Upgrade your Sandblaster! Harbor Freight Sandblasting Cabinet Upgrades.

[@Tanks-Link]

1:20 I bought 1/4 inch riv nut kit and put riv nuts in it. Makes it easy to screws the bolts in and out, without worrying about losing the nuts as they are locked to the red plate

[@GarageHobbyist]

Great idea! I am getting close to needing to replace the glass/plastic. I think I will do this.

[@DavidBrady-wf6qh]

Liked your idea for the door.

[@GarageHobbyist]

I saw it somewhere else and thought it was a fantastic idea!

[@N4sir98]

I installed the Eastwood Foot Pedal and Gun (item # 21133) and a Skat Blast Sandblasting Cabinet Pickup Tube (#6442-04) and have zero problems with my Harbor Freight cabinet. By keeping the overall design simple, the better designed siphon tube and gun allow a much shorter run for the blast media to have to travel resulting in less CFM's/pressure needed for everything to perform flawlessly.

[@MozziesArt]

I did the gravity feed mod exactly as you did it. It's gone from working maybe 5% of the time to %100 of the time. Thanks a lot for showing this - I really needed it to work and it did.

[@GarageHobbyist]

Glad I could help

[@ArthriticAngler]

TP gun upgrade kit, vacuum to get dust out were my two big upgrades. Good video. I also used halogen lights inside as the heat helps dry

[@GarageHobbyist]

The LED I put in still puts off a decent amount of heat. The poor man’s foot pedal I did was a great upgrade too.

[@bluesman6955]

Thank you for making a well produced video and sharing your knowledge.

[@GarageHobbyist]

Absolutely!. I have a video coming soon covering an inexpensive foot pedal for this cabinet. Stay Tuned!

[@conanrdk]

Very nice addition to the shop! Very smart upgrades

[@GarageHobbyist]

Thanks for watching. It’s proven useful, and a lot cleaner than the grinder!

[@chordsofpower117]

Thatta boy! Great upgrades that will serve you well for many, many years to come. This is what we do and why we do it..........

[@GarageHobbyist]

Thanks brother. Its working out good so far!

[@jeremynguyen2346]

@@GarageHobbyist hi

[@thisone.]

Some rivnuts work great for the glass. Wont have those bolts & threads exposed. Also adding a cyclone separator will save your shop vac. filters. They sell them at HF now.

[@GarageHobbyist]

Rivnuts are a great idea! This works for now, but I may do that when I need to replace the glass!

[@gfisher7765]

Thanks for the straight forward, informative video. I recently picked up one of these cabinets at the flea market for $60. It came with four types of media. I can see myself using all of your modifications. It hadn't occurred to me that it would be nice to have the blowgun inside the cabinet but now it seems obvious. I will probably add a vacuum system of some kind and a rotary table.

[@GarageHobbyist]

Check out my video on the poor man's foot pedal. Game changer!

[@codygorditacrunch]

Hey man, thanks for the tips. I'm looking for a cheap way to get rusted cast iron clean without using electrolysis, and I'm close to buying one of these. I appreciate the time you put into this video. Subscribed.

[@GarageHobbyist]

No problem! It’s great for cleaning up scrap metal to reuse

[@SolarMillUSA]

@1:52 replace the nuts with female thread star knobs. I did something similar on mine. Totally agree the original is a pain in the arse. I installed rivnuts and did male thread star knobs.

[@GlennNowOnYouTube]

Great video, Smart upgrades. I just did a video on past blast cabinet upgrades on the bench model and putting together a metering valve vid. I will try to catch your live stuff in the future. Good luck with the garage.

[@GarageHobbyist]

Thanks for watching! It sure is handy have a blast cabinet around!

[@RaymonWhite-b1c]

Talking about putting it together and having to bend the tabs out . I did the same thing , the noticed I put it together backwards bent it all back . I coulda just had a brain fart for me .

[@GarageHobbyist]

Yeah, kind on a pain to put together with crappy instructions, but I've used it a ton. Up next is restoring the frame of a 60+ year old rocking/bounce horse for one of my wife's clients.

[@walterschilling4512]

Nice job, I did most of the Tacoma, upgrades from alverez, The bigest change that I made was having the o.pening at the top so I don't have to deal with the side door getting my parts into the cabinet

[@karmafarbus160]

Add a 13.9 x 1.8 AC o ring behind the ceramic tip on the HF gun and it will suck up media into the 40 PSI range ..

[@GarageHobbyist]

Thats a good tip, I'll try it out

[@charleshartley1912]

Nice finally got it together I’ll bring that sand finally

[@GarageHobbyist]

10-4. I bought a bag but I’ll take an extra or 2 to have

[@flying_Turtle]

Any part numbers or links for the flange and associated parts for the valve?

[@GarageHobbyist]

I’ll get some for you this evening

[@patmcbride9853]

HF sells an identical blowgun and mine just blew apart one day because the brass fitting for the air line is just heat molded to the plastic.

[@GarageHobbyist]

I'll be honest, I thought I would use it a lot more than I actually do.

[@skulcandybmx94]

The funel was folded on mine you got a defect someone forgot to bend it at the factory

[@GarageHobbyist]

This was a bear to put together, and I figured something was wrong. I’m just glad I got it together and it worked out. Still works great when I need it 👍

[@Syb-a-rite]

Great video - thank you. Could you list the parts you used and where you got them from?

[@camwalk05]

I put mine together today, the funnel panels just needed to be flipped over, I almost bent them and realized they just needed to be flipped.

[@GarageHobbyist]

🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️. I can’t believe I didn’t figure that out. Oh well, it’s together and working great!

[@WELDEEZ]

After doing the siphon tube delete mod I can get mine to flow continuously. If I play with the tip I get a good venturie and it starts flowing but then stops

[@GarageHobbyist]

I went to a little larger diameter nozzle and it helped a lot. The humidity we have had is giving me issues, but there’s nothing I can do about that

[@catchkcsglide7945]

What size hose are you using for your media feed? Also, what size piping are you using?

[@GarageHobbyist]

Hose is 1/2" ID. The first tee is a 1" - 3/4" reducing tee, then a 3/4"-1/2" reducing tee with a 1/2" -1/4" bushing for the ball valve. At the end there is a 3/4"-1/2" bushing with the 1/2" barb for the hose.

[@DaneSaysStuff]

That DIY metering valve is pretty sweet. I did my own version of the "ultimate" build a few years ago. For a grand total of $280 it was worth every penny. I recommend sealing every single seam with some PL200 or similar urethane as well as doing the vent louver. Makes a big difference overall. Either way nice upgrades on a budget for sure!

[@GarageHobbyist]

They actually include a tube of silicone in the box now! I was pleasantly surprised by that.

[@DaneSaysStuff]

@@GarageHobbyist Silicone is the last thing you want to use. The particles can get embedded in whatever you're blasting and cause issues later when it comes time for paint or powder coating. At least they're trying tho!

[@GarageHobbyist]

@@DaneSaysStuff That's good to know. I'm mainly just cleaning up scrap metal for welding and forging projects, so hopefully I don't have much of an issue.

[@DaneSaysStuff]

@@GarageHobbyist In that case no you'll be good. Will be burnt right out.

[@RobA-ng4bq]

What's the best sealant to use that won't cause paint issues?

[@tonyportella994]

what size bolts did you used for the glass mold on the top, also what water/oil separator are you using? Thank you

[@GarageHobbyist]

The separator was just from Menards for a compressor. The screws I want to say were 10-32, but I don’t remember the length

[@TheDopalgangr]

First like and comment for ya buddy. Nice video

[@GarageHobbyist]

Thanks for watching brother! 🤘

[@jeffrangel93]

how did you get the regular air flow from right to left? Most im seeing online/amazon is left to right. Can this we reversed?

[@DIYoffspring]

I am not understanding how the "metering valve" works as you have it set up... Or maybe I missed something in your video. If the sand does not pass through the valve itself, then what are you metering?

[@GarageHobbyist]

It controls the siphon. Think of a drinking straw. Now think of a drinking straw that has a crack in it. A cracked straw is usually bad because it reduces the suction and doesn't allow you to get as much of your tasty beverage as you would like. In a blast cabinet like this, letting some air in and reducing suction can actually improve media feeding. Adjusting how open the valve is can reduce "surging" and keeps media flowing more consistently.

[@fishtacoguy]

Good video. Looking at one of these cabinets, and I do not see the dimensions listed. Will a 15" truck rim fit inside for blasting? EDIT: I see you answered this in closing, thanks!

[@GarageHobbyist]

Only thing I may do is get a foot operated gun. Large items aren’t that fun after a while.

[@garysmith3835]

Does the air line attach to the top of your ball valve? If so, hodo you prevent blow by back into the Tee Fitting?

[@GarageHobbyist]

No, the air is only attached the the gun. There is nothing attached to the top of the valve

[@tylerfoster7131]

What size fittings an hose did u use?

[@GarageHobbyist]

The bottom of the cabinet is 1 x 1 x 3/4 tee. Then there is a 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/2 tee with bushings to reduce down to the 1/4” ball valve and a 1/2” hose barb. The hose is 1/2”.

[@amandanowak5763]

you made the same mistake i did on those two slanted slates, you just put them on backwards🤣

[@GarageHobbyist]

Well...its together still and not leaking 😂😂

[@kfranklin308]

What cfm compressor are you using?

[@GarageHobbyist]

Its 5.7 cfm at 90 psi. Its a little small, but it works fine.

[@kfranklin308]

@@GarageHobbyist what psi do you run the cabinet on and how long can you blast before running out of air? I need a sand blaster but I don’t need a huge compressor. I hate to buy a big air compressor just for sand blasting.

[@GarageHobbyist]

@@kfranklin308 I run it at about 80 psi and Have a few minutes before it kicks on. Compressor keeps up ok, but I do let it catch up once in a while

[@wiggenvan]

How many gallons is it, if you don’t mind me asking. I have a 6 gallon pancake compressor, and I have a feeling it may not keep up?

[@GarageHobbyist]

@@wiggenvan Its a 20 or 22 gallon. I honestly don't think the 6 Gallon is going to give you enough blasting time to be worthwhile.

[@f1reater]

what media do you use..

[@GarageHobbyist]

Right now just the black sand

[@ono147]

or just save up a little and get an Econoline, even a used one

[@Shade_tree_garage01]

Nah, I prefer having a warranty