At Home sandblasting?

[Natejc_98 21]

Has anyone had any luck with at home sandblasters? Been looking at a few different options from Harbor Freight, Lowe’s, etc. wanted to see if anyone has experience with them. Also, what grit works best for sandblast media?

[rmaynard 17,415]

This kind of blaster is okay, but there is a lot of waste. Placing a blanket or tarp behind your work helps catch your media. You must wear eye protection .  Also, be careful to be sure that you turn off the air and bleed the tank before disconnecting any hose. I learned the hard way just today.

I disconnected the pressure hose and there was still 120psi in the tank. I am not going to show how I sanded the back of my hand, just the bandage.

 

 

[ri702bill 12,414]

You do that once, and it is a forever memory thst you will not repeat!

[ri702bill 12,414]

we have 2 dedicated blasters. The tabletop unit is for fine work, and uses glass bead media. The larger floor cabinet is from Harbor Freight. Used for general sandblasting - we use coal slag from TSC in that one. Out of the box the HFT floor unit leaves a lot to be desired; we have done about a half dozen upgrades - well woth it. Most are available on YouTube.

Edited 9 hours ago by ri702bill

[rmaynard 17,415]

8 minutes ago, ri702bill said:

.Out of the box the HFT floor unit leaves a lot to be desired; we have do about a half dozen upgrades - well woth it. Most are available on YouTube.

Been there, done that. Some mods are better than others but they sure beat the out-of-the-box version.

[sqrlgtr 3,192]

55 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

I sanded the back of my hand, just the bandage.

 

ouch 

[sqrlgtr 3,192]

I have this one and it works well but like mentioned above there is a lot of waste. I always thought a one-piece old shower would make a good way to catch the media while blasting but have never found one somebody was throwing out.

[squonk 47,297]

If you want a Cabinet, cut loose with the cash and get a TP Tools cabinet. The money you'll spend on mods on a cheapie ain't worth it. TP also has a better gun, and accessories like foot pedals, carbide nozzles and vacuums.

 

An air compressor that can handle sandblasting is half the battle! 

 

https://www.tptools.com/

[ri702bill 12,414]

13 minutes ago, squonk said:

An air compressor that can handle sandblasting is half the battle! 

Our 60 gallon 2HP Vertical can keep up with the glass bead unit, struggles to do about an 80% duty cycle on the larger one.

The TP Tools gun was one of the cabinet upgrades.

[pfrederi 20,830]

Get a TP Tool cabinet, The HF one didn't have enough slope the media would not get back down to be picked up

[WHX?? 57,289]

1 hour ago, squonk said:

cut loose with the cash if you have filled deep pockets like me. 

There fixed that... 

The HF cab works good and even with all the mods bet I ain't got 200 in it. 

Lots of threads here on them and like said y tube. 

Make your own cyclone bucket works too. 

I use the coal slag form TSC. 

 

Yah big thing is the air supply. 11-12 cfm @90 PSI minimum for most cabs. 

[Natejc_98 21]

5 minutes ago, WHX?? said:

There fixed that... 

The HF cab works good and even with all the mods bet I ain't got 200 in it. 

Lots of threads here on them and like said y tube. 

Make your own cyclone bucket works too. 

I use the coal slag form TSC. 

 

Yah big thing is the air supply. 11-12 cfm @90 PSI minimum for most cabs. 

Might just stick with the angle grinder for time being 😂

[Brockport Bill 2,409]

I do a few rehab projects with grandsons each year...mostly decks,  seat pans, few footrests, an occasional plow blade, etc.....some need more rust cleaning than others..if not very severe rust or pitting, then grinder, wire wheel,  scaler etc often get job done.  However,  I did do some consideration couple years ago to buy blaster....Instead, I use a nearby fairly priced professional sand blaster who has done various projects for me... Every one of us has different considerations, but for me I'd rather have him deal with all the downside issues of doing the blasting than me. .... I'm happy dropping project with him and picking it up few days later. No $ cost for me to buy and maintain equipment, buy media, no mess, no labor,  no sweating, no clean up,  no health considerations, etc....and great perfectly finished beautiful bare metal piece