Harbor Freight Blasting Cabinet.

[km3h 543]

Has anyone used the Blasting Cabinet from Harbor Freight? Is it any good? Been looking at it lately and have a hunger for one.

[rayshorses 102]

I have one. It is the one that has the legs on it. It works great. We were able to fit most of the D-200 parts in there.  I also got the air drier from them and mounted it at the cabinet with a quick coupler. It takes about 2 hours to assemble it. Make sure you seal all of the seams so no dust escapes while you are using it. There is a port on it for a shop vac that will keep the inside from filling with dust.You want a vacuum just strong enough to suck the dust and not the sandblast media.I started with harbor freight sand @ $35.00 per pail but switched to black beauty medium grit @ $6.00 per bag...works great.

[pacer 3,174]

I have both the small and the large cabinets. I first bought the small one and while it had some features I didnt like, I quickly found that a blast cabinet was a HUGE help in cleaning parts. So I started watching for the big cabinet to get at or below $200 and didnt have to wait too long before it was shown for $189 and armed with a 20% coupon I jumped on it --- OH it is SWEET!! Better fit and finish, has a light and changing media is a breeze and is a fair good bit larger (the small cabinet has no light and changing media is a bi***) Mind you, my cabinets are some 4-5 yrs old and there could have been changes made - YMMV.

 

I did have one glitch, the gun in the big cabinet was different and I could NOT get it to work - on inspection I found that where the nozzle seated in the gun it was creating a venturi and compressing the air causing moisture and thereby causing clumping of the media quickly stopping it up. Went over to the small cabinet and borrowed its gun and worked perfectly - its one of the simple bucket siphon type and sell on ebay for about $20.

 

I use a Black Beauty from TSC and glass bead.

Edited August 24, 2014 by pacer

[Wishin4a416 2,191]

We have one at work and it gets the job done. Not like a walk in model but works fine for tractor parts. I too use black beauty I get it from my local block and masonry supply yard.

[AMC RULES 37,141]

Wonder...do they leak lots of dust into your work area? 

[rmaynard 15,690]

My neighbor bought the big one with legs a year ago. He wants to sell it to me for $100.00. I have used it and here is what my verdict is:

 

It leaks. If you get one, seal all the corners, and joints with silicone caulk.

It leaks. Oh did I say that already? Connect a large shop vac to it that can handle all the dust. Even with that, you will have dust all over the shop.

It requires a lot of air volume. He has a 60 gal. 5 HP 165 PSI compressor and it runs most of the time.

The internal light that comes with it is useless. Get a couple of flood lights and wire them up inside so you can see through the dust.

Call customer service and order a couple dozen plastic window protector sheets. You will need them. The half dozen they ship with the cabinet will be used up quickly.

 

Otherwise, it does a pretty good job of blasting.

 

I use 80 grit glass beads.

[km3h 543]

I believe I will take the chance and try one. I think I can mount it on wheels or a dolly and roll it out of the shop when I use it. I have a large compressor and plenty of air so that should not be a problem. I also have two shop vacs a large one and smaller one so that won't be a problem either. As for the sealing I will either use calk or maybe rubber strips. Do you think rubber insulating strips would work. I have plenty of 20% coupons so I will watch for the next sale.

 

Thanks for your comments.  

[AMC RULES 37,141]

  Good idea, mounting it on wheels. 

[Wishin4a416 2,191]

Dust has not been an issue with mine but as Bob says, check all sealing points. I did add some silicone to some areas. We have ours hooked to a big sears vac with no filter and piped outside.

[km3h 543]

Dust has not been an issue with mine but as Bob says, check all sealing points. I did add some silicone to some areas. We have ours hooked to a big sears vac with no filter and piped outside.

Like to see a photo of that setup.

[pacer 3,174]

I added wheels to mine - glad I did, has come in handy. After using 2-3 different vacuum systems and not being completely satisfied, I finally got a dedicated blast cabinet vacuum system from Enco, it REALLY works! Like HF Enco often offers % off codes and I grabbed a %20 and free ship, and that eased the cost. I also added a switch to control the vac and light.

 

http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PMAKA=803-0027

 

Dust --- theres probably gonna be a certain amount of dust, just the nature of the beast. As mentioned, pay careful attention on assy and use caulk or weather stripping on any possible weak areas. For instance, when you open the door there always fallout from build up at the door edge. I have very little leakage on mine, but still, on cleaning the glass and after a cleaning session there will usually be a bit of dust on the glass.

 

I tried using the window protectors and found that with the somewhat cloudy view through them and them further hazing so quickly that I just gave up on them, you also have to have the inside glass very clean or they wont stick. After using the cabinet for as long as I have, I have learned to keep the object being cleaned and the gun positioned to get the best angle away from the glass, if pointed for just a brief time the glass will badly haze. I can usually get quite a good life from a glass. I just buy 3-4 replacement glass at a time and change it out.

 

 

[speedyleedy 205]

I have one It works great ! I  upgraded the gun & pickup I got it from a company called scat that makes bigger cabinet . As far as dust like Bob said none here but when cleaning or striping parts there always going to be dirt & dust I guess.

[AMC RULES 37,141]

Like to see a photo of that setup.

Ditto.   

[squonk 41,589]

If you are serious about blasting go to TP Tools website and read up about blasting ,nozzles vacuums. and air delivery. Anything you would want to know is there

[Geno 1,929]

I have a large HF one with the doors on each end, wheels on it, and the vac made for it.  I've used it a lot for 20 years and it still works great.     

 

The blaster is a Central Pneumatic 47603 and the dust collector is a Central Machinery 02448.

 

Well I just looked on HF and it looks like they don't have these anymore. You may search the numbers and find them somewhere else though.

Edited August 25, 2014 by Geno

[Geno 1,929]

Hey Nick, there's a lot of them on CL!  

[CTBT&D 77]

As mentioned above, I used a kit from TP Tools that supplies you with all the hardware. It came with plans to build the cabinet with plywood. I modified the plans to a larger unit. Cabinet measures 24" high, 30" deep and 60" wide.

[Fun Engineer 859]

I bought a HF about 4-5 years ago. I love the fact that I can blast small parts without having to set up outside with my pressure blaster which is way messier than the blast cabinet.

Have no problems with leakage except when you open the door.

I have two issues with the cabinet:

First is the cheesy plastic glass covers, they don't last very long so you definitely need to get a extra package or two.

Second is they need an internal baffle for the vacuum port. I tend to suck a lot of media through the vacuum so I made a cyclone dust collector that goes between my blaster and my vacuum so that any media I suck up drops into the cyclone.

I also use allergen style vacuum bags along with the normal pleated filter in my vacuum. It prolongs the life of my pleated filter and helps to reduce or eliminate any blow-by.

I also put a cart under mine. It makes it easier to move when I need access through my back door.

A good water filterseparator is a must have at the cabinet, otherwise you're media will clog up.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Fun Engineer

[moltobennyg 0]

, are you still on this forum ...I have some questions about your dust collector , I need help  concerning the central machinery  P 2448  , Im puzzled about setup , n cant find help or manual  thanxz  Ben

[dahbomb 0]

check this out

has a bunch of mods 

looks interesting

https://www.partswasherupgradekit.com/blast-cabinet-kit.html

 

[953 nut 56,079]

On 2/3/2019 at 12:43 AM, moltobennyg said:

, are you still on this forum ...I have some questions about your dust collector , I need help  concerning the central machinery  P 2448  , Im puzzled about setup , n cant find help or manual  thanxz  Ben

Haven't seen the @Fun Engineer posting anything for a few months. Please start a new post under "Introductions" and tell us about yourself and ask your question there.   https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/47-introductions/

[953 nut 56,079]

1 hour ago, dahbomb said:

check this out

has a bunch of mods 

looks interesting

https://www.partswasherupgradekit.com/blast-cabinet-kit.html

 

Welcome to Red Square, please tell us a bit about yourself and your  by doing an "Introduction" post.       https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/47-introductions/