"The Hurdy Gurdy Man" wrote in message
...

I've been thinking about purchasing a small and inexpensive (Harbor
Freight, to be precise) sandblasting cabinet but as I've never used a

Lots of great comments, more experience than mine.

I have a small (24"?) plastic glass bead blast cabinet and a large (38")
steel sand blast cabinet and find that to be a decent mix. The 38" is OK
but it has an end door and for the same space I would buy the lift-top style
to do again.

I have read you can't use regular blast grit in a plastic cabinet as it will
eat the cabinet quickly.

My compressor is a light duty C-H 5 hp rated 17 CFM but it warns to not run
it over 50% duty cycle. I would not have bought it if that was noted on the
crate not just the fine print inside, but that was ~ 8 years ago and it is
still OK.

It will take longer than you think to clean up a cheap hot rolled angle by
blasting alone.

On the topic of dust collection. IMO, forget about the dust collectors that
come with the affordable units. In a small shop the shop-vac types will
kill you with fine dust. IMO the only kind you can discharge into the air
right next to you, and your fine machine tools ways, is a multistage type
like a cyclone with a large-surface pleated filter.

My last setup was in the woods with no neighbors so I ran it into a woodshop
cyclone dust collector, the cyclone caught maybe 99% of the dust and the air
and remaining fine dust was dumped outside behind the shop, where I never
saw a trace of it on the ground or on any surface.

I had some luck with a large shop vac with a HEPA filter. Wouldn't use
anything less discharging indoors. In my new setup I will use the cyclone
dust collector again and want it to discharge back into the shop, but have
not decided through what kind of filter media.

Bob