JPrevost

Well I'm building my own blasting cabinet or sorts.
The game plan is cheap cheap cheap because I'll probably use it for only a few parts every once in a while.
Starting with the biggest plastic storage tub I could find at Target. This one is nice because the top lays on and then has plastic handles that snap up and over to hold the lid down. A positive locking of sorts. $8 for the mid grade 12"x24" plastic window. Cheap enough to replace on a frequent basis. A bunch of #10-32 screws and silicon caulking to hold the window on. That's what I have done so far and it's looking really good. To hold the part off the bottom and out out of the glass bead I'm using a plastic potting plant grate. You know the kind, what all those little potted plants come together in. It's a light weight so I'm not sure how long it'll hold up, no biggy because it was free. Then there are the gloves. The cheapest longest rubber gloves I can find. Seal them off to the storage tub using 1/4" thick MDF cut into rings. 2 required and a bunch of screws. Now comes the dust collection. Intake will be at one end with a LARGE fan, window or box fan, not sure yet. If the low setting moves too much air which I'm pretty sure it will, I'll just let some of the air bleed off around the cabinet. At the other end will be some baffeling to prevent the glass beads from escape. A pre-filter made from an old pillow case and then a furnace/air-conditioning filter. Lucky for me this thing is super light and it will be used almost exclusively outside . The last thing to deal with is the light. I've got a few options. The best so far are a couple old aquarium lights (they have a plastic cover) or pickup a closet light, both being fluorescent bulbs. The light position will be either front or back. I'm not sure yet. I think front so I don't have to be leaning too far over the cabinet to see no-shadows.
The only problem with this setup is the recycling of the media. The base is flat so I'll have to stop every once in a while to tilt into more media for the gun. In the mean-time my compressor will be playing catch-up.
$16 big storage container
$8 clear plastic window
$4 for a bunch of screws and machine screws w/nuts
$16 for big gloves
$0-$20 cheap siphon blast gun
$0 free fan
$0 scrap MDF for glove rings
$0 plastic grate
$0 old pillow case
$3 for filters
$0-$8 fluorescent light
$25 50lb glass blasting media
Total- $70-100 for everything except the compressor.
Borrowed a compressor and if it all works out I'll be shopping for one this winter.

Mathius

Don't remember where this came from....