On 1 Jun 2004 10:12:33 -0700, (Ronnie Lyons, Meridian, Idaho) wrote:
I recently acquired a bead blasting cabinet and like the idea, but not
the consequences. The first time I used it I discovered it leaked
glass beads all over the place, which I attributed to the lack of a
vent for the pressure to escape. When I used it, the inbound airflow
would collapse the gloves on my hands so I knew it was building up a
lot of internal pressure anf forcing beads out anywhere they could
come out.

I attached a vent out the back, made of 1-1/2 PVC. It comes out, drops
down to the floor then turns vertical for about 7 feet, open at the
top. That helped a lot, but the vent still spews a fine mist of glass
beads in the exhaust air, which settles out all over the shop.

I guess I'm a little stumped when it comes to the finer points of
blast cabinets. This thing leaks beads out of every screw hole, around
every attachment...if there's a hole or gap, she leaks. Even the edges
where the cabinet bolts together with a gasket, and the frame around
the window glass, they all leak.

I'm considering tearing it completely apart and siliconing the hell
out of everything to keep the beads in, but the vent is still a
problem. What am I going to put on the end of the 1-1/2 PVC pipe to
let the air out and keep the bead dust in? Any points on venting this
beast? Thanks!

The blast cabinet needs to be maintained at negative pressure while
in use. A dust collector should be attached to the vent (a ShopVac
will work for a small cabinet, but the bag filter style dust collectors
used by woodworkers would be better). Vent the vacuum cleaner
*outdoors* so that the fine dust doesn't wind up everywhere inside
your shop..

Gary