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Home made bead blaster box (Cheap but effective)

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:27 pm
by cjflyer
Hello folks. Here is a quick how to on making a cheap, compact, portable and did I say cheap, media blaster box/cabinet.

With a bit of scrounging, I spent about $35.00 making the box. Two "Sterilite" storage tubs and a media blaster gun. I scrounged the plexiglass, bits of wood, bolts etc.

The first pic is the bottom tub with the arm holes cut out. The tub measures approx: 29x17 x 18 deep (35 gal)($8.00 Walmart). The holes are 4.5 inches dia. There is also a smaller hole cut into the right side for the air line access. I cut these holes with a dremel type tool.

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Next is the inside of the tub. I installed two sloped sides to aid in concentrating the media to the center where the feed pipe will be.

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Here is the media blaster gun and pickup tube installed.

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I made a tray out of the lid that came with the tub. I just cut it down to size, drilled holes with a half inch paddle bit, and laid it in place.

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I installed some long sleeves that I cut from an old shirt. The Harbor Freight work gloves are $2.00 specials. The gloves have a wide cuff and fit snug inside the sleeves.

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The top is also a "Sterilite" storage tub purchased from Walmart for about $7.00. It is the same width and length as the bottom but 12 inches deep and clear to let in as much light as possible. I installed a plexiglass window made from scrap 1/8 plexi. I taped the edges of the plexi with regular duct tape which serves as a gasket. The bolts were scrounged from my "misc" parts bins. The top is held in place with the bungee's.

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A view of a GL1000 header about to be blasted. The media is Garnette simply because it was available. It tends to be a bit dusty so I will be looking for alternatives. A dust venting system would help.

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I plan to add some weather stripping to the joints where the two tubs meet which will seal the joint more effectively. I set the whole thing on a bench when in use and then back in the corner when not in use. Again, simple, cheap but effective. Hope this was helpful to someone. :-?

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:40 pm
by sunnbobb
Excellent! Good job! thanks!

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:12 pm
by Cookie
Was the media gun from Harbor Freight too? I used to have a sand blaster and I really miss it. That's on my to do list.

Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:51 pm
by cjflyer
The gun set up is a Campbell Hausfeld and I don't recall for sure where I purchased it although I do know it was not from HF. Seems like I picked it up from Tractor supply. HF carries the abrasive media but I don't know if they offer this particular gun. Think I paid around $15 for it last summer.

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 12:11 am
by Cookie
Thanks,

We are kind of short on tractors and Tractor Supply around here. I'll have to see if I can find one on one of my next trips.

Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:48 am
by Roady
Very nice instructions, cjflyer.

That's going on my list, right below "buy a compressor".

;)

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:41 am
by shupnfish
Hey guys, just found another idea for making a soda blaster. It is on Saunders site, but don't know how to add the link. Maybe one of you mods can post it looks really cool and when I get my compressor back I am gonna try it. It's under their version of the tech questions.

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:44 am
by Cookie
I saw that too and it looks like a neat idea. I just bought a really cheap sand blaster from Harbor freight and used it with the leftover concrete sand from my basement to blast my exhaust. I wonder if it would work with soda too?

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:57 am
by shupnfish
Cookie, couldn't hurt to try it. A box of baking soda is only a couple bucks and it is supposed to work great. Let me know if you try it and how it works. And I will do the same as soon as I get my compressor back (customer out of town with my tools in his basement!!!!!!)thanks

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:02 am
by Cookie
I was thinking soda might be good on aluminum and other stuff you don't want to damage. I'll try it for sure next time I'm doing something like that. You know how you have to go to quite a bit of work on something like a timing cover? How would it work if you soda blasted it first?

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 2:19 am
by shupnfish
My uncle is a paint and body man he says it works great, but I wondered about our engine covers and the likes also, because of the paint and/or clear coat, but what the heck gonna try it any way. I'll just use something off of the cb650 it's junk anyway. Let you know.

Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:37 am
by Hoosier Daddy
Soda for a blasting media is great for aluminum or other "soft" materials. Another alternative is glass beading. They are literally micro beads of glass that shatter when they hit instead of digging into the item your blasting so it's much less abrasive than sand.

Re: Home made bead blaster box (Cheap but effective)

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 11:22 am
by vulture7
Here is a link to a homemade soda blaster ----

http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-t ... a_blaster/

I built this with a $3 nozzle from harbor freight an a pice of tubing I had laying around. It works great. I think a tube along the pickup may help in allowing air to fill in behind what is pulled out. I blasted a set of carbs and it sure removed the dired fuel residue in the float chambers. I also found that doing this in a storage tub allowed me to pour the soda that missed back into the bag. I bought a 5 pound bag of soda at sams club. WEAR a DUST MASK!!!

Wayne (Wisconsin)

Re: Home made bead blaster box (Cheap but effective)

Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 9:22 pm
by nakedall
That is a great idea, I just spent 2 days cleaning 8 carbs,this would have made the job alot easier!

Re: Home made bead blaster box (Cheap but effective)

Posted: Thu Nov 23, 2017 8:47 pm
by tlbranth
Just ran into this thread and thought I'd throw in a few comments. I blasted some parts (engine case parts) with soda and it does a nice job of removing the old paint. If you do it in the yard (as I did) you need to know: (1) It'll kill whatever plant life it lands on and (2) It takes a LOT of soda. If you're planning on doing a lot of this work, CJ's blast cabinet is for you.
I've used glass beads on aluminum but found no problem using aluminum oxide. Masking isn't too hard. It's sometimes tedious though. I use 3M green tape (for bricks and tough to stick to surfaces) because it's way stickier than blue tape. If you press it down well and aim your blast gun carefully, it won't disappear. The aluminum oxide likes to attack hard surfaces and bounces off (within reason) soft surfaces like masking tape or cardboard.
CJflyer did a cool job but, unless I missed something, failed to allow for exhaust. You'll be chucking a LOT of air into that box and it needs a vent.....a big vent. I'd cut another hole in the side maybe and filter the output somehow - unless you're doing this outside and maybe no filter is necessary.