got a sand blast cabinet, now what media do I use?

[firstgear]

I just got my sand blast cabinet but don't know anything about blasting or what media to use on what....I know that there are glass beads, silica and others....so the question is, what do I use and on what? when I get it assembled (just came yesterday) I will post some pictures....

 

[gmjunkie]

I use Crushed Walnut shell's, Plastic Bead's, and silica sand!! Depending what I'm doing!! Silica WILLwarp the Hell out of sheet metal!! BE Careful!! junk!!

 

[tigernut]

There is a good comparison of blast media in the Eastwood catalog if you get that.

You can read the comments on each type here:

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1313&itemType=CATEGORY&path=1%2C2%2C1310&KickerID=243&KICKER

Doug

 

[vintagecorvette]

I use #6 or #8 glass bead all the time or #10 for fine.

#4 (30/40) LARGE
#5 (40/50) LARGE
#6 (50/70) MEDIUM
#8 (70/100) MEDIUM
#10 (100/170) FINE
#12 (140/230) FINE

You should and see what your cabinte recommends. oWEN

 

[2X4's 60]

I just got mine from TP TOOLS. Very well built cabinet. Much higher quality than the Harbor Freight made in China cabinets. I did however go to Harbor Freight and picked up 50# of glass beads and 50# of Alum. oxide. Try to get this stuff locally as the shipping is a killer.

 

[ChuckG]

I have a rather small TIP blast cabinet. I've had it for about 15 years. Works great. I use nothing but glass beads. Chuck

 

[firstgear]

another question concerning sand blasting in a cabinet....what kind of additional safety precautions do you take? do you wear a respirator? 3M mask? or is the cabinet itself sufficient?

I realize that when I used my big blaster outdoors, that I need to use a respirator, but what about with the cabinet and the door closed?

 

[firstgear]

I just got mine from TP TOOLS. Very well built cabinet. Much higher quality than the Harbor Freight made in China cabinets. I did however go to Harbor Freight and picked up 50# of glass beads and 50# of Alum. oxide. Try to get this stuff locally as the shipping is a killer.

I called Tractor Supply (TSC) and they carry the 50 lb pail of glass beads for $29 and the aluminum oxide for $25....seems pretty reasonable....

 

[61 Silver]

I just got my sand blast cabinet but don't know anything about blasting or what media to use on what....I know that there are glass beads, silica and others....so the question is, what do I use and on what? when I get it assembled (just came yesterday) I will post some pictures....

I use a product called Black Beauty and it is a very aggressive product for the heavy parts. You can buy it in different grits like you would buy sand paper. I believe that an 80-LB bag cost about $7.00 US. I buy my glass beads from a welding supply house and like to use worn glass beads on my aluminum parts such as intake manifolds.

Ray

 

[firstgear]

found this as I was looking for more info.....I knew that silica was bad....but here are some other things to think about.....

Amorphous Glass - It Won't Hurt You

What happens when you grind up glass and some of the fine particles become airborne? It looks and acts like dust. The presence of dust in the working environment or even in an open area has become a concern to the health and safety officers for public and private operations. Silica dust, not glass dust, is a known hazard and long term exposure is linked to silicosis, a disabling lung condition.
Since glass is made out of silica, the connection is immediately made, and concern for worker safety is often expressed when producing or handling the glass sand. At this point, it is very important to know the difference between the crystalline structure of silica sand and the amorphous structure of glass.
Silica sand in its natural state has a crystalline structure that has the capacity of “sticking” to lung tissues. Once the silica is fired and fused with other ingredients to make glass, the chemical/physical structure of the glass is now called amorphous. Glass is amorphous with a closed structure that doesn’t absorb anything and doesn’t physically stick to tissues. If a person is exposed to amorphous glass fines or dust, the body can expectorate the dust as it would any other type of natural dirt. OHSA simply classifies the glass dust as a nuisance dust.
If you generate some glass dust as you recycle glass, dust suppression or dust collection systems can be used to keep the levels of dust down for the comfort of the operators and the cleanliness of the working environment. Common sense applies and the same health and safety practices apply here as they would for any other type of dusty environments.
In fact, if pulverized glass is being used in a high speed impact application like abrasive cleaning (also knows as sandblasting), studies show the fines produced by glass have lower levels of crystalline or other heavy metal contaminants than commonly used sandblasting media.
Vitrified coal, copper or steel slag is the material used to produce “Black Beauty”, a well known sand blasting media. The fine dust produced by “Black Beauty”, silica sand and many other common blasting abrasives contain heavy metals and crystalline silica. A study by KTA-tator, an independent testing laboratory, concluded that glass was the safest blasting media available.
Now, how are you going to remember the difference between crystalline and amorphous silica? Remember the Latin word “amor”? You will find it in words like amorous or enamored. This Latin word for love is the description of glass that you will love…Amorphous glass.

 

[ChuckG]

My cabinet has a large vacuum tank...about 4 foot tall. It "sucks" the dust out of the cabinet. I've never worried about respiratory problems. It doesn't put out any dust.

Sandblasting I do outside, very infrequently. I wear a mask and a hood. I have a siphon blaster and use "blasting sand" which is available at one of my local hardware stores.

I absolutely love my TIP or TP blaster. I've had it for many years. I've rebuilt the gun a few times, and change nozzles, but that's about it. Chuck

 

[firstgear]

My cabinet has a large vacuum tank...about 4 foot tall. It "sucks" the dust out of the cabinet. I've never worried about respiratory problems. It doesn't put out any dust.

Sandblasting I do outside, very infrequently. I wear a mask and a hood. I have a siphon blaster and use "blasting sand" which is available at one of my local hardware stores.

I absolutely love my TIP or TP blaster. I've had it for many years. I've rebuilt the gun a few times, and change nozzles, but that's about it. Chuck

according to what I read, you use glass and OSHA considers it just dust....I have a blaster for outside as well, I haven't used it as of yet but know I need to get a hood and a mask.....

 

[JL66REDCPE]

I have two blasters - portable and bench top. I use sand mostly in the portable and glass bead in the bench top. I use a respirator with both of them and also a hood with the portable. I also wrap an old T shirt around my face inside the hood and wear a shop apron with the portable. Maybe I am being too cautious. I connect a regular vacuum cleaner to the bench top to keep the dust down. Another concern is getting glass dust on the floor as it can be very slippery. Comments please as this is a very appropriate post

 

[Kid_Again]

Glass dust is NOT just dust. Once in your lungs, it will persist and the effects are cumulative over time. Extensive exposure will lead to lung problems. The worst example would be "white lung disease". Why take the chance? Wear a respirator with a particulate filter, not a charcoal vapor filter.

 

[John Mcgraw]

Like Chuck, I have a TIP cabinet, and I have the vaccuum collection system installed, and a HEPA final filter. If I had it to do over again, I would have routed the exhaust out of the shop to the outside, but I am not going to be boring through the stucco to run an external vent. This setup pretty much covers you no matter what material you are using.

Regards, John McGraw

 

[firstgear]

Glass dust is NOT just dust. Once in your lungs, it will persist and the effects are cumulative over time. Extensive exposure will lead to lung problems. The worst example would be "white lung disease". Why take the chance? Wear a respirator with a particulate filter, not a charcoal vapor filter.

I aggree with your comments on wearing a respirator no matter what you are using for media.......there is no need to take any chances...for sure!

 

[65-to-00]

Kid_Again is right on the money. The last time I was exposed to glass dust I developed bleeding and ended up in intensive care.

There are too many variables such as prior exposures, smoking etc. that will determine how you will react.

A respirator with HEPA filters (rubber not paper) will work if it fits. I will not work if its is the wrong size or if you have facial hair. Even the off the shelf types are better than nothing ..... but do a "challenge" when you are wearing it ..... an old stinky cigar .... if you can smell it ... the mask is not a proper fit.

 

[firstgear]

I bought my glass media today as well as a respirator with new filter cratridges, the one that came with it were only 95% good for filtering, the ones I bought are good for 99.97%.....figure that will do the job.....

also got the cabinet done today.....there are a lot of screws.....too many for sure.........

 

[2X4's 60]

Kid_Again is right on the money. The last time I was exposed to glass dust I developed bleeding and ended up in intensive care.

There are too many variables such as prior exposures, smoking etc. that will determine how you will react.

A respirator with HEPA filters (rubber not paper) will work if it fits. I will not work if its is the wrong size or if you have facial hair. Even the off the shelf types are better than nothing ..... but do a "challenge" when you are wearing it ..... an old stinky cigar .... if you can smell it ... the mask is not a proper fit.

Here's my cabinet. It exhaust's to the outside so no dust in the garage. Top load so it saves on space. High quality product, highly recommended.http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a17/jwd60/2005_1125Image0001.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a17/jwd60/2005_1125Image0002.jpg

 

[JL66REDCPE]

Where did you get your filter cartridges ???