This Sand Blasting Cabinet CAN be Awesome!

Sometimes you buy a tool that doesn't rock. With a little love and a few mods, this one will! Cheap, effective, and a whole lot better than it used to be. Very happy with this Sand Blasting Cabinet now!
Written detailed write-up: www.gwellwood.com/tools/sand-...
1:36 Put it on wheels
2:24 Nutserts for easier glass replacement (Mod #1)
3:00 Bright lights (Mod #2)
4:30 Dust Control (Mod #3)
6:30 Water Separator (Mod #4)
7:15 Metering Valve (Mod #4 reboot)
8:45 Gun Modifications (Mod #5)
10:00 Tip Sizes
10:42 Review
11:37 All Mods - Blasting demo
NOTE: You should also wear earplugs and a respirator during operation.
Sand is particularly harmful to your lungs (silicosis); never use sand.

[@gizmo1252000]

little tip on the window ,instead of wasting money on plastic covers that only go misty after a week or so , just use glass ,and with about 1/2 air cap to a fine wire mess sheet just below the glass .this will stop the media from etching the glass this method was used on the old snap on cabinets back in the day and worked really well . why they stopped using that system i have no idea .

[@siggyincr7447]

All good suggestions, the only thing I might add is that even better than a ball valve on the pistol is a foot pedal to operate it. It keeps your hand from cramping up on the pistol but still allows you to reduce air consumption. It can make a big difference if your compressor is struggling to keep up.

[@killerkane1957]

Clear plastic disposable covers for the glass. Carbide tips. Your gun idea is great but there are other ways. Aggressive abrasive. Dust control. Good lights. All make for happy blasting. Thanks!

[@swolebro]

When you mention the Milton V fittings, I gotta say, yeah, those things are awesome.

[@GregWellwood]

Yes, there's no going back. Debating swapping all the fittings at work, too.

[@clarkmarkey1498]

Your mods are the same as mine, right down to the bucket design. That gun mod looks great!. I will be doing that, soon.

[@468bbccapri]

Under cabinet LED lights work good for lighting. They can be daisy chained and you don't need all that conduit and stuff.

[@SBIGDTSM]

The outlet for dust extraction is on the left hand side, the cover you made isn’t necessary, I’ve only just purchased one of these cabinets and with one of the cyclone attachments on a bucket, the extraction works way better than expected, no cloud at all, perfectly clear. I like your idea about the rivet nuts, I have a set of those already so will definitely fit those to mine. I’ve ordered a different gun where the media comes in at 45° rather than 90°. Foot pedal is my next mod.

[@stanleylosh1899]

You don't need nutserts. Don't reach in the door. Just put on one of the gloves and hold a ratchet with socket.

[@fredboat]

Thanks,Enjoyed the show and humor. later from Texas.

[@user-ff1hn7ve9e]

I built a slow flow cyclone vacuum pump to remove the dust. ( it also stops grit from coming out of the door, seams etc . Negative pressure) Then I added a foot control for the air. My compressor has several moisture traps.

[@johnkozero6842]

Thanks for the ideas nice job

[@erniehenshaw76]

Good one.

[@Maplecook]

I never even knew that spray painting the floor was a thing. What kind of animals do you teach, Bro? hahaha You looks skinnier!

[@andrewgerber7863]

On my HF cabinet so far I have made top open and welded the screws to the lid and use wing nuts.

[@ODGColornChrome]

I went with the TP Tools 60inch? I don't remember but it's huge and awesome!

[@wayofthewrench]

Nice tips....where do you get the nozzles/gun? Do you have part numbers? Nice to see your channel's doing good!

[@GregWellwood]

I altered the existing gun. The tip is 1/4", but Princess Auto doesn't seem to carry that size any more. I'll likely just make replacement tips out of steel.

[@xushenxin]

what do you do with the glass? The glass is blurred for 1 hour of use.

[@chrisallen9154]

Are you using an Ingersol Rand SS1 air compressor?

[@damianbutterworth2434]

On the extraction I`m using a 4 inch fan 80 watts with a variable speed control to get it just right.. Hope it works. Need to steal an old bucket from work. :)

[@jeffetzel850]

Another fantastic job for sure. Let me add one more tip that will make you very satisfied. I had to often change my glass. As it would get etched. Walmart sells clear shelving paper. That the blast material bounces off of and leaves no etching. So it is easier to see clearly.

[@lylehann674]

I had the same cabinet and I did a light upgrade but I should of done bottom and gun

[@macpakinga1271]

Velcro what I use peel off 4 window. Works great 😂🤣🤗

[@jpsimon206]

The people who spray paint the floor at home Depot are taggers. High-end taggers can get fancy spray paint with a plethora of different tip styles. The lower end of the hobby uses cheap spray paint. Cheap spray paint has tips that vary widely. No two spray the same. The taggers are testing the cans to see which batch code has good tips. Sometimes it's moronic teenagers, other times it's a subculture of urban art that you just don't happen to be familiar with.

[@jpsimon206]

And quite a bit of the time, it's a moronic teenaged tagger with delusions of grandeur

[@Toomzer]

I've just done the same media mod, for some reason I'm not picking up any media no matter how much PSI or how open or closed my valve is, any idea what im doing wrong?

[@GregWellwood]

Make sure it's not plugged with wet sand.

[@Toomzer]

@@GregWellwood Admittedly the grit is old and has been lying a while, ive ordered some new stuff so hopefully it does the trick, failing new grit im stumped?

[@GregWellwood]

@@ToomzerWithout seeing it, I don't know. I'd bee checking to see if air is _actually_ getting through everything. Let me know what you find.

[@jameschuke4104]

Why did you go ! 1 inch down to 3/8 defeats the purpose don't yah think

[@my2sons8791]

What size compressor are you using?

[@GregWellwood]

A 5hp 2-stage Ingersoll-Rand. 14.5cfm I think.

[@jpsimon206]

Did you try the IUD paper clip trick? How did it work for you?

[@jpsimon206]

Same trick works just as well on a cabinet. Also, if you replace the t fitting with a long sweep y fitting you will be able to run the air higher and pick up more sand. Any turn in an air flow system just kills the efficiency. You would be better off using PEX if you cannot find the y fitting in steel. Don't get me wrong, PEX is shit

[@jpsimon206]

Whoops. Meant to say pex is nice and smooth inside. Not fit for plumbing in my opinion

[@GregWellwood]

I did the IUD paper clip today, and blasted the '61 C10 roof for five hours. At no point did I need to shut the air to the hose to clear it out, but I did need to play with the abrasive feed to find a new happy spot. I ~think~ it was a success, certainly no detriment that I notice. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@GregWellwood]

Do you mean the air connection at the gun? I did initially have it poking out the back, but I found the gun too long and cumbersome that way - though I did have a rag-tag collection of reducers and adapters to make it all work with stuff I had on the shelf. If you do mean at the gun, I can try the way I had it before and compare.

[@jpsimon206]

@@GregWellwood I made the comment when I saw the t fitting under the cabinet. Later I saw the same issue with the gun. My suggestion was for most of the plumbing. You lose a shocking amount of efficiency every time air has to turn a corner. This is also an opportunity for this sand to drop out of the air. If all of your connections are long smooth sweeps, you will get much better performance. Doesn't have to be PEX, but you commented that you like the additional flexibility going to the gun. If it were me, I would do PVC all the way up until the gun whip and switch to PVC there. You particularly need a long sweep why fitting in place of the tee.

[@allenhonaker4107]

Do you find it works better with one type of media as opposed to others

[@GregWellwood]

I haven't run a lot of different media. Glass bead leaves a smoother finish; nickel slag was supposed to be more aggressive but did nothing to cast iron exhaust manifolds (but that was before the mods). I tend to stick with crushed glass - it's very cheap, it's reasonably aggressive, and the more you use it, the finer grit it becomes.

[@stevecallachor]

I have a cheap generic blast cabinet . I run it with a shop vac attached. The lower internal pressure stops dust from escaping. Solves all the problems. Stavros

[@danharold3087]

The sand can be hard on the shop vac. The separator is a good idea.

[@thatguy83ful]

4th improvement you doubled down

[@donaldwarwick6780]

Being stateside - Harbor Freight is the standard sir, Princess Auto is an "equivalent" as the name implies you buy stuff for chicks there. Just kidding ya pal. Awful hard on the kids, ey? Most kids these days(and those prior days) hail from fatherless homes so they haven't the foggiest about shop equipment, be kind, it costs you little/nothing and means so much to so many:)

[@GregWellwood]

100%.

[@johncarew8093]

Brother, dont know if you read the comments, but those NUTSERTS SUCK .LOL..I WENT to princess auto, got yhe kit. Shitty kit. Ended up using gasket sealent and i used self tapping screws...lol

[@GregWellwood]

What happened with them? I used the PA nutserts and PA gun on mine, as well as many of my projects and they have worked for me. Mind you, I wrecked a few early on as I figured out how to use them properly.