminate splash into outlet to vac. The water evaporates between my using cabinet. Before blasting, I empty the caked dust into garbage, fill to 1" and blast. In one pic you can see that my cabinet was not designed for a filter. I drilled a big hole high up away from intake end of cabinet and welded an exhaust pipe adapter/reducer onto a plate. There are media that this would not work well with, like soda. Anyway it's cheap enough to build and try/experiment.

Theory: Dusty air sucked out of cabinet by vacuum, blasts down into the water. The dust is trapped in water. Air continues/fills "air tight" bucket and is sucked into vac and out vac exhaust into the environment. Mine is outside, so no exhaust hose. If inside, need exhaust hose to outdoors. Keep in mind this system may still exhausts some dust and may have leaks. But it works pretty well. I had splashing at first, which was sucked into vac. Added screen to catch the droplets. Vac will still have moisture/some dust in it's filter and bottom of container. Must be checked periodically. A small vac, my neighbor was throwing a way, has lasted several years. It clears my pretty large cabinet fairly fast but I wonder what a bigger vac would do.

Anti-splashing must be experimented with. I.E. distance between long pipe and water and depth of water.... and maybe a screen. This is due to the power of your vac, length of hoses, media and cabinet volume.

Of course, when taking lid off, you have to rotate bucket, not lid.

Nice setup. A variant of the dust filter that woodworkers use, interestingly enough, to catch the big particles that gravity pulls to the bottom of the bucket. Thanks for posting.