The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Blasting cabinet

I started using my blast cabinet. I love it. But I have been using blasting sand. There is a lot of dust. If I change media will there be less dust? What other medias are there?

I have heard of glass beads and that black stuff. The black stuff is readily available at Northern Tools. Where can I get the glass bead media if that is the best?

Oh. I have heard of nut (pecan) shells, too. But do not know what is available from Northern or Harbor Freight.

I am in the north Dallas or Plano, TX area if anyone (lots of Texans on this site) knows where is the best place to get this media.

Dennis,

If you go to www.mcmaster-carr.com and do a search for 'blasting media' it should take you to page 2664. If you scroll halfway down you will find a nice list (side by side comparison) of all the different types of media along with all the dope on them, including their dust factors.

Stuart

This is another supplier of blasting media. Their telephone customer service is very helpful http://www.kramerindustriesonline.com/blasting-media.htm

If you are cleaning rust and paint off steel, a product called Black Magic is excellent, readily available at places like Tractor Supply and Northern Tool, and is reasonably priced.

If I had a good blasting cabinet I'd have two medias on hand, Black Magic and glass beads.

Dennis,
so far I have not seen a hint on your vacume system ??..without a decent way to evacuate the air from the cabinet you will have major dust!..and it will get all over everthing in your shop!
no matter what media you are using.
I found out the hard way and the mess that comes with blastin without a good vacume that exits outside your shop.
Tim

Good point, Tim.

I hook up my Sears wet/dry 5 gallon vacumn to it through the side hole in the cabinet.

Unfortunately, after a couple of hours the top window (which has a plastic protective thingy stuck to it) is dusted over. I think this is normal but would like to find the "magic" media so there is not so much dust. The black magic stuff from Northern and everywhere else that is cheap has a lot of dust, too. I was thinking glass beads. It looks expensive, too. I am cheap.

I would also like to have the best - all around media - too. Minimal dust, cleans everything, and economical.

What does the best on knocking off rust. I have extremely rusty stuff. The truck is an old rust bucket with good bones.

Thanks again,

Check out this

Dennis, they ALL will get dusty. The more you use it the more it breaks down and gets dusty. I've used Black Diamond and think its expensive at $8 a bag(50lb) from Tractor Supply. I use and keep the glass beads around to. I get a 50 lb glass in cardboard container from Tractor Supply for $30. I also have a 5 gal bucket of Plastic media that was given to me for free but have not tried it. I do know that platic will NOT take off rust. Its ONLY for peeling off paint!! I could write a tech tip on the darn plastic!!

You ask for the BEST and the CHEAPEST....its hard to have both but here is what I do.
The local concrete place sells blasting sand in three sizes.
EXTRA fine, FINE, and MEDIUM. It is all consistant size and it is ONLY $3.28 for a 40/50 lb bag. I buy the fine sand for the rust and it does a good job. During blasting the plastic window cover gets beat up and you can't see. I use a soft "bee brush" that I brush it off everytime I open the door. I also wipe it ocassionaly with windex but it don't help much. Just brush it off and keep trucking!
You can buy the plastic window protectors at Tractor Supply and save shipping UNLESS you have the BIG window like mine and in that case I have to buy them from TPTool since tractor supply don't carry the big ones. I am actually going to see if I can find it at a craft store. I know its out there somewhere. I have also noticed that when my friend bring something here to blast they hold the gun and piece up close to the window which will ruin a platic cover in a heart beat. I have a stool I sit on while blasting and I try to hold the piece at "arms length" and it sure helps the platic cover last longer.

My cabinet is easy to change the media so I keep a container with a plastic bag under my cabinet in case I want to switch to the glass beads or whatever I need for the piece I'm blasting.

Soooo, cheap is SAND....Good is SAND....on RUSTY stuff. Just use good sand like I mentioned.

AND...does your cabinet have ONE light or two??? Mine has two and it sure does help seeing when the sand starts to get fine and dusty.

EDIT: depending on what kind of vacumn you use be careful. The fine dust will get the bearing in it!!

Ask for clear acetate. A real art supply store should have it. HERE'S what you're looking for and if you can't find it locally, [censored] Blick has the best prices anywhere on artist supplies.

Woody, your RIGHT. In fact I'm trying to get my X-wife to get me some for cheap. She has been in graphic art/design for over 30 years...we use to have plenty of it when she did contract work at home. But rather than bother her I may just give Blick a call. They have it wide enough to cover my entire glass without having to put a border around it with tape....and LOTS more than TPTool and for less money.
Thanks for the link Woody and you probably saved me a fight with the X...

It’s important that you choose the right blaster for the job. It can make a huge difference and can determine whether or not the end result is good or not.

I use a dust cyclone similar to this style:

https://m.kmstools.com/index.php?ma...23030100_23030101&products_id=107055

It isn’t perfect but it does cut down A LOT of the dust entering my vacuum. I clean the vacuum filter after every 45-60 minutes of blasting. I burned up my old shop vac not using any dust collection methods.




This is a homemade version but you can get them at Home Depot.

I second the lights. I have 2 leds in mine and it makes a world of difference.

Watch this:


I did a few of these modifications and oh boy, they do make a difference too.

I loved my blaster before, but now it’s fricking wicked.

I bought a complete dust cyclone from HD [Dustopper] for just over forty dollars. Works great and easy to hook up. It comes with the intermediate hose and an elbow. You do need a five gallon bucket available from HD for a few bucks.
I see it went up in price a bit since last year.

That little device works wonderful on my blast cabinet. Amazing on how well it works.
Ed

I bought larger blast cab window protector at amazon. With amazon prime same price as tp tool but no shipping charge. Gonna check blick

I added a piece of standard window glass in place of the plastic glass protector sheets. It doesn’t attract the dust as the plastic does and is much more resistant to etching. I cut the glass 2” narrower than the window and used painters tape on each side to install. It’s been on there for over a month and I have blasted for several hours and it shows no signs of frosting. The smaller view window doesn’t bother me, nor does it obstruct the view of what I’m blasting.

Yes, I have the dust stopper too, works well. I have a small tabletop cabinet with glass beads for fine work and a larger cabinet with Black Diamond in it for heavy rust. The glass bead one has 2 halogen lights, the BD one has LED strip. I agree, the more light the better!