portable blaster from harbor freight.

[Soundguy]

HF has their portable blaster on sale for 24$ lil grey pot with a molde din handle.. carries a few poubds of media.. says it will blast sand, beads or steel.. but don't mention soda.. etc.

has the 15' air line and nozzle.. you just provide air compressor. etc.

i'm not a fan of sand blasting as it gets everywhere and can deform thin metal.. but will admit once in a blue moon I do have a small part that could use blasting to save hand work.

I would need it so infrequently that even the 99$ benchtop cabinet would be too much and I'd just pass and keep using a wire wheel. but 24$? I'd go that for a 1-2x per year use on a hand sized part that I might need..

opinions.. anyone got one?


soundguy

 

[strum456]

Are you asking about the spot blaster? It is basically a blow gun with a plastic media hopper on the top. If so, I have one and it works well for fine media.

 

[TRR]

I don't really know which one at HF you are referring to, but for a small blaster all you really need is just the gun. For a square foot or so what I do is put the media in 5 gallon bucket and put the suction tube in the bucket - it works. Sometimes I'll just put the suction hose in the bag itself.

For larger areas, the suggestion about renting a tow behind compressor is a good idea. Blasters use a lot of air.

If I was going to do much blasting I'd get a pressurized media tank. It's on my list of things to get, but I have no idea if it will work as well as I think it should.

 

[strum456]

Oh yeah...pressure pots are the cats meow. A siphon gun and a bucket wouldnt be a bad choice for you SG. Pretty versitile and inexpensive. I think my spot blaster from HF was about 20 dollars. You would spend more time filling a spot blaster, but you have to drag a bucket and hose if you use a siphon gun. Tradeoffs???

 

[5030]

Chris....

Save your money and get a small pressure pot blaster from TSC for a hundred bucks. You live in humid Florida...... Media don't gravity flow well there.

Hundred bucks is a fifth of a gun......:laughing:

 

[Western]

Should be able to even blow "talc" with that, water separator/filter will be the most important addition and a good one can get expensive. I have used cheaper ones in the $50-$75 that did good, just had to watch runtime and conditions.

When needed for work or hobby, I pull out the 175 cfm Leroi and the 300# p pot, man you know your dangerous when that thing is blasting:laughing:

My small 80# pot was made in 1948 and works like a dream, as long as the moisture is kept out. Seems the smaller the unit, the quicker it waters down.

 

[shortthrow50]

since nobody has answered your question, i found this video of the unit and it looks to be a great buy for 24 bucks does the job:thumbsup:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEb4soCe1RI]My new Harbor Freight portable sand blaster.wmv - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Western]

I didn't know he asked a question??Only asked for Opinions! Opinions are FREE

 

[hr3]

I didn't know he asked a question??Only asked for Opinions! Opinions are FREE

Does that mean shortthrow50 gets paid for his answer ???

 

[shortthrow50]

Does that mean shortthrow50 gets paid for his answer ???

I haven't received any payments from the op

 

[kenmac]

I bought 1 like in the vid. from sears years ago. It would always stop up from the sand getting damp. I upgraded to this 1 several yrs ago & it works better. I didn't the price that HF wants for it now

 

[Western]

I haven't received any payments from the op

:laughing: If I know Soundguy, your payments coming:thumbsup:

 

[2manyrocks]

I bought a different type that has a hopper on top of the gun itself. It doesn't hold a lot of material, but as long as I feed it dry sand that doesn't have any big pieces in it, it works okay for small stuff. The nuisance with all of it is the sand bounces back in your face, hair....it's just nasty. I only use it as a very last resort.

 

[Soundguy]

i was reading about silicosis.

I plan on a respirator and possibly hood.. is there a safer media?

 

[Western]

SG, it depends on what your blasting I guess. I use silica almost exclusivity for commercial work, since it is widely available and in different grains. You can get glass beads, pecan or Walnut hulls, all the way down to talc for ultra fine finish. In any instance though, I would wear a respirator, or at a minimum one of the "throw away" style for short durations.

A good hood helps allot, I had got one from Northern tool once for under $30 that did OK around my shop, I just wore a throw away mask. If your interested I can get a photo of our bigger pot and hood, but your probably not needing something that involved.

You could also build yourself a small blasting "screen" using thin cheap Plexiglas, one "wall" and a overhead will help with flying debris, of course a store bought cabinet is great for small stuff and relatively clean to use.

 

[Soundguy]

i have a couple good paint respirators that should be up to the task of filtering simple particulates. I would get the hood from hf AS WELL AS THE BLAST GUN, if i GET IT. ( sorry. capslock onthis dern lil pc tablet )..

in any event.. I plan on blasting perhaps 1-2x per year.. just limited use stuff. I'm not a fan of blasting.. but do realize there are a few limited situations where some small parts could be blasted clean vs hand sanding, espceially if odd shaped.. etc.

is the bead medai any safer than the silica? what about the 'black beauty'?

thanks

soundguy

 

[jonyyuma]

Black beauty is the cinders from the coal fired power plant out on the river...It is also used in roofing...It cuts fast as it has many edges? Hope this helps..