8N that I thought was a 2N

Eyecatcher · Jan 22, 2015

Item 68992 40# pressurized pot blaster. You'll need at least a 5hp compressor and that usually means 220v. I use the cabinet blaster for anything that will fit in it, because you are automatically recycling the blast media. As you use it, the media breaks down and becomes inefficient, then I use it in the old siphon pot outside, and just let it lie. Gonna play with the new one again today and see if I can figure it out,

Eyecatcher · Jan 22, 2015

OK time to stop badmouthing the HF blaster. Got the blast media fine enough to go thru the .147 nozzle, and it works pretty good. Still don't know why they ship it with a nozzle smaller than 1/4", I think that's kinda the standard. Anyway, the 30/60 black diamond seems to do the trick. Uses an awful lot of material though.

GPintheMitten · Jan 22, 2015

Good. Don't forget the pics later when you get a chance.

Eyecatcher · Jan 23, 2015

Guess I was a little premature with thinking I had solved the power pot problem. Local TSC is the only source I've found for blast media. They have Black Diamond, which is coal slag, and does a good job. How ever they stock 2 grades, 30/60 & 20/40. 20/40 is what I use in the blast cabinet and the siphon pot.
The HF pot came with 4 ceramic nozzles, 2.4,2.7,3.2,&3.6MM. Black Diamon has an online nozzle select chart, and the 20/40 requires a 1/4" nozzle. The 3.6MM (.1417) nozzle will feed it most of the time but plugs up occasionally, so I bought a couple of bags of the 30/60. It's about the consistancy of flour. It feeds Ok, but packs down in the pot, so you have to continually bounce the pot making it a 2 man job. Went back to the 20/40, and it started working pretty good, then I looked at the tip, and it must have been pretty poor grade ceramic, it was worn completely out! Wore right though the side of it in about 3 hrs of blasting. As I said in a previous post, HF has no larger nozzles available. I've been on the internet for a couple of hours, trying to find 1/4" nozzles, or even a
deadman type valve to replaced the ball valve control it came with. I can find nothing even close. I really don't like to buy something, and then take it back because it doesn't perform the way I think it should. I'm sure if I used their abrasive at $40+/50#, it would work fine. I just can't justify that much money for the abrasive, probably going to need another 4 - 5 bags. Even re-cycling, blasting outside you lose a lot. Anybody got any ideas?

Eyecatcher · Feb 3, 2015

Got a couple of good hints, both from soundguy and another group. Looks like great improvements can be made by reworking the abrasive feed/air supply manifold on the bottom, and since no one has been able to locate a 1/4" nozzle to fit, one guy uses the male half of air connector for a nozzle. I've got a bunch of them, since I changed over to 3/8 fittings for more flow. Had the rear tires broken down to refinish/repair wheels,& they managed to destroy the one that I thought was still good, along with condemning both inner tubes. Front tires were completely shot, so the pocketbook suffers again! 2 new tires, 2 new rear tubes, and a trip back to Oak Hill for another rear wheel. He managed to find another good one that he sandblasted and painted (he says it's good), says it has one small hole in the sheet metal over the hat section. I can fix that. Had to do some welding on both front wheels, but they look pretty good now. This old tractor is starting to remind me of a tough steak - the longer you chew, the bigger it gets.

GPintheMitten · Feb 3, 2015

I feel your pain. Hang in there. When you're all done and using it, you'll appreciate getting it in good shape.

Eyecatcher · Feb 9, 2015

Not much progress lately. Got another wheel from Oak Hill, but the pickins are getting slim. I got the best of the 3 he had left, and the sheet metal covering the hat was pretty rough, with one hole about the size of a quarter. One side of the rim was beat up a little from someone sledge hammering off a tire. Son used a hammer and dolly, mad it look pretty good. They had sprayed so much enamel on it, it was puddled. Stripped off he paint, they did do an excellent job blasting it. Decided to repair the hat cover sheet metal by glassing over it. Applied a 5" wide strip of fg cloth all the way around, using polyester resin. I'll coat that with brushable gel coat later. Weather has been so chill that the resin is taking a long time to kick. I'll heat gun it a little today, and should be set to go.
Ended up buying a needle scaler to de-rust the inside of the front wheels, after repairing valve stem holes. Works pretty good, but you certainly need ear plugs.