[Shop-talk] blast cabinet media

[Marc]

My 'dust collector' is a new addition. I initially just hooked up a 
cheap shop vac, that turned out to be too much. Amusingly it sucked the 
gloves into the cabinet, but also pulled a lot of media out.
Then I made a water trap type filter, which worked pretty good, but 
still was too much. Then I added a filter to the inside of the cabinet 
on the suction hose. Thats good, but still gets clogged pretty fast.
The final thing was I got a router speed control ( 
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43060 ) 
and used it to throttle back the shopvac. This works fantastically well, 
and helps cut down on the noise as well.

I have a Cyclone brand PK36 cabinet, has both top and side openings. I 
taped up the top cause it leaked, and the door tends to spill media all 
over when you open it...

My gun IS shot, just bought a new one today that takes ceramic nozzles.


Doug Braun wrote:
> With my cabinet, I have to add new glass beads pretty
> regularly to replace what has gotten destroyed
> and sucked up by my stop-vac dust collector.
> Over a couple of years, I've probably replaced all
> the media about twice, but I have never had to
> actually remove or dispose of any (except for
> emptying the dust collector, of course).
>
> Is your dust collector giving enough airflow through
> the cabinet?  If the airflow from the gun were to
> exceed the airflow into the dust collector, the
> dusty air would get backed up and escape through the
> air inlet.
>
> Maybe the beads are OK, and your gun (not just the
> tip) has gotten worn?
>
> As for disposal, if you could have thrown away the
> parts you blasted, I guess you could also throw away
> the used media.
>
> I once added a mix of glass beads and aluminum oxide. 
> It cut somewhat faster, but not enough to justify the
> extra cost.  Also, it is much more abrasive on any
> moving parts, like the gun trigger or door parts.
>
> BTW, you can see photos of my cabinet at:
> 31ford.dougbraun.com
>
> Doug
>
> --- Marc <smarc at smarc.net> wrote:
>
>   
>> Hi -
>>
>> I have a large blast cabinet in my garage. I've been
>> using glass bead in 
>> it only because I got a 50 lb bag as a freebie.
>> Anyway, the media is a 
>> couple years old, and probably needs to be changed
>> out, doesn't seem to 
>> cut very well any more. Also time for a new gun...
>>
>> Any disposal issues with used media?
>>
>> My cabinet is a bit on the messy side - Although I
>> like the finish that 
>> glass bead provides, are other media less messy?
>> -- 

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