lets talk Sand Blasters OK?

BHD · Oct 14, 2009

I have finally got a good compressor about 60 CFM at 100 psi,

Now all my other experiences with sand blasters have been a big disappointment, I have ended up with a few smaller units and could hardly ever get any work out of them, one was a sears hopper and northern small glove box, unit,

I am wanting to build or buy a unit that will work to strip the stock trailer or a truck frame or what ever,
for example to day I took a tire off a rim that had been on that rim for 56 years, the rim is in need of rust removal or clean up and a real sand blaster would work well for this job,

any way what have you used in the past or currently? what would you recommend, do you have to buy sand or can you use brick sand?

what makes it a good unit? been thinking of building some thing if it is do able.

Ideas here please

son69 · Oct 14, 2009

I built a small pressure one from a old propane tank. The key is getting a good sandblast hose and deadman valve. I run patriot blast (coal slag) and it works great. I use about 16' of 1/2 sandblast hose, but with your compressor you could prob use a much bigger hose and get the job done faster. PM me if you have any questions.

Scooby074 · Oct 15, 2009

60 CFM.... Schweet... i wish i had that for my blaster

With that kind of power, id look for a used commercial pressure pot.

You can buy pressure pots at harbour freight. I have one similar thats sold at princess auto

The design is typical Chicom. IE: not good

The fill hole is too small. The air adjustment and abrasive valves wear out fast with good abrasives. Real tanks use hardened valves.

The design of the tank, near the bottom where the abrasive flows out is too rounded and the abrasive will bridge, causing major frustration. Proper tanks have steeper slopes at the bottom to reduce this.

The dead man sucks, you will wear the stop block off, and quick.

That said, while its actually working, it works well. Ive replaced most of the junk pieces with proper, well made components. If i was doing it over, id just buy a used commercial model. Parts are longer lasting, and wear items like nozzles are more readily available.

You will need dry air. Once again, you can get a used commercial dessicant.

For abrasive, unless you have supplied air, id avoid sand. Crushed glass is safer, but something like StarblastXl thats silicon free would be even safer.

good luck with your blaster. You have the air volume id love to have. With the proper parts youll have an amazing blaster.

glh · Oct 16, 2009

Scooby074 said:
60 CFM.... Schweet... i wish i had that for my blaster

With that kind of power, id look for a used commercial pressure pot.

You can buy pressure pots at harbour freight. I have one similar thats sold at princess auto

The design is typical Chicom. IE: not good

The fill hole is too small. The air adjustment and abrasive valves wear out fast with good abrasives. Real tanks use hardened valves.

The design of the tank, near the bottom where the abrasive flows out is too rounded and the abrasive will bridge, causing major frustration. Proper tanks have steeper slopes at the bottom to reduce this.

The dead man sucks, you will wear the stop block off, and quick.

That said, while its actually working, it works well. Ive replaced most of the junk pieces with proper, well made components. If i was doing it over, id just buy a used commercial model. Parts are longer lasting, and wear items like nozzles are more readily available.

You will need dry air. Once again, you can get a used commercial dessicant.

For abrasive, unless you have supplied air, id avoid sand. Crushed glass is safer, but something like StarblastXl thats silicon free would be even safer.

good luck with your blaster. You have the air volume id love to have. With the proper parts youll have an amazing blaster.

i dont understand why you say stay away from sand. Crushed glass is safer??? glass is made from sand. and when crushed its just the same as sand
i go to ace hardware and get the 60grt bags of silica sand and have done all the things he said and more that he was wanting or thinking of doing with no problems
my air set up is alot bigger then most people have tho
i have 1 80gallon 2 60gallon and 1 50gallon tanks all plumbed in together because i do alot of blasting and hated running short of air
if you want a really really nice clean finish use baking soda (used mostly on stainless steel or things that will be polished)
as for safety i just use safety glasses and a face shield
but u will still have sand (or what ever you use) in places you never new you had before

hope this helps
gary...

Scooby074 · Oct 16, 2009

glh said:
i dont understand why you say stay away from sand. Crushed glass is safer??? glass is made from sand. and when crushed its just the same as sand
i go to ace hardware and get the 60grt bags of silica sand and have done all the things he said and more that he was wanting or thinking of doing with no problems
my air set up is alot bigger then most people have tho
i have 1 80gallon 2 60gallon and 1 50gallon tanks all plumbed in together because i do alot of blasting and hated running short of air
if you want a really really nice clean finish use baking soda (used mostly on stainless steel or things that will be polished)
as for safety i just use safety glasses and a face shield
but u will still have sand (or what ever you use) in places you never new you had before
hope this helps
gary...

Safety glases and face shield is useless against silicosis. Without proper lung protection your heading for a problem using straight silica.

Using recycled glass as a shot blasting media does not cause silicosis. The glass manufacturing process destroys the free crystalline silica responsible for silicosis and this is not released during crushing or blasting.

OHSA classifies glass dust as a "Nuisance dust". The permissible levels are WAY less than silica.

Id still wear a P100 respirator at the minimum when using glass.

you NEED to wear supplied air when using silica. Matter of fact silica is no longer available for sale to the general public in my area because of the risks from improper use.

The best course of action is to avoid silica all together and use StarblastXl or other products.

Ive had the misfortune to run a sandblaster at work for a while and am a little bit familiar with the risks.

glh · Oct 16, 2009

Scooby074 said:
Safety glases and face shield is useless against silicosis. Without proper lung protection your heading for a problem using straight silica.

Using recycled glass as a shot blasting media does not cause silicosis. The glass manufacturing process destroys the free crystalline silica responsible for silicosis and this is not released during crushing or blasting.

OHSA classifies glass dust as a "Nuisance dust". The permissible levels are WAY less than silica.

Id still wear a P100 respirator at the minimum when using glass.

you NEED to wear supplied air when using silica. Matter of fact silica is no longer available for sale to the general public in my area because of the risks from improper use.

The best course of action is to avoid silica all together and use StarblastXl or other products.

Ive had the misfortune to run a sandblaster at work for a while and am a little bit familiar with the risks.

yes you are so very right. i'm sorry
i do always use a mask.
ALWAYS
i just forgot to add that in my post
thank you for bringing that up
i'm in ca and when i first started blasting in my back yard i was using a 5 gallon bucket with the center of the lid cut out and a screen placed under the lid and got sand from the wash beds
that worked good but clogged the smaller tips alot
hope this helps
gary...

Scooby074 · Oct 16, 2009

glh said:
yes you are so very right. i'm sorry
i do always use a mask.
ALWAYS
i just forgot to add that in my post
thank you for bringing that up
i'm in ca and when i first started blasting in my back yard i was using a 5 gallon bucket with the center of the lid cut out and a screen placed under the lid and got sand from the wash beds
that worked good but clogged the smaller tips alot
hope this helps
gary...

No worries gary. Be careful out there. Id still try to move away from silica based materials. Silicosis isnt a pretty way to die.

BHD · Oct 16, 2009

Thank you for the thoughts taking all in to consideration

savedbyzero · Oct 17, 2009

I have an old,25 years, pressure pot. Called the 99er, by TIP...now made by BRUT mfg...they have a site...Eastwood sells it now for $700...BRut has them for about $400....it kicks booty....has the old style gun trigger, not the newer style deadman...