Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

i need advice on which Blaster Cabinet is best to Buy / Use ??
and which Blast Medium to use to clean old rusted cast-iron Heads / Parts and such ??

currently looking at : Eastwood B100
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwDdjrjPMS0

anyone has experience on Eastwood Blasters , especially on the B100 Model ?

anyother Blaster Cabinets you would recommend and any Blast Medium you would prefer
need to Blast old cast-iron Heads + some aluminum Heads / Valves , etc

What about Muratic Acid soak/wash on castiron ?? ... any good or bad results ??

what about Vapor Blasting ???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8T19Pxx2hk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9Qv4ALXeqc

Eastwood stuff IMO is mostly junk. They market a lot to the DIY crowd and most of the stuff they sell is inferior or Chinese. At least that has been my experience doing Restorations for a living.

TP Tools in Ohio sells a large line of American made blast cabinets at fair prices. They are pretty good quality and you can always get replacement parts and consumables from them as well.

https://www.tptools.com/

This: https://clemcoindustries.com/products/b ... ulsar55se/

I've been using this unit for almost 20 years without any issues whatsoever.

http://toolsplususa.com/shop/blast-cabi ... 48x24.html

Having the front access hatch is a very convenient option. You can also load it from either side.

While I have no specific blast cabinet to recommend, I have learned a few things regarding blasting over the last 50 years.

Blast cabinets must not leak blasting media dust; a functioning vacuum media recovery system is critical.

Blast cabinets must have adequate interior lighting. This becomes important during bright daylight hours.

Over time, a wide variety of blast media may be used, i.e, aluminum oxide, silica sand, glass bead, steel shot, etc,
in a range of grit sizes. It must be easy to quickly change from one media to another or else be stuck with the
incorrect media for specific applications.

Replacement parts, including accessories (gloves, hoses, nozzles, filters, etc) must be readily available.

Consider a larger size cabinet than you think you now need. A blast cabinet is an expensive tool that will
last for many years.

I taught at a technical college for 26 years, and we had three blast cabinets, one was snap-on, one was an off brand I don't remember. I purchased one like this and it was the best of the three. Just from my experience all blast cabinets are high maintenance equipment, so replacement parts are a must. The link has an opening side door and a opening top door, which is great not only for handling parts, but when it comes time to work on it, you can get to things much easier. I could never get along with the peel off plastic sheeting, so I just had the hardware store cut several glass windows, and swapped them out as needed. How easy is the cabinet to empty and strain the crap out of it, and how easy are the filters to change on the dust collection part, and I might add price a replacement filter for the dust collection, some are very expensive.

And if you want to see how a tool lasts, just turn loose 100 students a year that don't have a clue and you will find all the weak points. I kept the blast cabinet in my room, and I always knew when the other two in the main shop were broke, because of the traffic of students wanting to use the one in my room.

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools ... _200773685

A lot of good ones out there, especially decades-old quality-made models that can be picked up at auctions, etc.

Definitely don’t overlook Trinco Blast Cabinets. We have two, including your typical freestanding 3x5ish media blaster and even one so massive that a step ladder is required get up to and operate it. Trinco has been around for almost a century and their equipment is fully serviceable and supported by them.

https://trinco.com/

Having owned and wore out several, I think trinco, clemco, empire, ABS, are all good. I have owned a BadBoy blaster for a few years and it is decent plus me affordable. Mine does soda, poorly, or siphon.
Aluminum oxide will work well, as well as black diamond for rusty parts.

David Redszus wrote: ↑Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:45 am While I have no specific blast cabinet to recommend, I have learned a few things regarding blasting over the last 50 years.

Blast cabinets must not leak blasting media dust; a functioning vacuum media recovery system is critical.

Blast cabinets must have adequate interior lighting. This becomes important during bright daylight hours.

Over time, a wide variety of blast media may be used, i.e, aluminum oxide, silica sand, glass bead, steel shot, etc,
in a range of grit sizes. It must be easy to quickly change from one media to another or else be stuck with the
incorrect media for specific applications.

Replacement parts, including accessories (gloves, hoses, nozzles, filters, etc) must be readily available.

Consider a larger size cabinet than you think you now need. A blast cabinet is an expensive tool that will
last for many years.

And do put a small 1/8" npt inlet rapper/vibrator on the hopper. Here in the Midwest when humidity is high the media continually wants to clump up A small rapper with regulator to dial it back so it doesn't shake the cabinet apart but keeps the media falling helps a LOT!

If you're wanting to re-create the look of 'original cast iron' the best media to get you close is S230-330 round steel cast shot

Good for 'undercover' work too

If you just want them clean then Alum Ox / Garnet, or more economically fine crushed glass, remove detritus faster but you lose the 'look', as it's angular media

Glass beads are best suited to matte Alum work, but keep the pressure down as they break up easily and give an increasingly more flat matt finish

As regards pickling, a circa 10% sol of Phosphoric acid works well, if you're patient and doesn't flash to rust (it's an 'anti-corrosion' treatment), although a pre-soak in 10-15% sol Citric acid is sometimes preferable ....... rinse well, PPE, local regulations blah blah

The latter two are 'food additives' so there's less explaining needed, if you're asked ........ another one, Molasses, is messy

As regards swapping media out don't bother, gets old quick, find room for another cabinet ....... or two

Don't use sand, Silicosis kills people

As always there's more to it ......

Don't use sand, Silicosis kills people

Glass bead IS silica, just the shape is different. The longer it is used it becomes silica dust.

And, yes, silica dust is very bad for your health. Ergo the need for a good filter system.

Larry
I would favor a front load cabinet, i have 3 side loads and they are a bitch to load anything heavy. You can always change up the
medium , but not the way it loads.
Dwight F

Electrolysis rust removal doesn't leave abrasive material in your engine parts. I use glass bead in my cabinet, but if I need to use sand, I do it outside. When we did the restoration on my 71 C20, I dropped a bag of blast sand in between the frame rails with the suction hose in it and my wife blasted the whole frame.

vortecpro wrote: ↑Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:05 pm This: https://clemcoindustries.com/products/b ... ulsar55se/

X2 on the Clemco units. They're built for industrial use as opposed to the toy units sold by Eastwood.

Where are you located? I've got a near-new Clemco Pulsar which was about $18,000 new and will make someone a Speed-Talk sweetheart deal.
https://clemcoindustries.com/products/b ... lsar-plus/