"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

I have two blast cabinents in my shop, one with 60 grit aluminum oxide, the
other with glassbeads. They have turned out to be the most usefull equipment in
the entire shop. Second most usefull is my 1X42 belt sander!