Media blaster

[seabeelt]

I have the harbor freight version
http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capa ... 68893.html

I run my shop vac in the side port air opening and it works very well. For $200 it is a bargain. Can be difficult to assemble if you have short arms, and it could be a little taller for my height 6'-4", but otherwise no complaints. Don't believe everything you read in the review page. I had absolutly no issues with mine
R/

[fiat218]

I was going to look at them, that's perfect

[manoa matt]

I made my own cabinet out of an old washing machine/dryer housing. Looks just like the store bought models, If I remember I'll post some photos this weekend. You can make one out of plywood/particleboard pretty cheap, just google the plans or look at a store bought one and copy the design.

There are two types of media blasters: siphon feed and pressure pot. If you can afford it, get a pressure pot, they have a higher percentage of media per CFM of air delivered making them more effective.

The whole system depends on one thing, your air compressor. If your air compressor is not big enough to deliver a minimum of CFM at a high pressure you will burn out the motor as it will be running constantly. 33 gal is probably a minimum size, but it depends on the size of the compressor piston and CFM delivered. The pressure pot blasters can act as a reserve tank that stores more compressed air which will let the compressor rest between duty cycles thereby allowing you to use a smaller air compressor. You will need something that can deliver at minimum 7 CFM at 90 PSI, more is better.

However with that being said, if you investigate places that do blasting as a service you may be surprised at how cheap it is. A few years ago I had 10 aluminum rims blasted at $15 per rim. With my setup it would have taken me a few hours per rim. I only blast smaller parts that I want a finished cosmetic look that only media blasting can create. For any normal steel part that will be painted it is so much faster, cheaper, and easier to soak it in a chemical stripper then wire wheel it. Just think about how much garage space a blast cabinet, pressure pot, and compressor will take up vs. how much you will use them.

And stay away from that Chinese junk!