homemade bead blaster

[springer454]

had an nightmare one day that actually turned out terribly wonderful and gets a lot of use.
next time someone offers up a FREE SIDE BY SIDE FRIDGE grab it up & with about 8 hrs work ,worst being seperating the insulation ,Isonean I think like the canned insulation (great stuff) trade name I think..... well I used a flat shovel and trimmed it all out and then cut the bottom of the fridge off square, then fit a 1/8 in thick plate to the door opening front for the, window & glove holes then laid it on a pre built frame and lastly the door which was the motor compartment that was cut off square as it was an angled shelf when still in the fridge state, the pics show the tappered ductwork to hopper the Glass Beads to the pvc cap that's drilled & tapped for the media control ball valve don't leave this out as a suction type system will feed too much material and clog the hose so the valve is used as a FEED THROTTLE (MUST HAVE) IT WORKS SO WELL IT'S HARD TO WALK BY A RUSTY PIECE NOEING IN A FEW MINUTES ITS LIKE NEW AGAIN HOPE this little home made gets the gears a turnin, bad side is a air compressor big enough is a must, as a black max wont ever recover itul' just run and run and run, then burn up.

View attachment 104108

 

[Richardvonmann]

Now that is one piece of equipment that is on my to do list!
Thanks for sharing, it has opened up my eyes to an awesome idea!

 

[llarson]

Nice job on the blaster, those things sure are handy. I built one quite similiar to yours out the shell of a discarded heating furnace from an auto dealership. I shortened the box down to a 2x3 foot work space, plenty big for me. There was enough spare sheetmetal to make the hopper, and I traded the el huge blower for a smaller one, mounted it on top the box, and ducted it outside into a homemade dust trap.