Setting up a sandblaster
Posted: Sat Jun 21, 2014 9:32 am
I periodically get emails about setting up a sandblaster, and it thought it would be helpful to others if I shared my response here as well. The question centered around placing a sandblasting cabinet outdoors in South Florida.
There's no reason that you can't have a sandblaster on a covered porch or under a car port. The real challenge will be controlling moisture, both from the ambient air and the condensed moisture in the compressed air. Liquid water in the air lines will create clumps in the abrasive, so you'll want to add a water trap at the compressor outlet.
If you're only doing surface etching and cleanup, you don't need a pressure pot, just a cabinet with a siphon blaster. I would recommend a TP Tools cabinet. They've been building cabinets for years. http://www.tptools.com/Home-Shop-34-W-S ... inets.html
They used to have a very small cabinet, but their smallest is now the 780-TL. It's a great cabinet and I've set up a number of them for glass friends. The Harbor Freight cabinet is okay if you take the time to seal every seam as it's being assembled... Otherwise, it leaks terribly dropping abrasive and blowing dust out of its corners.
You'll need a dust collector (also from TP Tools) and a compressor. TP Tools makes a very good, very simple dust collector, but they also sell a HEPA filter as an option. This really keeps the dust from leaving the cabinet. http://www.tptools.com/VAC-45-HEPA-Vacu ... l?b=d*8035
Sears is a good source for compressors. Home Depot as well. I don't have any experience with Lowe's compressors. If you have the money, an Ingersol-Rand compressor can be purchased at Grainger or ordered from Northern Tools. They're reliable but a bit pricey. I would stay away from Harbor Freight and Northern Tools house brands just because of quality concerns, but you need to be the judge of how tolerant you are for periodically replacing your equipment. You won't need a big 60 gallon upright, but a 27-30 gallon upright compressor should give you decent service at a reasonable cost. Like many things, you should buy the largest compressor that you can afford. In this case, compare the flow (CFM) at 90 psi (close to the operating pressure of a siphon blaster); more is better. The larger the tank, the less frequent the tank will need to cycle. Same goes for tank pressure; a 150 psi compressor holds more air than a 120 psi compressor with the same size tank.
All that's left is the abrasive and the hose. 120 grit silicon carbide or aluminum oxide will both work well. Plan on setting up your cabinet with 25 lbs of abrasive, but you might want to buy 50 lbs to have enough to get the level up if the cabinet has a large hopper.
Buy the shortest hose that you can get away with. The compressor will be noisy, so you might need enough hose to locate the compressor in another room or around the corner.
You'll also need a five gallon pail or large tray so that you can periodically screen your abrasive. The cabinets have a trap door at the bottom of the hopper that works well for this purpose. TP Tools sells a screen for a few dollars that is designed for this purpose.
Anyway, good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Tony
There's no reason that you can't have a sandblaster on a covered porch or under a car port. The real challenge will be controlling moisture, both from the ambient air and the condensed moisture in the compressed air. Liquid water in the air lines will create clumps in the abrasive, so you'll want to add a water trap at the compressor outlet.
If you're only doing surface etching and cleanup, you don't need a pressure pot, just a cabinet with a siphon blaster. I would recommend a TP Tools cabinet. They've been building cabinets for years. http://www.tptools.com/Home-Shop-34-W-S ... inets.html
They used to have a very small cabinet, but their smallest is now the 780-TL. It's a great cabinet and I've set up a number of them for glass friends. The Harbor Freight cabinet is okay if you take the time to seal every seam as it's being assembled... Otherwise, it leaks terribly dropping abrasive and blowing dust out of its corners.
You'll need a dust collector (also from TP Tools) and a compressor. TP Tools makes a very good, very simple dust collector, but they also sell a HEPA filter as an option. This really keeps the dust from leaving the cabinet. http://www.tptools.com/VAC-45-HEPA-Vacu ... l?b=d*8035
Sears is a good source for compressors. Home Depot as well. I don't have any experience with Lowe's compressors. If you have the money, an Ingersol-Rand compressor can be purchased at Grainger or ordered from Northern Tools. They're reliable but a bit pricey. I would stay away from Harbor Freight and Northern Tools house brands just because of quality concerns, but you need to be the judge of how tolerant you are for periodically replacing your equipment. You won't need a big 60 gallon upright, but a 27-30 gallon upright compressor should give you decent service at a reasonable cost. Like many things, you should buy the largest compressor that you can afford. In this case, compare the flow (CFM) at 90 psi (close to the operating pressure of a siphon blaster); more is better. The larger the tank, the less frequent the tank will need to cycle. Same goes for tank pressure; a 150 psi compressor holds more air than a 120 psi compressor with the same size tank.
All that's left is the abrasive and the hose. 120 grit silicon carbide or aluminum oxide will both work well. Plan on setting up your cabinet with 25 lbs of abrasive, but you might want to buy 50 lbs to have enough to get the level up if the cabinet has a large hopper.
Buy the shortest hose that you can get away with. The compressor will be noisy, so you might need enough hose to locate the compressor in another room or around the corner.
You'll also need a five gallon pail or large tray so that you can periodically screen your abrasive. The cabinets have a trap door at the bottom of the hopper that works well for this purpose. TP Tools sells a screen for a few dollars that is designed for this purpose.
Anyway, good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Tony