Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Non-Petro Discussions Non-petro Discussion and Showcase blasting cabinet

just wondering your opinions on blasting cabinets
I bought a tp tools scat basting cabinet with the dust vac.
they claim it is virtually dust free and if I vent it outside or use a final filter it would be even better. a friend of mine says it will create a lot of dust and I will hate it.
he has an older cabinet without the dust vac and am hoping mine will be better.
I keep a clean shop and have a lot of my pumps in there and along with my collector cars.
I was originally hoping to use the attached garage for my workshop and the detached shop for my collection, but it didn't work out that way.
just looking for some feedback before I hook this thing up

thanks for any ideas

Hi Shawn,

I've had both a TP Tools blast cabinet and now a cabinet from Bad Boy Blasters. Both have the vacuum, and I have no dust problems whatsoever. The issue with your friend is the lack of a vacuum...

Jeff

Yep, agree, it's the vacuum. When my vacuum gets clogged up you can't see in the cabinet because of all the dust suspended inside.

thanks for your input guys
I was hoping for the answers you gave me. the way my friend talked, it would be all over my shop and destroy everything and I would be better off paying someone else to do the blasting.
I thought with the pumps and coke machines plus two cars waiting in the wings to be done, it would pay for itself not to mention worrying that parts would get lost.
just gotta get my compressor plumbed in and get the cabinet up and running. can't wait!
been collecting this stuff for so long, it would be nice to actually get to work on something lol

thanks again

I like the black media that tractor supply TSC sells.

i'll have to keep that in mind, any idea cost per bag?
cleans pretty quickly?
thanks

Can't recall the price, the beads are larger and don't stick together in the hopper when the humidity is high like the fine silica oxide does.

At the refinery they put a separate shed outside the maintenance shop to put our blaster in so the dust would not get into the bearings for equipment we were working on. Our blasters were the big commercial ones with vacuums. Mitch

I have two blast cabinets, one small one that I keep glass beads in for smaller delicate parts and a large one with silica media for heavier work. The small one has a vacuum on it but the large one I built with a forced air evacuation system that pushes the dust outside the building through a vent pipe. Both are in a back corner room of the shop separate from the work and display areas. Even with a good vac or evacuation system you will get a small amount of airborne dust if you blast a lot, it's just hard to contain it. The TP systems are very good though and you shouldn't have a big problem if you keep your filters clean.....GB.

thanks for your input guys
puts my mind at ease about buying it

You won't regret having a cabinet. It's one of those indispensable tools that gets used all the time. It's so nice to just throw a single part in, blast it quick, and have it ready for paint, Polish, whatever. Much more convenient and less messy than those outdoor blasters.

I've been using the largest sandblaster that Harbor Freight makes. It holds 100lb bag; but it's the pressurized tank model
that you use outside. It does a great job, but I'm tired of buying sand. I've had one of their blasting cabinets and sold it after a year. I won't ever buy another one of those. I've been looking for about a month now at blasting cabinets on ebay and craigslist. IMO I think you get what you pay for. I'm about to purchase one and it will definitely have a dust collection system with it; and I'm looking for one large enough
that I can put pretty good size parts in and if I have some visible gas pump skins that I need to blast, I'll keep my old one for those larger parts that I can just blast outside in the back yard.
This has been a great thread to read. Thanks for all the input from everyone.

that's how I feel, I have heard of parts getting lost at the blasters and waiting long for stuff to get blasted. figured with it in my own shop, I could use it when ever need be.
I have a two car attached garage and I built a second garage in the back . originally I wanted to use the attached garage for workshop and new garage for display. but with the car torn apart for resto and parts everywhere it doesn't leave room for the truck to be inside. so the new shop became my work area also. I was paranoid that it was going to get destroyed inside. I talked to my friend again and he said he has no vacuum hooked to it so with that and his being an older cheaper cabinet that doesn't seal well, I can see where he has issues with dust. I really researched a cabinet before buying the TP tools cabinet. I also bought my compressor from them and few other things---been very happy with their customer service. excellent to deal with.
I just wanted some opinions from you guys that actually use one as I know some places will just tell you what you want to hear.
thanks everyone--much appreciated

I found a blasting cabinet! Thought I would share a photo of it.
It has it's own dust collector and recycles the blasting material. I had to drive a couple hours to get it, but I think I got a great deal at $400. And it came with two rebuilt motors for the dust collector, extra nozzles, new hoses and a new bag of blasting media. It's a little big, but I can fit just about anything I want in this thing.

That looks like a jewel and for $400 you can't go wrong. Mitch