Hf Blast Cabinet

roadie33 said:
Bruce,
I am thinking of getting the Bench top model also.
How good is it and whats the biggest size part it can handle comfortably?
Click to expand...
I can comfortably put a 20" long part in it. It did not come with a cabinet light so I mounted a flourescent desk lamp inside. HF does not sell replacement disposable sheets for protecting the inside surface of the window. I had a bunch of 1/8" clear vinyl and use that for protectors. Use a couple of old screen door latches to secure the sheets. I also have a water filter right at the blaster. Otherwise it was trying to throw mud, really had a lot of moisture in my air. It works fine for my needs. I have a Campbell Hausfeld 4 HP 20 gallon compressor rated at something like 9 CFM at 100 psi. Picked up the blaster with one of the 25% off coupons so it was around $80.

Bruce

Bruce
 
I bought one of the cabinets from HF in September and ended up going down the Tacoma Company route. Mike at Tacoma was real helpful with assembly tips but delivery of the upgrade equipment was a bit slow. He was in the middle of a redesign last fall and my parts didn't arrive until Christmas Eve. I must say the cabinet works real well with all of his tips and equipment. Here are some of the noteworthy things I went through on the assembly:

1. All major cabinet seams on the top and side seams were sealed with silicone during assembly.
2. The foam gasket was used to attach the lower hopper to the top of the cabinet without sealer.
3. A bead of polyurethane window sealant was run down the inside hopper seams. This stuff dries real slow but provides a slicker surface
and does not cause the media to hang up.
4. Tacoma uses the left side cabinet air port for air inlet and the rear right side as an outlet. Mike has instructions how to close off the topside of the air outlet baffel
5. I bought an air inlet baffle from Tacoma and installed it on the inside. The baffle comes with the topside closed.
6. Mike recommends replacing the HF light with a high output halogen. This creates heat and helps keep the media dry. The lighting is also better.
7. I also used the Oneida Dust Deputy with my shop vac.
8. I replaced all of the door foam strip because mine was stuck to the door trim during shipping. Also adding a second strip on the door bottom will fill a void area that collects media that will dump on
the floor after media blasting. Mike sells an improved door shield that prevents this.
9. I duct taped over the door holes to avoid another media collection place.
10. I completely modified the window installation mechanism while waiting for my parts to ship. My setup uses 3/4" x 1/8" flat steel as an interior windows frame. The was welded together and tapped for machine screws. I have to be careful with the hole placement since the sheet metal hole pattern is off from the top of the box. The frame was then glued to the box interior with the left over polyurethane sealer. I used washers and the mounting nuts to hold it together for a few days while the sealer dried. Foam tape is used on the top of the cabinet as a sealing mechanism just as HF does it.
11. Mike recommends using single strength glass as a sacrificial interior shield the the double strength glass from HF on the outside. I just place both sheets of glass on the foam, placed the frame over the machine screw studs, and ran the nuts in place with washers.
12. Welded together a mobile base.

One thing I haven't seen or heard in the videos on the Tacoma Company setup is the the fact that this is an HVLP system. I modified my compressor to bypass the on board air regulator. There was a port on my compressor controls that gave me access to tank pressure versus the regulated output. This was done to avoid as many restrictions as possible. My media blaster hose is also 1/2" and not the typical 3/8".

I have maybe 20 hours on the setup so far and it seems to run quite well. It hasn't clogged yet even when it is raining out.

-Joe
 
catoctin said:
9. I duct taped over the door holes to avoid another media collection place.
10. I completely modified the window installation mechanism while waiting for my parts to ship. My setup uses 3/4" x 1/8" flat steel as an interior windows frame. The was welded together and tapped for machine screws. I have to be careful with the hole placement since the sheet metal hole pattern is off from the top of the box. The frame was then glued to the box interior with the left over polyurethane sealer. I used washers and the mounting nuts to hold it together for a few days while the sealer dried. Foam tape is used on the top of the cabinet as a sealing mechanism just as HF does it.
Click to expand...

9. I forgot I did this too, You really must cover the hold in the door or every time you open it media will fall on the ground, I also added like a 2" lip on the bottom of the door so when the door is closed most of the media goes back in instead of landing on the door jamb.

10. This is the next change for me... Improving the window glass removal/replacement.
 
jmanatee said:
9. I forgot I did this too, You really must cover the hold in the door or every time you open it media will fall on the ground, I also added like a 2" lip on the bottom of the door so when the door is closed most of the media goes back in instead of landing on the door jamb.

10. This is the next change for me... Improving the window glass removal/replacement.
Click to expand...

I probably would have never done 10 but the ship time for the parts was pretty long so there was plenty of time to play with it. Now that it is done, it will make changing the glass a snap.
 
Toolmaster, was that the older or newer model that failed?
They changed some things in the new model.
I've heard of one way to tell is if it has one or 2 clamps on the door.
 
Wow there isn't much to the dust deputy for $50.00 , hope it works on the fine stuff
 
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