Sandblasting Kit siphon style... anyone use one?

[yoothgeye]

Made by Campbell Hausfeld, cost under $20 with free shipping. Does anyone have a review on a blaster like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hausfeld ... 436&sr=1-1

If it will use just basic sandbox sand I might go for it.

 

[jerrykr]

yes, I have one, not the exact one. It works, but takes LOTS of air compressor to support it.

I don't have an air compressor that will handle it, borrowed one for a time, typical garage style on wheels, worked but runs the tank empty pretty fast. Patience!

Kids sandbox sand from Home Depot works, but real sand blaster sand is "sharper" and will cut better. More Expensive of course.

You will have the sand everywhere when you get done. Wear a resperator.

 

[RestoRodSchwinn]

yes, I have one, not the exact one. It works, but takes LOTS of air compressor to support it.

I don't have an air compressor that will handle it, borrowed one for a time, typical garage style on wheels, worked but runs the tank empty pretty fast. Patience!

Kids sandbox sand from Home Depot works, but real sand blaster sand is "sharper" and will cut better. More Expensive of course.

You will have the sand everywhere when you get done. Wear a resperator.

What he said. The Home Depot sand will work, but it will be kinda slow. I do it out in my gravel RV parking strip, then rake it in afterward. A little rain, and the sand disappears. Second the respirator recommendation, and add eye protection. I use one of those big shields. Sometimes I wear a hoodie over the whole thing to try and keep the sand out of my hair.

 

[axelrod]

I had one similar to it. I used it once and never used it again. It makes a huge mess. You will have to run the sand through a strainer to re-use it. You will also be sandblasing yourself as you are blasting your part. It may work better if you build a cabinet to contain the sand and blast your part in there. That will add $$$$$ to the $20 price though. I would go for one of the blast cabinets at Northern, Harbor Freight, or Craigslist and have the big stuff blasted at a powder coating business. Also, glass bead blasting works very well on rusty parts and will not eat through the metal as quickly as sand.

 

[jerrykr]

check to see if "soda blasting" is available in your area. special process to blast with baking soda, does not heat up the metal (no warpage). It will be pricey, unless you can talk them into a cash deal and do it when they have another job going.

 

[pick]

You will be better off using sand made for sandblasting. Regular sand contains silica which creates a super fine dust that is very damaging to your lungs. Always wear a respirator when sandblasting whether in a cabinet or even outdoors no matter what media you are using. A blasting cabinet allows you to reuse the sand, so you get more bang for your buck. You can build a cabinet yourself with wood that works just as well as a prefab metal one. Google DIY sandblasting cabinet for ideas & how to build one. I use the sand from Tractor Supply, 80# grit & always use a respirator.

 

[KJV]

wear a sandblasting hood.
the siphen type blaster works fine;As long as your compressor can handle to cfm.thats the case with
all blasters.self protection is the main concern.

 

[outskirtscustoms]

I've used one and as said they do take a good compressor to run them, mine I had about 5 minutes of run time then let the air build up for a few and run again. I actually got a small kiddie pool and filled it with sandbox sand so it just re-circulates and I didn't loose too much sand. Definitely wear your protective gear and wear some work cloths cause you're bound to be wearing whatever comes off the bike. :wink:

 

[axsepul]

I had one similar to it. I used it once and never used it again.

if you want to sell it let me know

 

[axelrod]

I had one similar to it. I used it once and never used it again.

if you want to sell it let me know

I got rid of it about 10 years ago!

 

[Tailwinds]

I've been saving my pennies since Christmas and just took the plunge last week, ordered a media blast cabinet large enough to house a bike frame, includes a foot pedal, lights, AND integral vacuum air filter, and 50lbs of #8 glass bead. I also bought a 60gal 11.5cfm @90psi compressor to run it.
I REALLY did not WANT a large cabinet or big compressor, but, after searching and searching for that cheap, concise, thoroughly effective, and CLEAN way to media blast I concluded that what I hoped to find just doesn't exists, not even close, so I bit the bullet, spent the money and did it right.
So far, so good. I can essentially run that 60 gallon compressor indefinitely and it keeps up with the blasting just fine.

Week before last I was working on just two pre-war fender stays, they had multiple layers of paint. First I sprayed on the nasty paint stripper, which after 30min. had barely accomplished anything, then after cleaning all the horrible stripper off I spent the next hour sanding and sanding those two little fender stays with barely acceptable results. I gave up and said I'd wait until I got the media blaster, which I did, and after 5min in the blasting cabinet they were down to bare metal. Wiped them down with lacquer thinner and immediately applied the etching primer.

Like I said, I really didn't WANT the expense of that blasting setup, nor the loss of real estate in my shop, but so far it's been a REVELATION!

As anyone who's really looked into it knows, compressors and blasting cabinets are pricey, sometimes EXTREMELY pricey, not to mention the cost of fittings, filter/dryers, and electrical cable these days. For anyone that's really interested, PM me and we can discuss my setup and associated costs.

Food for thought.

 

[X-RAY]

i like your kiddie pool idea osc, just have to keep it covered to keep the rain and cats out. :lol: seriously, how do you filter it?

 

[outskirtscustoms]

i like your kiddie pool idea osc, just have to keep it covered to keep the rain and cats out. :lol: seriously, how do you filter it?

I used to just keep it covered. Whatever paint and rust particles that was in it I'd just leave it in, didn't hurt anything. I always cleaned the parts before blasting to keep dirt out of it as much as possible. Once in a while I'd run it through a screen to separate chunks.

 

[Lonewolf]

Those little suitcases suck. They work, but they suck. You have to have a 20 gal capacity, $500 air compressor and they are weak.

You can use the sand from home depot, but you have to spread it on a baking pan and get it hot! For a log time. It's like 5% water.

Even if you THINK it's dry, I assure you it isn't. If you try to put that through your blaster, it will get all lodged up.

After the over blast, you must pour your sand through a window screen to ensure the particulate matter is small enough to get through the nozzle.

I once blasted a bicycle frame with an entire ant pile, ants and all.

That was kinda fun.

 

[smashcrush]

Those cheapie sandblasters do work. All they are all about the same. The only problem with these is the nozzle diameter is large and uses a lot of air. I would see if you could use a smaller nozzle. Most of these have interchangeable nozzle sizes.

Also, sometimes its hard to keep enough abrasive going directly into the pickup tube consistently. The best way to do it is to have a funnel directing abrasive into the pickup tube above which can be rigged up easily.

You can also read some more info of sandblasters here.