Any good sand blasters?

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exceptional
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Any good sand blasters?

Post by exceptional »

I'm looking to buy a sand blaster but not sure of a good one to buy. Any ideas for a good one. Don't want to spend a ton of money but will pay for a good one. Should I stay away from Harbor Freight? Thanks
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by cbassjr »

I have both a big cabinet and a big pot blaster from hf. The cabinet blaster is a problem as even though I have a shop vacation hooked up to it it blows sand everywhere all over the shop and I haven't been able to get it stop leaking so dont use it. The pot blaster had issues until I went to a sand blaster store and got the proper size tips and now it's great. The problem I have which I'm sure most of us have is money and the fact that I don't use them often enough to justify the investment into more expensive or larger ones. Just a note be prepared to do same tweaking on them.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by exceptional »

Thanks, I have heard about the leaks, still probably better then the card board box with plex glass I'm using now. Thanks for the info.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by Gamelord »

I have the HF blaster and for the price, it is very acceptable. It does leak but a coating of silicone on the edges fixed 99% of it. For the money I am very happy with it. I use mine constantly - enough to have to replace the gun, which I would recommend as the new gun is a big improvement.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by tnbndr »

There are some good cabinets made in the USA for under 1K. Google it and look around.
I was going to buy one a couple of years ago when i was refurbishing old hand tools but just never did. Room is always an issue.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by TJS »

To the OP. You state sand blasters in general not the cabinet I assume. If you want a non clogging system that you can adapt to a cabinet I recommend looking up bad boy blasters. It is a pressure pot system. However they do require a lot of volume of air. I have one and sandblasted my truck frame in less than 4 hours. I used "black beauty" medium grit. I will someday make a cabinet for it and adapt it to it.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by Gamelord »

Just to clarify, here is the blast cabinet I got from HF. For 200 bucks, it is very hard to beat.

http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capa ... 68893.html

I also agree with the "Black Beauty" blasting sand. Awesome stuff. Don't purchase it at HF though, look around online and you can get it much cheaper. I buy mine in 25lb or 50lb bags.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by acourtjester »

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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by exceptional »

Thanks for the suggestions, time to go hunting. I am looking for a container as well, need both. Thanks again.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by comeoutswingin »

Here's my take.

I have a 48x48 bad-boy blasters cabinet. Dust control and everything. I paid like 4k for it. It's.... marginal. It needs a vibrator on the hopper to keep consistant flow of material.. or you have to beat on the side of it. It's a siphon cabinet, which equates to low production.

I run super clean air to it, but if it sets for a long time, the atmosphere air will cause the media to pack. So you have to drain it and 'fluff' it.

Done over again, I would buy a more expensive pressure blaster cabinet that has its own hopper reloading system. Its worth it.
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by illusivedf »

I have a cheap summit racing cabinet, pretty much same as harbor freight. I also have installed a Tacoma Company upgrade setup to it as well, works pretty good and uses minimal media. http://www.tacomacompany.com/
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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by rwskinner »

For a sandblast pot that works great and it blow the cheapies away take a look at Texas Blaster.
I bought one a few years ago and there was no comparision to the TSC or HF pots.

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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by motoguy »

I have the big Harbor Freight blast cabinet. I'm quite happy with mine, however it is not a stock unit. I've followed the Tacoma Company upgrade instructions for the cabinet. During assembly, I coated all the seams with polyurethane sealant (think Liquid Nails). Chopped the blast screen for larger usable internal space, relocated the fresh air intake and exhaust ports, added lights and external switchgear, installed quick disconnect glass covers and actual dual-glass panes, etc.

I've equipped it with a Tacoma Company upgrade kit. The kit cost me about about double what the blast cabinet originally cost, but the cabinet works really well now. I couldn't afford (space or $) a larger cabinet at the time. However, the Tacoma Company updates give me a professional quality cabinet. Furthermore, when I expand to a larger workspace, I plan on stripping the Tacoma Co parts from this cabinet, and installing them on the newer, bigger cabinet. I had originally planned on upgrading to a Scat Blast cabinet, but after hearing the complaints on the siphon feed cabinets (vs the metered air cabinets, such as the Tacoma upgrade), I think I'll be happier building/buying a larger cabinet, and installing the Tacoma Company parts.

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Re: Any good sand blasters?

Post by motoguy »

Just thought I'd point out, this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-b ... 68893.html

And this:

http://www.hfqpdb.com/

Gets you in a HF big blast cabinet for about $140. Hard to beat that. Watch the videos I linked above, before you buy one, or certainly BEFORE you ASSEMBLE it. Assemble it in the way they assemble theirs (trimming screen, sealing edges, etc), and you'll be much happier with it from the get-go. Many people suggest getting the TP Tools gun and pick-up tube. I have these, as I ordered a big TP Tools "build your own cabinet" kit. However, I decided to go away from the siphon-tube setup all together, and went with the metered air setup of the Tacoma Company setup.
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