modifying a Harbor Freight blast cabinet

Bought one of these awhile back, works pretty good if you have enough air.


I found it to be lacking in efficiency, though, and wanted to improve it. I have some plans for "building your own cabinet" from TP Tools, with detailed instructions for the pickup tube. My tube was already very similar, so I decided to modify it exactly like theirs.

Here's my stock pickup tube....


Measure in 1" on the LONG tube, and cut that inch off. Measure in another 1", and drill a 5/16" hole through the side of the long tube, and through both tubes where they meet. Don't drill all the way through the second tube, or you'll have to seal that hole too.



Flatten the end of the now-protruding short tube to seal it, and then cut that 1" piece of scrap pipe in half lengthwise. You'll need one piece of it to seal the 5/16" hole in the side of the long tube....


On the long tube, measure up 1" above the top of the short tube, mark and drill a 1/8" hole. This hole will act as an air bleed to smooth out the suction flow so it will pass more media smoother, without surging, gulping, burping, spitting, whatever you want to call it.


Then I mixed up some JB Weld and sealed the flattened tube, glued the cover piece on the hole, and sealed up the web area where the two tubes meet, where the 5/16" drill came through a little bit.


Finished version. The idea is, that air will flow down through the short tube, through the 5/16" hole between the tubes and back up through the long tube, thus creating better suction at the bottom of the long tube, for more media flow. The 1/8" hole acts as an air bleed to smooth it out further. Seems to work a lot better now! -Ron-

 

Good job, Ron. I love it when someone modifies a generalized piece of equipment to better suit his own application.

tommy b

 

Interesting. is your pickup tube attached to the hose with the gun on it? I don't think my pickup tube looks like that, and I too have a hf cabinet. wonder if yours is a bigger model...

 

My biggest problem is the gun laying over when not in use for days at a time and folding a kink in that poly hose. I wonder if a guy could convert to braided?

 

All of these blasters need huge volumes of CFM air depending on the nozzle and cabinet size , It's not pressure you need it's volume. For me a minimum would be a : 2 stage 7-10 HP Compressor , 80-120 gallon tank and 18-35 CFM depending on the nozzle. Had one for years, always messy inside be it from cabinet leakage or when changing media.....................sold it to a friend , now he does all my blasting.

 

I might try this on my bench top cabinet. It works great when it works. I keep having to move the pick up tube around. I might try this to see if I can get better supply of media.

Biggest issue I have is water in the lines. No matter what I try in Florida, humidity is always high......

 

motor guard makes a filter that will hold a roll o toilet paper. they sell a filter to fit the housing, but i use dollar store tp. http://www.amazon.com/Motor-Guard-M-30-Submicronic-Compressed/dp/B000GI0H2M

 

There are lots of articles online about DIY air dryers. :hmm:

 

Really? Never thought about that....know any good links offhand?

 

Ron: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=153878&showall=1