Anyone got one? Recommended? What's it running off?

Any thoughts on media for rusty/painted steel?

The only one I can find so far is the Sealey one for about 350. There used to be a company who advertised in the back of some of the mags, but I can't remember the name.

Or are 'domestic' ones all crap?

Al.

make one?- I'll dig out that lance for you Al, the rest of it is a booth, hopper and pickup, compressor, air dryer and see Andy for the elbow length industrial rubber gloves have a look in the frosts catalogue and buy/copy theirs - you need big lungs on the compressor though

if you want to get posh you need an augur feeding the shot up to a hopper so it can be sieved to remove small children that may otherwise clog up the lance.


I might have some shot kicking about to get you started

Yup. Sounds like the voice of reason - I can make a hell of a hopper for that 350 squids Sealey want to steal.

Compressor isn't bad - think it'll be ok.

Any idea where I can get me some hoses and bits?

Al.

Halfrauds sold a blasting hose - think it might have been sealey?!? just drop the suction pipe into the media and pull the trigger on the loud button. big bore hosing from the 'pressor to the lance or its gonna take all day, would have thought Hyphose could sort that? (try asking for Colin)

ballvalves from the plumbing section make nice hi-flow shut off fittings

Hi Guys,

Looking into making something to blast my axles and then everything else thats smaller.

I was going to make up a coffin box big enough to take the axles and line it.

Next fit a perspex screen, buy heavy duty gloves (proper gauntlets) and a gun (33893 or 94223 from screwfix).

Any reasons why this won't work for what I need?

Ideas or improvements appreciated........

Regards

Grant

If you have a big enough area then you dont even need the box, the guy who owns the field where some of my cars live shotblasted his truck chassis using an airline gun that draws from a bag or bucket of shot/sand, no reason why you cant do the same.

Do it in a corner though, and wear a respirator, and dont forget to sweep up afterwards - the pit in the workshop is about two inches shallower now

Lewis

Only problem with the pot guns is constantly running out of shot if you extend the suction pipe and dump it into bucket of media then you can blast for a lot longer



Blast rooms are the only area (outside his members only clubs) that Mr "M"'s leisure wear has actually proved appropriate


Coffin idea works, the alternative would be a few sheets of clear builders polythene to form a tent, have the light on the outside, respirator on, and party away - that way the resultant nuclear fallout cloud will be minimised, trust me - its gonna get everywhere

I've got a simple attachment for my pressure washer that uses block pavier sand to sand blast.
It is a bit messy so I use it over the lawn but it takes paint and rust off anything.

You can make a small cabinet out of an old dishwasher - put a window in the side with a couple of "portholes" below it for your arms. Load it via the door. You can get long rubber gauntlets to protect your arms & legs.

Ok, thinking on this again. Whats the cheapest way to get an effective system running?

There are a couple of pick-up blast guns here:

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/WELDAIR-SUPPLIES-...0QQfsubZ3055565

Are they gonna be what I need for cleaning off big bits (painted / rusty)? What do you do, connect the gun to the compressor and then stick the hose in a bucket of grit?

Also, anyone know where I can get some kind of plastic sheeting that I can hang like 'curtains' fom the ceiling to 'seal' off an area for blasting? Normal crappy tarp - will it last? I don't fancy being limited by a cabinet.

Cheers, Al. Blasting-newbie.

I bought one of these from these people:

One of These

It knocks my old ACE gritblaster into a cocked hat, and got very good service too. Machine Mart are selling them at over £100

Those guns with a hose are awkward to get into close spaces. This unit has a cut-off valve on the nozzle (which you should regard as a consumable) which is a brilliant thing to have.

The ceramic nozzles don't last long, but I've fitted one of my ACE tungsten carbide ones and it will last for ever.

Hmmm, looks good, and not too spendy - reckon I might give it a whirl. Recommendations are always useful!

Thanks RTB. Looks like I'll give it a bash! Got any spare Carbide nozzles for me?

Cheers Al.

That DOES look good - but I only have a little one (compressor that is) at a quoted 9.5 CFM... The blurb on eBay says: Working Pressure : 60-125 psi & 6-25 cfm. Would you happen to know from experience whether this is any good at the lower end of the quoted flow requirements?
Rog

I use mine at 80 psi for paint & rust 'cos that's what my compressor (14cfm) will maintain with a 3mm nozzle. I've used it at 64 psi with fine media - no problem. At 90 psi it should shidt anything, depending on media.

It's fitted with a self-draining water seperator which didn't close at the lower pressure so I had to close it manually.

Looks good, what size compressor (cfm) are you using with it?

Bob

14 + 9 fridge compressors

Further to my last post, the nozzle vale has just worn through after about 10 potfulls.

I'd recommend turning it round after 6 potfulls to even out the wear.

Hmm, they look ideal but i'm not struck on £20 postage for a £65 item

Would £10 postage on a £75 item be better?

It is quite heavy, 19 Kg which would be £12.46 standard parcels with Royal Mail which could take 3 days, this was next day delivery.

Yes but i'm tight and would rather wait 3 days for it to arrive and pay less!, as it is i will have to collect from the depot as i'm out from 6 til 6 every day at work!

You really have to consider the whole cost.

Even with £20 delivery it's still £20 cheaper than going to Machine Mart.

I,ve went a e about t t and asked a question before doing a search. I just seen this topic. As I said in my bit I got one of the small Sealy type hopper hose and gun. Seems to work well on my trial bits coil spring and its seat from a 110. Only real issue is containing the blasted grit. It tends to go every where. Quite like the washer idea the local amenity site is full of them. I want to be able to do wheel rims can they be done with the tires on if rubber was protected in some way???
I have a 3hp 150ltr compressor.

I've done wheels with tyres on, the rubber doesn't really suffer. Just make sure they are inflated fully to stop grit getting under the bead. Protect the valve with a bit of rubber or plastic tube pushed over it.

As for containing the grit, use a cabinet or build a blast room. Otherwise a few tarpaulins or even a tent.

my local blasters recommended running a bead of silicone sealant round the bead to stop grit getting wedged in the gap where tyre meets rim, you can peel it off after you finish
mike

when i left school i worked for uncle shotblasting using chilled iron or j blast copper slag sand depending on what key the paint wanted for doing aluminium wheels we used either sand if thay were going to be painted or glass beads which almost would polish alloy wheels we done steel wheels with sand or chilled iron if thay were going to be hot metal sprayed i done this for 4 years until i realised there was cleaner and more healthier jobs about

Good idea. A customer brought some wheels with knock-on hubs, he'd siliconed tennis balls in the hub to protect the splines.

Theres an add on Ebay for a guy in Wiltshire that'll do a chassis for £35

I like the silicone idea Mike, tennis balls great to RT Barton. Pinny, I have some of the glass beads to try on alloy wheels but have not got that far yet. They are sort of pricey to practice with, need a cabinet thingy. I have been told the medium what ever it is, can be sieved and reused.

Thanks Mark

I use 801AF 74-149 Glass beads, whatever that means. These are Hodge Clemco part Nos. Like Pinny says these give a nice satin finish on ally. I use very worn out J-Blast Supafine first. You do need to seive to get any big bits out (washers &c) also make sure you have good airflow through the cabinet to remove dust, otherwise the beads will become contaminated.

How can a good air flow be achieved? I have not got a cabinet yet. And wanted to build my own, I,ve seen some links to sites with cabinets. Just can,t get my head around the air flow issue. I had thought the grit would naturally fall down. Could a false bottom say a mess type area let the grit fall onto the proper botton and not blow the blasted grit about ? It,s time for experimenting.

Mark

The media does fall pretty quickly, but you always get dust, this forms a fog which is hard to see through. I use a Clarke dust extractor which is fine.

I have a Clarke blast cabinet and it's very poor value for money.

1) It's lit from the back - you can see better if you light from the front & top.
2) It's got a side door which always loses some media when you open it - a top opening is better
3) The door catch on mine fell to bits
4) The syphon blast gun is useless - you're much better off with a pot.
5) The window protectors are fiddly to replace (a top opening would make it easier) I'm experimenting with a roll of cellophane to protect the glass - early results promising
6) The long gloves didn't last 5 minutes. Use elbow length gloves with elasticated holes to put your arms through

I use a plastic baker's tray to rest the work on. Too coarse a mesh will catch studs and bolts.

Line the box with sacrificial panels, I use plastic tops from washing machines

Great tips thanks.
I plan to build my cabinet from plywood maybe 1/4 or 1/2 inch. I will certainly take your advise and go for a top door/viewing opening panel. Cutting 2 front holes for arms and a hole for the hose. I will have a look at some dust extractors and see what I can come up with. The light I will put as near to the front as possible. It will mainly be for a rim and tire, that,s all I see as the biggest part to go in it being able to lie flat or stand up.

Thanks
Mark

How about making it long enough for an axle casing? Or having some flexible sides or something so you can do larger items?

Al.

Do make sure you line it though, the blast media will make short work of wood and produce sawdust which will block the nozzle.

Does anyone here know of any good blast-media suppliers in the south-west?

These people seem like they weill deliver anywhere

These People

and these have depots all over the country (connected to Wolverhampton Abrasives)

And These

What about the garden shed for a blast cabinet. Throw out its contents, line the back wall and 1/2 way around 2 sides and floor with metal say tin. Put in the electric a hole for the hose and Bob,s your uncle and Fanny,s your aunt.
Would,nt it be great if it was as easy as this.

Mark

Ps I think I,ll go for the ply-box first and see how it goes.

This is what I made out of old gas bottle.
http://community.webshots.com/user/paulhumphries100

Paul Humphries

I've done pretty much that - partitioned a corner off in my workshop. It must be airtight, i.e. dust-tight and needs to be fitted with a dust extractot & filter.

You'll need good lighting, I use 12volts in case I clobber a light with a piece of steel. I've actually fitted a bright light to the nozzle to save lighting the whole room. This is better because the dust generated makes it like working in a fog. Paint the inside with white gloss.

You will need a hood to protect your head and a supply of fresh air. For air I use a Metro heater motor feeding a facemask via a vacuum cleaner hose. The motor is sited well away from the dust extractor in the fresh air. You will also need a supply of visor covers, they don't last 10 minutes. I use pieces cut from 2 litre clear plastic pop bottles. The visors for my hood cost 99p a throw, so it's cheaper to buy a bottle of Netto coke & throw the contents away - you get 2 covers from 1 bottle.

Wear wellies with trousers on the outside!

A real luxury would be a mesh floor, so you don't trample the dust outside, with a means of raking the grit into a container, saves shovelling.

The blast pot should be inside next to the bench so you can get at the controls.

I was halfway through making one but they started appearing on ebay so I got one of those instead. I'd replace the bottom valve with a gate valve, I find the ball valve is a bit sensitive.

Have you ever had to replace the bottom T-piece at all? my ACE gritblaster eats them at a phenomonal rate.

I like the huge filler hole - the ebay ones are a bit small, at sometime you'll need to get a vacuum cleaner hose in there to remove some foreign object.

My blast cabinet is made of 12mm MDF (a more dense material than ply) painted with cheap gloss white paint. When the colour gets too dingy it gets another coat of white gloss. The paint is relatively soft and absorbs the impact of the media. I hold the gun in my right hand so I do have a piece of scrap steel plate on the back wall, towards the bottom LH corner, as this is the area that gets the most overspray.
With this slight additional protection, overall the paint is not damaged enough to expose the MDF surface, except where I've 'tested' the flow of grit from the gun!

Initially I used a suction gun, but about 12 months ago changed to a pressure pot, with a spark plug ceramic nozzle. Air delivery is controlled by a foot pedal. I use aluminium oxide as a reusable abrasive. The compressor is a two cylinder device with about 14 CFM free Air Delivery, working on single phase 240v. More air flow, or a larger air storage tank would be better, but with pressure held down to 70 psi at the pot the results are acceptable.
The pressure pot system produces much faster results, but does cost more to set up than a suction gun set-up.
I use a sheet of flat laminated glass as a viewing screen, protected by the type of thin plastic used for making slides on overhead projectors. This lasts for some time, but in turn is protected by standard supermarket cling film, which is a disposable item, as it lasts perhaps an hour before the dust fogging gets too bad. Blasted rust creates a lot of dust.
As regards ventilating the dust out, I suck the air out from each rear top corner (single fan, two pipes), and have found that ensuring a large inlet port made a big difference to the airflow. It's (large) airflow that is important. Don't rely on the air coming in with the blast media. I blow the fan air / dust output through the garage wall at a low level onto waste grass, fortunately well away from any neighbours washing lines.
If I rebuild the cabinet I'll put the air inlet above the viewing glass, so the clean air washes down over the glass, which should reduce the amount of dust sicking to the cling film.

HTH.

Dyson Vacs are great for the job, easy to clean/empty hopper, and there are loads down your local tip.

Yes and if any grit gets sucked out it tends to collect in the outer chamber of the cyclinder, the fine dust ends up in the centre bit.

Also try Freecycle.org for vacuum cleaners.

protected by standard supermarket cling film, which is a disposable item, as it lasts perhaps an hour before the dust fogging gets too bad.

Florists cellophane is much better, it's clearer and doesn't stick to itself when you're trying to put it in place. I reckon it lasts a bit longer too.

I bought a roll off ebay, can't remember the seller, but there's quite a few on there.

This topic has been really taken off, full of good advise and very heplful information.
I think I will sell the Land Rovers and get into Blasting it could be a cottage industry.


Mark

I suppose the fact that I never thought of that reveals how often I buy someone flowers!!!

I have actually bought some of the 'proper stuff' from Anglo Scott Abrasives, but haven't made a mounting for the roll so it can be scrolled across the viewing window / glass pane, so can't report on how good or bad it is.
ASA have no web site, but a call to 01942 270729 gets you an e-mail catalogue by return.

My reaction exactly - It was suggested to me by a female who does a bit of gritblasting

Many thanks for the links - there's some really helpful info in there too!