Blasting Cabinet (and compressor woes)
Stopped by HF today, got a blasting cabinet because I was sick of having to go outside and wasting media and getting cold/wet etc. Ended up with one that was a bit bigger than I really wanted, but they didn’t have the smaller (and more expensive) one in stock so this is what I came home with –
The auto drain on my compressor has been acting up, The o-ring that came with it failed within a day so I replaced them all. I thought about buying another one while I was in the store just in case because they are only $10…. but decided not to for the sake of a 10 cent o-ring. stripped it, put new o-rings in and that fixed one leak, then found another coming from where it shouldnt even with no o-rings so I rolled it over and…..
I found my receipt from last June, found the manual online, the SKU and part number and called customer service.
Everything going fine, sending me a new part then he drops the “We don’t stock that, comes direct from manufacturer so will take 8 weeks”….
I told him forget it. Will just order an entire new auto drain online I guess. Unless I can find something similar – maybe some JB weld will hold until I can get a replacement.
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Y.N., reading what Mike says about the glass dust makes me think it would be a good idea to vent the vac. exhaust to the outside. Also thanks for the link to the auto drain, I never would have guessed they were that cheap. I take it they are “Universal” and would work on a standard compressor tank?
Its an auto drain. there’s an airline that you connect to the pressure switch by cutting and adding a T connector to the line that goes to it – lets out a short blast everytime the compressor kicks on and off.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46960
and the installation manual
http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/46000-46999/46960.pdf
Really wasnt at all difficult to install.
Is that an automatic (auto) drain or just a valve that makes it handy to drain it manually?
I ask because the one at work is automatic and bleeds off any fluids in the tank a couple times a day. It uses electricity though and the one you show looks likes its mechanical only? If so I will have to get one for my compressor ).
There is a good chance you can get that fitting at your local Airgas/Gaspro. Even out here, in the middle of nowhere, they have a pretty good selection of that stuff.
Another option is to replace it with fittings of your own choice. It’s as easy as matching the thread sizes. Couple close nipples, a TEE, and you are good to go.
Well, some of it anyway. It will mostly catch the fine dust from the shattered glass beads. Not much of the really glass beads will go into it. It is almost like talcum powder. That why you need the vacum in the first place, It is so fine, that it will still get out of the cabinet and into the mill ways, and screw and bushings. It will really fuck up your mill in short order. Killing the precision. 🙁
Not to mention you lungs. 😉
Mike
Ask me why my lungs are fucked up. 😉
Was looking at a wall mount vac in sears/home depot. Have a big shop vac already but would definitly like to keep the dust level down and if I dedicate a vac to this I can just pour the media back in right?
Thing in my mill is a webcam in a housing I made – used as an edge/centerfinder.
It works great, unfortunatly the computer I use as a CNC Controller cant run the webcam and the cnc software to make it usable. Cheaper to buy a touch probe than upgrade the PC.
Web cam in a quill, well I never. 😆
A cheap vacum like the Rigid or similar at home depot or Lowe’s will make it a LOT easier to see what your doing in the cabinet, Especially when you get the flow figured out with the gun. Not to mention keeping the dust out of your shop. It doesn’t take much abrasive dust to ruin your mill ways!!! Those vacuum’s are only a little over 30.00 bucks. Cheap insurance.
Ask me why my lungs are fucked up. 😉
Nice. A friend of mine was liquidating 50 years of stuff from a shop and had 2 of them he was trying to give away… but the smaller of the 2 stood about 10 feet high and I didn’t have the room to store it. Yours is a nice size.
walt
mine was a little weak when i first got it and the tube always seemed to get kinked ,it has been much better since i replaced the plastic tube with a thicker one from the hardware store
Flow is fine – Maybe you have a wider nozzle installed? I assumed all the nozzles it came with were the same and just spares but they are different sizes.
How is the flow from your gun?
Is is strong or weak.
Mine is kinda weak
Been searching my shop (which I now have to rearrange after clearing off the table) to find things to blast… just for the sake of it.
Went outside and grabbed the handheld sand blaster I was using which was rusty.
I taped the vacuum port. Going to put some scotchbrite in the vent to reduce dust coming out of there but even as is its a hell of a lot tidier than the time I tried using baking soda in my gravity fed gun in middle of my shop and ended up with rust on every exposed metal surface in my shop (I now use glass).
Thing in my mill is a webcam in a housing I made – used as an edge/centerfinder.
It works great, unfortunatly the computer I use as a CNC Controller cant run the webcam and the cnc software to make it usable. Cheaper to buy a touch probe than upgrade the PC.
Same one I have in the shop. Hooking up a vacum to the hole on the left side make life a lot easier. 😉
What is that chucked up in your mill?
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Thank you, I will have to pick one up ).