Harbor Freight sandblast cabinet heavily modify.

pinballlooking · 03-23-20, 01:22 PM

I needed a sandblast cabinet but did not want to spend a bunch of money. I still needed it to work well.

I did some research. The are many videos with mods out there. lots of helpful ones.
Someone sells a kit with the upgrades but that was to expensive for me but those upgrades are very good. I just rolled my own as many other have done.

https://www.harborfreight.com/abrasi...net-68893.html
https://www.harborfreight.com/5000-l...dia-61870.html
I used just about a whole tube Polyurethane adhesive to seal the bottom.
You do not want to use silicone caulking if you are going to be powder coating.

I removed all the foam that came on it everywhere except the door and the top glass.

I bought glass a lowe’s 24” x 36” and will cut it into 3 pieces. Under $15 This will replace the plexiglass this gets all scratched up.

I used a roll 3M VHB Waterproof Foam Tape for all seams in the top.

I closed off the top back baffle. (that will now be the air in let.)

I added a side baffle. That will now be the vacuum outlet.

I added foam insulation between the bottom and the top.

I am adding DIY metering on the bottom. Made from PVC and black iron at the top.

I cut the bottom tray you put the parts on to allow more room in the cab.

I added Eastwood foot peddle and nozzle.
https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-bl...l-and-gun.html
I bought replacement hose at lowes for the media hose as Eastwoods was too short.

I bought something similar to dust deputy for my shop vac on amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Cyclone-Colle...55&s=hi&sr=1-4

I have a Harbor freight variable speed controller for the shop vac.
I added LED light.

As soon as I started using it my shop vac it stopped working. I took it apart and the switch was fine then I looked at the thermal overload was good to my surprise.

I found the issue. You can see here the wire for one of the windings was broken. I will fix this after work.
I am using a bucket Vac but the 5-gallon shop vac worked so much better.

Here is a tractor step I sandblasted and powder coated. It is shipping to a customer today.

The only thing I need to seal up is the door.
I need to add some flashing to the door bottom.
I don’t want it to get a direct spray.

WoodBurner · 03-23-20, 02:16 PM

Wow, that is a sturdy looking step, thanks for the write up!

g

pinballlooking · 03-23-20, 02:25 PM

It is ¼” thick steel plate. We tested it out with over 400 pounds and it did fine.

Daox · 03-23-20, 03:59 PM

Nice mods! I tried one of the table top versions years ago. It was pretty horrible. I modified and it still didn't work well. The tray on the bottom wasn't steep enough to return the sand to the pickup tube.

pinballlooking · 03-23-20, 04:23 PM

Thanks.
I had one step that I did not get good powder coat coverage. I was able to sand blast it off pretty easily.
You only have to use about two or three cups of media

My shop vac is back and running the winding that was broken was never soldered at the factory. It is strange the other side was soldered.
It needed a good cleaning.

pinballlooking · 04-28-20, 09:01 AM

I like my mods to the sand blast cabinet but the siphon feed is to slow for what I need.
I bought a HF Pressurized Abrasive Blaster. They have two models buy the 60696 it holds 2 more liter more and have vent holes to allow air to exit while filling and pressurize the gasket to seal better. I am using this inside my cabinet. The cabinet captures the media and I refill the pressure tank with the captured media.

https://www.ameriblaster.com/shop

ameriblaster sells upgrades for this pressure pot. To make go form decent to great.

The ameriblaster parts come in later this week.
The speed to clean a part has been reduced greatly. I added a vibration motor and slowing it down with a HF router control. This really helps keep the media flowing. ameriblaster says with their kit you do not need the vibration motor but their kit was out of stock because of the Coronavirus. The vibration motor make HF version work until I get the kit in.
I got the valve relocation kit. That makes it so I don't have get on the floor every time I need to adjust the flow. I am getting to old for that.

It will look similar to this.

I am using coal slag from tractor supply 9.99 50 pound bag.
I am selling more steps so I need faster blasting. I have to sandblast before powder coating.

These shipped yesterday.

WoodBurner · 04-28-20, 12:23 PM

Wow, sold 15! Also thank for the details on how I can set up a sand blaster, I had no idea about using coal slag.

G

pinballlooking · 04-28-20, 12:51 PM

This shows what HF pressure pot comes with the dead man valve and what Ameriblaster kit does for it.

The on and off valve for mine will be outside the cabinet. The speed difference between pressure pot and siphon feed is like night and day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grdDYQhg7DE

pinballlooking · 05-02-20, 11:27 PM

I have the sand blasting working very well at this point. I will upgrade a couple a couple valves and make a bracket to hold the relocated manifold.
No more getting on the floor to adjust the pressure pot. The pressure pot now works without messing with it.
I cut some ¼” plate to mount the air input I put the one valve inside the cabinet.

I moved my old foot valve to my air assisted 20 ton brake press.

pinballlooking · 05-05-20, 04:46 PM

I don’t have a good way to do a video of the difference between suction or pressure blasting.
This video uses the same media to show the difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGVr...re=emb_rel_end

Do both methods work yes but pressure sure speeds it up.

03-23-20, 01:22 PM	#1
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Harbor Freight sandblast cabinet heavily modify. I needed a sandblast cabinet but did not want to spend a bunch of money. I still needed it to work well. I did some research. The are many videos with mods out there. lots of helpful ones. Someone sells a kit with the upgrades but that was to expensive for me but those upgrades are very good. I just rolled my own as many other have done. https://www.harborfreight.com/abrasi...net-68893.html https://www.harborfreight.com/5000-l...dia-61870.html I used just about a whole tube Polyurethane adhesive to seal the bottom. You do not want to use silicone caulking if you are going to be powder coating. I removed all the foam that came on it everywhere except the door and the top glass. I bought glass a lowe’s 24” x 36” and will cut it into 3 pieces. Under $15 This will replace the plexiglass this gets all scratched up. I used a roll 3M VHB Waterproof Foam Tape for all seams in the top. I closed off the top back baffle. (that will now be the air in let.) I added a side baffle. That will now be the vacuum outlet. I added foam insulation between the bottom and the top. I am adding DIY metering on the bottom. Made from PVC and black iron at the top. I cut the bottom tray you put the parts on to allow more room in the cab. I added Eastwood foot peddle and nozzle. https://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-bl...l-and-gun.html I bought replacement hose at lowes for the media hose as Eastwoods was too short. I bought something similar to dust deputy for my shop vac on amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Cyclone-Colle...55&s=hi&sr=1-4 I have a Harbor freight variable speed controller for the shop vac. I added LED light. As soon as I started using it my shop vac it stopped working. I took it apart and the switch was fine then I looked at the thermal overload was good to my surprise. I found the issue. You can see here the wire for one of the windings was broken. I will fix this after work. I am using a bucket Vac but the 5-gallon shop vac worked so much better. Here is a tractor step I sandblasted and powder coated. It is shipping to a customer today. The only thing I need to seal up is the door. I need to add some flashing to the door bottom. I don’t want it to get a direct spray. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 03-23-20 at 02:12 PM..

03-23-20, 02:25 PM	#3
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	It is ¼” thick steel plate. We tested it out with over 400 pounds and it did fine. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

03-23-20, 03:59 PM	#4
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Nice mods! I tried one of the table top versions years ago. It was pretty horrible. I modified and it still didn't work well. The tray on the bottom wasn't steep enough to return the sand to the pickup tube. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

03-23-20, 04:23 PM	#5
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	Thanks. I had one step that I did not get good powder coat coverage. I was able to sand blast it off pretty easily. You only have to use about two or three cups of media My shop vac is back and running the winding that was broken was never soldered at the factory. It is strange the other side was soldered. It needed a good cleaning. __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 03-23-20 at 10:26 PM..

04-28-20, 09:01 AM	#6
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I like my mods to the sand blast cabinet but the siphon feed is to slow for what I need. I bought a HF Pressurized Abrasive Blaster. They have two models buy the 60696 it holds 2 more liter more and have vent holes to allow air to exit while filling and pressurize the gasket to seal better. I am using this inside my cabinet. The cabinet captures the media and I refill the pressure tank with the captured media. https://www.ameriblaster.com/shop ameriblaster sells upgrades for this pressure pot. To make go form decent to great. The ameriblaster parts come in later this week. The speed to clean a part has been reduced greatly. I added a vibration motor and slowing it down with a HF router control. This really helps keep the media flowing. ameriblaster says with their kit you do not need the vibration motor but their kit was out of stock because of the Coronavirus. The vibration motor make HF version work until I get the kit in. I got the valve relocation kit. That makes it so I don't have get on the floor every time I need to adjust the flow. I am getting to old for that. It will look similar to this. I am using coal slag from tractor supply 9.99 50 pound bag. I am selling more steps so I need faster blasting. I have to sandblast before powder coating. These shipped yesterday. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by pinballlooking; 04-28-20 at 11:29 AM..

03-23-20, 02:16 PM	#2
WoodBurner Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: MD Posts: 6 Thanks: 19 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Wow, that is a sturdy looking step, thanks for the write up! g

04-28-20, 12:23 PM	#7
WoodBurner Lurking Renovator Join Date: Oct 2018 Location: MD Posts: 6 Thanks: 19 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Wow, sold 15! Also thank for the details on how I can set up a sand blaster, I had no idea about using coal slag. G

05-02-20, 11:27 PM	#9
pinballlooking Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: SC Posts: 2,923 Thanks: 172 Thanked 564 Times in 463 Posts	I have the sand blasting working very well at this point. I will upgrade a couple a couple valves and make a bracket to hold the relocated manifold. No more getting on the floor to adjust the pressure pot. The pressure pot now works without messing with it. I cut some ¼” plate to mount the air input I put the one valve inside the cabinet. I moved my old foot valve to my air assisted 20 ton brake press. Attached Thumbnails __________________ Current project Aquaponics system , Passive Solar Greenhouse build To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Solar Install 12.5 Kwh- To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Mini Split installs - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. EV Chevy Volt - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.