The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest HF Sand Blaster ??

Any comments on there pressureized sand blasting
tank? I used the old sand in a bucket deal from them a couple of years ago. Time for me to get real on this new project.

Good tip's on the Miller helmet yall,and on the cherry picker from HF.
wick

"Every hour you spend Fishing adds A day to your life"

I have a small pressure sandblaster, it's not from HF but it's probably the same thing. holds maybe 40# of sand. I like it, works good but requires a good sized air compressor.

Ditto on what Wahoo40 said. There are no critical elements to the pressure pot, so buying one from Harbor Freight could be a real cost saver. It's hard for the Chinese to frick up a big rubber plug or a 1/4 turn ball valve.

Make sure you can buy replacement nozzles for the hose end...maybe different sizes too!

Stuart

Check out Tractor Supply. I am ready to buy the 110 lb. pressurized blaster. I have put it off till I get the body off. I've checked Eastwood, Northern Tool and Tractor Supply. Compared all the requirements etc and considered what comes with it. For $129 bucks its hard to beat the one at TRactor Supply and you can get your nozzles/supplies there to without any hassle or shipping charges.....at least around here.

I just bought the 40 lb on sale. I've always been curious jus to see how they work. I'm a dork. The abrasive just pours out like turning on the garden hose. I'm seriously under powered in the air department. Oh well, I'll need a new air compressor some day...
BTW, this thing is a low-tech piece of ##%&$. I assembled it with teflon tape but virtually all the fittings leaked. I'll redo with a ton of teflon or the fat kind used for gas. The ball valve at the nozzle is kinda cheezy. A dead man's would definately be a good upgrade so that you can control the dern thing. I once saw a picture where this stuff is manufactured. The guy was wearing sandals and he was standing on a dirt floor.

orchidskip,

The sand shouldn't just pour out. There are several ball valves on my unit, and one of them allows you to regulate the amount of sand you put into the air stream. Too much sand and it's a waste...too little sand and the job takes forever. It's a sand/air balancing act!

The guy standing on the dirt floor with the sandals was the CEO...the employees don't get sandals.

Stuart

Thanks Stuart. I kinda thought of that later that day, adjusting the out side of the tank and will probably give it a shot later. I did learn though that these things require alot of air to feed them. Now that I see how it all works, I can also see why water in the airline would be a disaster and why sandblasters say you need a dryer. It's another learning experience.

Thanks for clearing that up about the guy in the sandals. No wonder he looked so happy.

Don't buy one of the small gravity feed spot blasters from HF. I thought it would be cool for small areas. Talk about a piece of junk!

And their little blasting cabinet isn't any better. Re-sealed the whole thing, glass, doors seans and all and even taped all the openings with duct tape. I still end up with more sand on the floor than in the cabinet and it plugs up the shop-vac in a heart beat, I figure that will only last for a couple of weeks before it is distroyed. and it doesn't scavange the sand very well at all.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

LOL! I feel better already. I was looking at both the gravity feed unit and the small cabinet when I bought the 40lb pressure unit. Thanks for making my day guys!!!

I've got the 40lb tank and built a cabinet that I can use with it out of a sheet and a half of OSB, four 2x2's, a bathroom fan, and a pair of surplus chemical resistent gloves from ebay.

It works great and I think I have around $20 in the cabinet.

I built a cabinet out of 2/3 of a plastic 55 gallon drum. Works OK for small parts. It needs a better light system. It gets so dusty it's hard to see. Pics below
Dan

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1512705909071274430nFZxbR

My wife bought me a fairly large sandblast cabinet at a yardsale for $50.00. Exactly like the big standup unit HF sells. She went to Sears and bought me a new 6 HP compressor. This setup works great for parts. I sandblasted my 235 valve cover. She polished the raised lettering "Chevrolet" and taped it off. I painted it old chevy blue then removed the tape and clear coated it. it looks pretty neat. We used high temp paint. Be to get the carbide nozzles they last alot longer than the ceramic. We went through a bunch of ceramic ones with our 66 stang restoration and carbide is the way to go.

I have a pressure pot from HF and it works just fine and my friend used it to blast his rims. He was satisfied and hes picker than me.