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 12,412]

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

[ri702bill 12,412]

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 1 hour 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 3,190]

55 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

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

 

ouch 

[sqrlgtr 3,190]

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 12,412]

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