DIY Home Built Vapor Blasting/ Honing Cabinet , wetblasting

[grannyknot]

18 minutes ago, Patcon said:

Very nice! What are the dimensions of the main grid? How large is the entry door? I was looking a building a new blasting cabinet that would take larger items. Lots of good ideas here...

Thanks, inside dimensions are 29"x21"  door opening 19"x 18" and diagonally 23".  Now that it's done I wish I had put a hinge at the top of the front viewing panel and just forgot about the side door altogether. I haven't installed a wiper yet, I am hoping I can get away with coating the inside of the viewing window with Rainx instead. Can't wait to try it out.

[Patcon]

Look forward to the review

[grannyknot]

Got tired of waiting for it to warm up and just filled the hopper from a 5 gal. bucket, I also added the air line and it is absolutely needed. Glass beads are a lot smaller than I thought, same consistency as fine sugar. Most of the blasting was done with 60psi air, approx 8 gal water and 500 ml of glass beads, each piece was given about a minute of blasting time.

The jack stand is about 50yrs old, the header is stainless steel and has been in use for 17yrs, the plum bob is very hard old brass, I thought it would clean up much better than it did, the last is rusty common steel. I also did some galvanized fittings and the blasting did nothing to the zinc, but it removes anodizing from aluminum in a flash.

 

 

[Patcon]

Good results. I think the beads I am currently using dry are about half that size

If you're gonna insist on using that thing in the snow you are gonna need to add a heater... .

[240260280]

I'm preparing to enter the ring but with a twist: power washer rather than air compressor to wet blast with glass. 

It should be possible to recycle the water and filter it to keep any glass out of the high pressure pump however I will start with fresh water when the outside temps warm up.  If the high pressure with my Honda gas powered washer works then I'll try a lower powered electric washer.

 

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/pressure-washer-abrasive-blasting-kit/A-p8067399e

[duffymahoney]

Just remember the glass beads are microscopic. It would just to wash up or filter. 

[grannyknot]

2 hours ago, Patcon said:

If you're gonna insist on using that thing in the snow you are gonna need to add a heater...

Funny you should mention that, I guess the metal I was blasting was colder than the air temp because every piece I pulled out of the cabinet had a thin layer of ice on it.

[Patcon]

11 hours ago, grannyknot said:

Funny you should mention that, I guess the metal I was blasting was colder than the air temp because every piece I pulled out of the cabinet had a thin layer of ice on it.

Venturi effect...

[Captain Obvious]

Nice work on the cabinet! So do you think the results are different than straight up glass bead blasting?

[duffymahoney]

5 minutes ago, Captain Obvious said:

Nice work on the cabinet! So do you think the results are different than straight up glass bead blasting?

Totally different. Vapor won’t even remove zinc. 

It just picks dirt out of the surface. I am using much more fine glass though. 

[siteunseen]

I understand how those gastric "lap bands" work now.  That ring has never been off and would not even if you tried.  Congratulations! 

[grannyknot]

7 hours ago, duffymahoney said:

I am using much more fine glass though. 

What size grit are you using? I think my is 50-80 grit.

6 hours ago, siteunseen said:

I understand how those gastric "lap bands" work now.  That ring has never been off and would not even if you tried.  Congratulations! 

Been on there for 34 yrs, it use to have a braided rope design on both edges, wore off decades ago. My wife says " It makes me feel claustrophobic just looking at you finger" I say "No honey, that's just me that makes you feel like that way"