Homemade bead blasting container

[fspGTD]

Check it out guys - I am making a homebrew bead blast cabinet.  I wanted something to use to clean mostly small car parts.  Like say, little turbocharger pieces and aluminum VE pump pieces.  But I figured if it was big enough to hold a 14"x6" wheel, I could use it for all kinds of things.

Inspired by some sources on the internet, (mostly John Henry's BugShop FAQ here) I decided to try making my own bead blast cabinet out of a big plastic tub.  Mostly because it could be lightweight enough to easily store up on a shelf when not in use (and not permanently occupy valuable shop floor or bench space.)  Recycling the media would work easily I figured, by just picking up the tub and pouring the old media out into a media hopper.

I sourced a suction-feed hopper and sand blast gun (with trigger control) from harbor freight, in addition to some sand blast gloves.  For the tub, I found a 22 gallon unit from Wal-Mart that seemed to fit the bill.  I added a plexiglass piece for the window, sourced from the hardware store.



To install the gloves, I cut a hole in the side of the tub, shoved a large, tight-fitting plastic plumbing adapter through, and then hose-clamped the glove to the adapter on the inside, tightly against the wall of the tub.  I added a shop vac filter to allow the container to "breathe."

The first part I tested was a piece of old welded cast aluminum scrap, which went in looking quite ugly, darkened and oxidized from the welding process.  I started at only 30 psi and found it effective enough to clean the part.  Upping the pressure to 50 psi seemed to make it go a little quicker, and my air compressor had no problems keeping up either.  It didn't seem to demand more air than die grinding did.  For the next time, I'm going to try a higher pressure yet.  Or maybe will try enlarging the air orifice size.

I found after the first test, that a light sprinkling of glass beads got out from underneath the lid.  I'll have to rework the lid seal, probably adding some foam weatherstripping, to try and keep all the beads inside the container.

I only installed one glove into the cabinet for part holding so far, and I stick the gun through a small hole I made for just the nozzle to pass to blast the part inside.  This keeps the gun lines, etc out of the tub and gives more working room inside there for large parts.  But I'm debating adding another glove hole.  It would allow me to more comfortably bring the gun nozzle close to small parts.  It is a work in progress...

[Northern RD]

Well done!!

[BlackTieTD]

haha awesome jake! i've been thinking about this and you're right.. i don't want to take up valuable floor space with a dedicated cabinet. this is a great idea for a smaller workspace.

[wyldman]

Princess auto sells cheap little blasting cabinets,which are pretty much the same as your design,but with two gloves and an internal nozzle\gun.

Lanny,next time your by the shop,you can take a look at the one I have.

Nice job on the homemade version.Cheap and effective,and much lighter than a steel cabinet.

[hillfolk'r]

i was figurin to hillfolk somethin up when i get moved back to ny,room wont be much of a problem so somethin big i will build   :twisted: ,use an old cabinet or somethin,,wouldnt be a big deal too,thats sweet though,,small is good too,,smallparts wont go too far,,,i bet theres tons of stuff online about rolling your own beadblast cabinet,major costs are the media and the gun+hoses,if ya have some other stuff layin around,low buck rules!!!

[fspGTD]

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

I used the bead blaster some more today, after adding a gasket under the lid (definitely helped!)  This time I tried cleaning up an old rusty steel bolt.  Although bead blasting was slower (at least with the setup I have been using at only 50psi), I noticed that it definitely has the potential to do a higher quality job than other cleaning processes I am used to like bench wire brushing.  The color and brightness of the fresh steel the bead blasting reveals is just amazing.  I've still gotta try some higher pressure.

[fspGTD]

The bead blaster sure cleaned up this compressor housing nicely!


[edit: and here is a "before bead blasting" pic:]

[HP]

:shock: brand new!

[lord_verminaard]

I've gotta make me one of those, working on old cars means tons of grubby nasty old parts.  

Very nice.

Brendan
84 Scirocco 8v
00 Camaro L36 M49

[fspGTD]

I tried, for a split second, bead blasting a part out of the container (luckily, outside.)  Never again... man was that gross!  It was like being showered with millions of tiny little particles - I could feel them hitting me everywhere.

I also tried bead blasting some stainless parts (a Garrett turbo wastegate valve) and found that the beads clean everything off the surface but even at fairly high presures, will not cut through the stainless steel oxide layer (which is what causes the blue'ish/reddish heat discoloration.)  After bead blasting, I tried rubbing the stainless steel part with a scotch brite pad by hand - and it took the heat discolored / stainless oxide layer right off.  So, bead blasting it seems is gentler than scotch brite!

A tip if you're going to try building a bead blast cabinet yourself: use a high-efficiency air filter (filtering out fine particles, like one rated for drywall dust.)  Although they are much pricier than a standard grade filter, I found the standard duty (shop vac type) filter I am using let out some very fine "dust" during use, bad enough that I am using the blast cabinet outside and with a dust mask.  That said, the standard grade shop vac filter does seem to effectively keep all the glass beads inside (I have already recycled the media a couple times).

[hillfolk'r]

dont breathe that crap,,its bad stuff,i know one of the gloves in ours at work has a tear,,,darn that crap stings bad,,i could imagine getting pelted allover,,isnt there something on kitty liter bags,,about silica dust is bad or something??same stuff in there,,good to hear u are wearing a mask,and the rest of ya remember that!!!!!!and dont get tempted to do pistons in there either,,we already been there,,they are junk after that,,,ruins the ringlands,,that thing is cool,,id build one now,but tryin to sell the house,so i dont wanna get into too much of a crazy project,trash the garage,and then not sell the house :oops: its bad enough that ihave an "old" car in the driveway,my 79,gotta keep up apperances,,this town is nuts,,,,,,keep that "sand" dry too,,moisture can be a pain in the butt,,drain water alot,,probably like every 30 mins of use,,till ya know how much water you are "making",,,try to get most of the grease off first too,,itll clump upand make a mess,,,,,,,someday too,,,we got this cool "gun" at work for washing parts,,i bet all/most rebuild shops have one,,,,it hooks toa garden hose,we run scalding hot water thru it,,and a air line too,,we use it for rinsing parts removed from hot tank,,itllblast off loose paint,and grease to a point,,the hot water,and the air really kick it,,turn on the water,,it flows,,pull the trigger,it backs up the water withair blasting,,,,itll sting your hand,before you feel it burning,,with the pressure

[fspGTD]

dont breathe that crap,,its bad stuff,i know one of the gloves in ours at work has a tear,,,darn that crap stings bad,,i could imagine getting pelted allover,,isnt there something on kitty liter bags,,about silica dust is bad or something??same stuff in there,,good to hear u are wearing a mask,and the rest of ya remember that!!!!!!

Yep, that stuff seems pretty nasty!

and dont get tempted to do pistons in there either,,we already been there,,they are junk after that,,,ruins the ringlands,,

What media did you use, and did you clean the glass beads out with soap, hot water, and a stiff brush afterwards?

My engine builder has found it a good way of cleaning pistons and also tightening up ring to piston groove clearance.  I will post updates of how well it work for me after I get my engine with glassbeaded pistons fired up, at: ( http://www.vwdiesel.net/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=406&start=94 )

that thing is cool,,id build one now,but tryin to sell the house,so i dont wanna get into too much of a crazy project,trash the garage,and then not sell the house :oops: its bad enough that ihave an "old" car in the driveway,my 79,gotta keep up apperances,,

Thanks!

PS - That hot water vapor hose sounds pretty cool!  Sounds like you've got access to a lot of pretty cool tools at your engine building shop.

[fatmobile]

I just heard of soda blasting for the first time the other day.
 I guess it's just baking soda but not as fine as the stuff used in the kitchen.
 I guess they blast whole cars with it.
 The plus being it desolves in water so you don't have grit in everything when you are done.

[Asymtave]

The danger hillfolk'r is referring to is from silica dust.  Very dangerous to breathe.  Will absolutely trash the tissues in your lungs and limit your ability to breathe.  Only a problem if you're using silica sand in your blaster.  The glass bead media that FSP is using is far safer, but you still want to use a mask/respirator.

"Two years and the silicosis takes hold.
And I feel like I'm dying from mining for gold."

Hey hillfolk'r - by the way - what suburb are you in?  I live way out in the swamp so there's no problem with a bunch of junk sitting around.

Eric

[hillfolk'r]

um,,,it does the opposite to the ring lands,,it doesnt "tighten" them up,,it makes the ring lands  all "wavy",and increases clearance,,use zip strip,,,trust me ive seentoomany engines that have had that done,,besides theres particles you will never never get out,,it gets impregnated in the aluminum pores,,,, then wait till it starts up,,then the particles will come out,,,,might as wel lstand there while its running and pour a cupof sand in the intake,,aera does not recommend this practice,,or does any piston manufacturer that iknow of,,yea they say i guess on the big setups,that baking soda is not reclamed,,something about getting contaminated,,,iguess those setups are "total loss" ,but thengetting rid of it is easier,,,,,some cities like baking soda in their wastewater,helps breakstuff down,,,i wonder if it can be reused a little though,,for jakes setup,,,i would think if parts are clean,and you desire a nice finish,then it may work,,,,,,,yea our shop has some cool stuff,,we dont need to farm out any work,,,except things like rebuilt vp44's and stanadyne electronics pumps,,,,full machine shop,blocks,rods,cranks,cyl heads,everything,pumps+injectors,, and fuel lab,,,parts counter,engine dyno,diesels only,,max hp1000,,,,some cool stuff,,it is a little mid-evil,and sorta dark,,kinda scary,,especially in the hot tank area,with all that stuff steaming,,,its a job,not a career,and im totally into all the stuff ive learned there,,its gonna take me anywhere i want,,,we do some butch stuff,but then again,if no one else around wants to touch it,,we will,,man we get some freaky stuff in,,,i worked on a apple tree sprayer the other day,,had an old chrysler flat head industrial engine on it,,it was like early 60's or so,,,,that thing was wierd