My 3'x5' blast cabinet made of wood.

chris fresh · Feb 20, 2014

So i have a few projects all going at the same time in the shop,all making money and moving along smoothly,shocking really.I don't really like have a wood project and resto projects going at the same time in the same space,but there both paying gigs so i can put up with it.

One of the problems i have is that i have out grown my small H.F blast cabinet,i've been talking of going bigger and now have started the project because of left over/extra material from the current wood project.

I'm building 4 bookshelves for a customer with cabinet bottoms,nothing fancy really,just mad from 3/4 birch ply,1x12 pine for shelves,shaker style doors.The customer called and asked if she could make a change to the project that called for one less box and was aware of the material cost,she said don't worry about returning the material,just keep it for yourself.

So hears where i end up with an extra sheet of 3/4",two sheets of 1/2" for free,but taking up floor space.so today while i had the big saw out and the cut table i figured i'de take advantage of the stuff and begin my new cabinet build.

I first knocked down the 3/4 ply to strips 5 1/2" wide,made a frame 3'x5'.Then chased the outside of that with another band,making it 1 1/2" thick.Did this for a couple of reasons, (1) material was free, (2) cut and laminated plywood is much truer that regular 2x material) (3) 3/4 plywood on edge has less tendency to sag than 2x material over time.

Inside frame is glued and screwed,then the outside band is also glued in between layers,mitered corners,and screwed from the inside with 1 1/4 course thread screws.

Now for the fun part,i made the back and two ends first.I didn't want **** joints,i wanted clean mitered joints.I use a skillsaw with a brand new 60 tooth count blade for this.By using a straight edge tacked with a brad gun,i mitered every joint.I plan on painting the inside with white latex for good reflexion and the outside will also get prepped and probably nice paint.

Here's the progress i made today,tomorrow i will get the front panels made.Next step is to make a two frames,one for the top lid and the other for the bottom,these will sandwich together when the lid closes.These will have a 5ft piano hinge across the back.

Inside will have a piece of 3/4 expanded metal for a grate.One of the things i need to figure out is some kind of support for the middle of the grate,i will be putting fairly heavy items in this.

Things i want for this.

Alot of light.
I'm using a TP tools SKAT GUN
I plan on building a spinning table for the center, 24" diameter.
And i'm still on the fence with vacuum.I have almost all things needed,just working out the details.

check the pics.

chris fresh · Feb 20, 2014

few more pics

toms73novass · Feb 20, 2014

Looking good. I lined the inside of mine with thin gage sheet metal so the abrasive would not eat away at the wood.

I also used expanded metal on the bottom, infact I used two layers because after a time I began to wear the first a bit thin. I put a wood 2x4 across under the expanded metal and wrapped it in sheet metal also, so I could load it up with out worries.

chris fresh · Feb 20, 2014

I like it!,my leg set up will be about the same as yours.For now i'm not going to line the inside with anything.Hopefully within a few day i'll be done with the build and just waiting on the gun and gloves to come in.

OccupantRJ · Feb 20, 2014

Metal flatbar turned narrow edge up makes good screen supports and allows grit to drop past easily.

chris fresh · Feb 20, 2014

OccupantRJ said:
Metal flatbar turned narrow edge up makes good screen supports and allows grit to drop past easily.

good info

gtermini · Feb 20, 2014

I built a 48" x 32" plywood cabinet last summer based on the Snap On/Dee Blast clamshell model. It came out very well. I also built my own dust collector. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I spent way too much time planning this build and covered almost every detail you could think of.

Greyson

chris fresh · Feb 21, 2014

More progress today,got the rest of the top made out of the 1/2" plywood.Also picked up the other items needed,lights,castors,3/4 expanded metal,2x1/8 flat stock.Tomorrow will be making the legs,getting the flat stock ribs in,the expanded cut and in.Right now i just need to get parts together because their eating up floor space,bench space,all space.

Once i have the box mobile,then i'll start the bottom taper pieces.

Pics,check um!

OccupantRJ · Feb 21, 2014

Don't know your plans, but a perimeter support for the screen would be good, and slots could be routed to drop the flatbar into as support ribs. That way, all could be easily removed for any deep reaching that may have to occur.

Are you going to siphon your media from inside the hopper bottom, or pull it from underneath? If from underneath, see my thread on making a beadlasting gun. It shows a draft fitting that can be made to draw from underneath. Post 21 in this thread.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91606&page=2

chris fresh · Feb 21, 2014

OccupantRJ said:
Don't know your plans, but a perimeter support for the screen would be good, and slots could be routed to drop the flatbar into as support ribs. That way, all could be easily removed for any deep reaching that may have to occur.

Are you going to siphon your media from inside the hopper bottom, or pull it from underneath? If from underneath, see my thread on making a beadlasting gun. It shows a draft fitting that can be made to draw from underneath. Post 21 in this thread.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91606&page=2

There will be a 1" edge all the way around the inside to carry the screen edge.Front and back ledge will have slots cut in it to stand the flat stock up in.pics to come tomorrow on this.

As for pulling media,not sure yet.I've always used the siphon gun,but i haven't bought the new set up yet.I see a lot of the pedal set up's,and i don't know if there better or just a different way to go.I really don't care about pulling a trigger,vs. the foot pedal.All i know is the SKAT guns are way better than the H.F guns.

One of the ways i improved my current H.F was to wrap a piece of vinyl window screen over the end of the feed tube,this cut down of sucking up garbage and clogging the gun,it works,but it's not ideal.When the gun is flowing media,it's o.k on a hobby level,but my restoration business is moving way quicker that thought.

This new box will get used plenty even though i'm building a blast room in the new shop addition.I still prefer a cabinet for small stuff instead suiting up to clean a carburator.

gonna check yer link out,thanks on the info.

Rothaus · Feb 21, 2014

This is what I did

here is the whole thing

My Blasting cabinet

chris fresh · Feb 21, 2014

Rothaus said:
This is what I did

here is the whole thing

My Blasting cabinet

Nice, is the open end glass? i don't see a door,how do you load in pieces?

Rothaus · Feb 22, 2014

This is the opening for the door. I the picture above the door was not yet installed.

Cheers
Engelbert

PCO6 · Feb 22, 2014

chris fresh said:
Things i want for this.

Alot of light.
I'm using a TP tools SKAT GUN
I plan on building a spinning table for the center, 24" diameter.
And i'm still on the fence with vacuum.I have almost all things needed,just working out the details.

check the pics.

Nice job!

I tried various types of lights over the years and finally settled on a pair of inexpensive halogens up in each corner. I have a small spinning table that I made from an old record player turntable mounted on a brake rotor (nicely weighted down). I also use it for welding and painting jobs (sorry - no pic). For dust control I use a small 4 gal. Shop Vac and a home made cyclone canister. Very little dust makes its way into the vacuum.

View media item 36758
View media item 38071

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

As for lighting,i'm going the same way as gtermini.Yesturday while picking things up,i bought the same exact fixtures.I like the fact that their cheap,simple,adjustable.Originally i was going to do the large 4ft florescent set up but not anymore.

The box is coming along and i am using all the things i've seen through pics and research that i like.Only two things left are,

A) What gun, trigger or foot control? ,leaning toward foot.
B) the vac set up.I have a few different ways to go with this.I have a couple of large shop vacs,I have an old Craftsman dust collector,and I have a few other things I'm considering.

Of course what matters is that it works properly without having to adjust,clean,kick,scream at every 4 minutes.BUT, the biggest seller to me right now is noise.I'm so tired of listening to a shop vac run that has had tons of grit through it.I swear if a shop vac were my only option,i'de bury it in a hole in the back yard and pipe it with pvc.

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

Occupantrj, can you elaborate on that pic in your link?I'm guess that is off the bottom of the hopper? I'm trying to figure out what you mean by hose placement.I am only familiar with a trigger style gun and not with a pedal set up.It's no problem to make what you have in the pic (hose/pipe) The gun is another story,and very nice work btw.

I just need more info on where air comes in,media gets picked up,and the blending of both as you were describing.

thanks on the info.

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

I'm guessing here, The rubber hose slips inside of the metal pipe,and depending on how much of the LARGE hole you block,determines the blend of media and air.The small hole is what you were refering to as the SET SCREW hole?,if this is correct i get it and how it works,makes complete sense.

What i can't figure out is the screw/plug in the left side of the pic? i don't see it having any real purpose except for maybe a clean out wire?

PCO6 · Feb 22, 2014

gtermini said:

I tried this method of lighting but found that I got a lot of grit into the fixture. Sealing them with duct tape helped but it didn't solve the problem.

OccupantRJ · Feb 22, 2014

The reason vacs are so loud is the high speed universal motor. If you can find an internal draft fan with an impellor instead of a squirrel cage fan, it makes a great evacuation fan, due to the velocity and volume of air it will move. Of course, the air needs to be scrubbed by running it through a Dust Deputy or similar device.

Foot controls can work by several methods. One is to use a foot valve that air directly flows through to the gun. Another is to use an electric foot switch attached to a large orifice solenoid valve. I have one of each on my two cabinets. Electric foot switch can be moved around to any desired position, and the foot valve is mounted to the cabinet frame in a fixed position, although if piped with hose, a foot valve can be made moveable.

OccupantRJ · Feb 22, 2014

chris fresh said:
I'm guessing here, The rubber hose slips inside of the metal pipe,and depending on how much of the LARGE hole you block,determines the blend of media and air.The small hole is what you were refering to as the SET SCREW hole?,if this is correct i get it and how it works,makes complete sense.

What i can't figure out is the screw/plug in the left side of the pic? i don't see it having any real purpose except for maybe a clean out wire?

The air mix valve will work for either type gun. It is a matter of where you suction the media from, and how steadily you want it to flow. Choices normally are from inside the hopper by using basically only suction, like sucking it up a straw, or pulling it from beneath the hopper with a little gravity flow assist to keep the suction hose fed.

Ignore the plug in the feed device. That was a past experimental deal to play with flow charisteristics.

PCO6 · Feb 22, 2014

chris fresh said:
... I'm so tired of listening to a shop vac run that has had tons of grit through it.I swear if a shop vac were my only option,i'de bury it in a hole in the back yard and pipe it with pvc.

Try a cyclone canister with water in it. I've used a Shop Vac along with a cyclone canister for at least 10 years and it's like new. The grit gets trapped in the water and very little makes it to the vacuum.

Mine is similar to posts #3 and #14 of this thread ...
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159702&highlight=sandblast+water+dust

OccupantRJ · Feb 22, 2014

Look at the following link to a restore of my smaller blast cabinet. If you look at the lower end of the cyclone separator, you can see the flow fitting and where it is used on this type of reclaimer system. The grit is suctioned out of the bottom of the cabinet hopper through the large 2-3/4" hose, swirls in the cyclone, and drops out the heavier grit to be fed back to the cabinet. The nuisance dust is expelled into the bag. Another way is to have the feed fitting directly on the bottom of the cabinet hopper. The other way is to **** the grit out of the cabinet from inside. Dust evacuation is the same for the last two methods.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124933

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

I definitely like the water trap idea,plans for now are going to be,flex out of the box to the water trap,then out of the trap a pretty good run with pvc pipe to a high volume fan i have kicking around from one of those blow up bounce houses for kids.I also have a smaller one from a small blow up water slide.Bonus is that both move a TON of air,and they are both SUPER quite.

I like my vacuum's like i like my women,a lot of suction and super quite.

Today was a great day,weather was high 70's and dry.Spent all day in the shop while the wife and kid were out.Made a ton of progress on the cabinet.Yesturday before i closed up shop i ran some 1/2" scrap through the saw.Made it 5 1/2" wide,doubled up to make them an inch thick.I glued them and screwed together with 1 1/4" corse thread screws.

Then this morning i clamped then together and put them in the chop saw,made cut's 2" deep x 1/8 wide.I then chunked up that flat stock and made the supports.Then next was to cut and fit the expanded.The legs were made out of 3/4 scrap doubled up and everything has been glued heavily,i've gone through a lot of tight bond glue on this build.Top layer of the leg is on the outside of the frame,and the inner rides undernieth.Lots of glue,screws,ect.Once the legs were on,then came some HF castors with locks,i've used these before and have been very happy with the locking part.

Next step was to get the top going.When i made it,i kept it shy 1/4 front to back and also side to side.I wanted the lid to fit inside the bottom.On the top of the bottom frame i picture framed it with some 1x pine.I then put the lid on,spaced it all around with paint sticks,then made a frame out of 1x to sit against the bottom frame.

This will have a 1 1/2" weather strip for a gasket between top and bottom.Next was the rear piano hinge,the longest blowes had was a 48",so it would have to do,cabinet is 62" total.Today was a good day,more progress tomorrow and then i need to wrap up the bookshelves.

pics,check um!

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

more pics

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

next batch

Hpozzuoli · Feb 22, 2014

Rothaus said:
This is what I did

here is the whole thing

My Blasting cabinet

Wow. This looks laboratory grade

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

should of named this pic heavy.

chris fresh · Feb 22, 2014

Starting to look like something.

OccupantRJ · Feb 23, 2014

Looking good, Chris. You have put a lot of work into your project, and it showing. One thing you may want to consider is installing an air blow gun inside your cabinet so that when you finish blasting, the interior can be blown free of grit before opening the unit. I recommend this for any blasting cabinet, especially those with an end door. Helps keep the grit in the cabinet and off the floor

chris fresh · Feb 23, 2014

OccupantRJ said:
Looking good, Chris. You have put a lot of work into your project, and it showing. One thing you may want to consider is installing an air blow gun inside your cabinet so that when you finish blasting, the interior can be blown free of grit before opening the unit. I recommend this for any blasting cabinet, especially those with an end door. Helps keep the grit in the cabinet and off the floor

Thank ya sir! Yeah it's moving along for two reasons,(1) I have things that need to go in this cabinet,(2) It's taking up room for a build i have to finish for a customer.

As for the blow gun,yes sir.I have been dealing with the mess of my HF cabinet side door for a couple of years now.I'm going to have a side door also along with the clam shell.I like having all options,heading out to the shop shortly and today i will try and get tons done so i can make progress on the other.

OccupantRJ · Feb 23, 2014

If you will install a piece of metal "flashing" along the inside bottom edge of your side door, protruding inward at an angle, it will shed grit that accumulates on the door back into the cabinet. Install it just high enough on the door to clear the threshold when the door is opened.

gtermini · Feb 23, 2014

Looking Damn Good!

Greyson

chris fresh · Feb 23, 2014

gtermini said:
Looking Damn Good!

Greyson

Thanks!,but what do you think of the cabinet?

chris fresh · Feb 23, 2014

OccupantRJ said:
If you will install a piece of metal "flashing" along the inside bottom edge of your side door, protruding inward at an angle, it will shed grit that accumulates on the door back into the cabinet. Install it just high enough on the door to clear the threshold when the door is opened.

It's definitely on the list,i've dealt with this on my HF cabinet,PITA,so i'm always thinking.The blast gun inside will help a lot,but if i could keep build up from happening at all,then the air clean up would be minimal.

chris fresh · Feb 27, 2014

Well today i ordered my gloves and rings for the box,next on the list is a gun and a pedal.What are the advantages and disadvantages of a steel tip vs a ceramic tip guns? I imagine one wears quicker than the other,but is that it? Also availability of consumables is important.I don't want a gun that i can't get tips for in a year.

gtermini · Feb 27, 2014

Find a gun with a carbide nozzle available. The carbide nozzle should almost outlive your cabinet. I have a speedaire/campbell hausfield in mine. I bought the carbide nozzle from Grizzly tools for it for about $35. I think I'm going to upgrade to a TP gun in the next little while. They have a full line of parts available at a reasonable price. I want more volume and I already ported the body of my current gun out. Buy the biggest model your compressor can run. My compressor is just under 20 cfm with a 60 gal tank, and it runs way less than half the time when I blast steadily. I made some internal air nozzles on the lathe out of 5160. They are a simple turning job and hardened them as hard as I could get. I found internal nozzles hard to find for the cheapo gun. With glass bead, I haven't noticed any wear yet in maybe 20 hours of blasting. The abrasive you use will determine the nozzle life.

Don't cheap out on the pedal air either. Get one that will not be a bottle neck in the air flow. I bought an Air-Mite with 1/2 NPT ports. Expensive ($200-250) new, but I found one NOS on feebay for about $75.

Greyson

OccupantRJ · Feb 27, 2014

Chris, where on your cabinet do you plan to pull in makeup air? You might want to consider a slot air intake in the top of the cabinet above the window to create a wash of air across the window to help keep it clear while blasting.

chris fresh · Feb 27, 2014

OccupantRJ said:
Chris, where on your cabinet do you plan to pull in makeup air? You might want to consider a slot air intake in the top of the cabinet above the window to create a wash of air across the window to help keep it clear while blasting.

That is exactly what I'm thinking of.I've been wondering how to do it,I don't know why other company's that sell professional cabinets don't find a way to do this.I decided a long time ago that the frame that holds the glass will be hinged.Having to fight with the crappy plastic shield in my HF box got old real quick.But even tho i will be able to flip it up and clean it,it would still be nice to pull air over it and keep the dust away from it completely.

It has been killing me to just look at the unfinished build as i work on this other project,but i hustled all day and it's down to just paint,which i might convince the customer to either do them selves,or on site.I am close to getting back to it though and I'm very excited to finally have a well lit,lot's of room,working how it should blast cabinet for very little money.

And I will post the total cost itemized (sp?)when it's all said and done.I know I will be very ahead of the game and recover the cost quickly.

chris fresh · Feb 27, 2014

gtermini said:
Find a gun with a carbide nozzle available. The carbide nozzle should almost outlive your cabinet. I have a speedaire/campbell hausfield in mine. I bought the carbide nozzle from Grizzly tools for it for about $35. I think I'm going to upgrade to a TP gun in the next little while. They have a full line of parts available at a reasonable price. I want more volume and I already ported the body of my current gun out. Buy the biggest model your compressor can run. My compressor is just under 20 cfm with a 60 gal tank, and it runs way less than half the time when I blast steadily. I made some internal air nozzles on the lathe out of 5160. They are a simple turning job and hardened them as hard as I could get. I found internal nozzles hard to find for the cheapo gun. With glass bead, I haven't noticed any wear yet in maybe 20 hours of blasting. The abrasive you use will determine the nozzle life.

Don't cheap out on the pedal air either. Get one that will not be a bottle neck in the air flow. I bought an Air-Mite with 1/2 NPT ports. Expensive ($200-250) new, but I found one NOS on feebay for about $75.

Greyson

I've been looking at a lot of stuff.I have about 200 to spend on a gun and pedal set up,i can go more if i have to,but prefer to cap out out the 200.I'm looking for those kinds of deals,a 200 dollar item for 75 or 80 bucks.I will take my time and look,but i really do wanna get something in the works and pull the trigger on the order.

thanks on the 1/2 npt info,good to know.I'm guessing it has worked well for you?

gtermini · Feb 27, 2014

Sent you a PM about a pedal.

This is the gun I'm thinking about getting

It included the carbide nozzel all for $130, eats 25 cfm. Even if your compressor doesn't put that out, as long as you are 16-20 cfm, it should be fine.

Be sure to get a good filter and regulator to stand alone for the cabinet. I mess with the pressure all the time depending on what I'm blasting. The foot pedal is nice to vary the flow too.

Greyson

My 3'x5' blast cabinet made of wood.

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