Help with assembly of blast cabinet!

[MadScientist]

Hey all,

My wife got me an air compressor (Craftsman 6.5hp 150 PSI) for fathers day and now she says I can get a cabinet for my birthday (this weekend).  Harbor freight has one for around $200.  What does the typical hookup look like?  Compressor->hose->something to dry the air-> cabinet?  Ive used one before, but never realy paid atention to how it was plumbed.  Also, whats an all around good media for light rust removal on small parts?  Any other sugestions welcome too!

Thanks in advance.

MS

[Chryco Psycho]

use glass bead
the compressed air goes through a foot valve to the nozzle , the media hose hoks to the bottom of the nozzle & is drawn in with a venturi in the nozzle

[palindromes]

The one I'm using is probably the one you're looking at.  It's setup where you connect to a short (whip-like) air hose that goes inside the cabinet...no drier or anything.  There's also a port where you hook-up a vacuum cleaner to keep the dust down in the cabinet.  I'm assuming the one you're looking at comes with a light...if not, it'd be well worth the investment.  Even with the cabinet light on, I still have to turn off the garage lights to really see what's going on in there.

I agree w/ Chryco that the glass beads are the way to go for light rust on small parts or soft metals(very little pitting), otherwise I've been using crushed garnet which is quite a bit cheaper & works fine on cast parts where the fine pitting it causes is unnoticeable.

[MadScientist]

What about putting some sort of drier in-line before the foot valve to prevent clumping?  Also, can a shop vac be used  for the dust clearance?  Will I need the vac to see what Im doing?

Thanks for the media advice too!  I just hope the cabinet Im looking at will fit my dual snorkel air cleaner in there!

MS

[palindromes]

The one I'm using doesn't have any kind of drier on it & seems to work fine so far.  The parts I've been blasting were pretty-well degreased and dry if that has anything to do with it.  The blaster I'm using doesn't have a pedal but just a hand trigger you pull(on the gun itself).  I thought I'd find the thing intermittantly jamming-up (like the hand-held one I have) but no problems so far, knock on wood.  I did have to play with different sizes of those ceramic tips before I found the one that worked the best.

I'm using one of the little shop vacs & it works fine.  It does help with the dust in the cabinet, but I only turn it on if I'm blasting a bigger object that takes more than a couple minutes to finish.

I'm actually borrowing this one from a guy who's never used it so it's still brand new.  I like having it so much I'm considering just keeping it & buying him a new one.  Good luck with the purchase, I doubt you'll be disappointed!

[Ghoste]

A drier is going to depend on how wet the air is you're supplying to it in the first place.  More critical with painting air.

[MadScientist]

Well thats good to know.  The first time I used the compressor it was blowing a bunch of moisture, but its gotten better.  Also, would glass beads work on cleaning up a set of exhaust manifolds (not overly rusty)?  How is it on removing paint?

MS

[The Mad Scientist]

bead works great with surface rust and okay with light scale if you can be patient. 

If I'm not mistaken that cabinet you've got your eye on has a port for a shop vac and a built in light. 

[palindromes]

I'd just use the cheap stuff for run-of-the-mill cast exhaust manifolds.  Garnet or even raw sand would work fine.  If you do use sand, you need to be aware of the whole 'silicosis' risk though.  ...And personally, I'd wear a respirator no matter what the media you use...even with a blast cabinet.