Thoughts On Sandblast Cabinets
If you have ever thought about sand blasting, you have probably found out you are going to need a sandblast cabinet. Why not? Sandblasting is a bit of an art and does use some specialized sandblasting equipment but it does do some jobs a lot faster that other methods, some jobs better than other methods, and some jobs that just cannot be done with out a sandblaster. It is not even a new invention; the first sandblast cabinet was built in the 1880's.
Let us start at the beginning. By its very name you can guess that it involves abrasives. In fact there is even 3M sandblaster sandpaper. That should give you a clue right there. Sand-basting is basically like sanding done in mid-air. Abrasives are flung at a high speed against a surface to clean or strip it of a coating. Because of the you will see the words “tungsten carbite” used a lot when reading about sandblasting supplies. That is because of it's strength. It is five times hare than steel and can only be polished with diamonds. It has to be that tough to handle the wear it will receive.
With a name like “sandblasting” you might assume that all of it is done with sand. You would be wrong. Sand can and often is used but so are other materials. Glass beads, similar to sand in that the are mostly silicon, can be used but so can pecan shells and other sandblasting supplies. The pecan shells work well with dealing with wood because they are not as abrasive and wear away the wood to fast. This is good when working on old furniture but the shells to have a problem clogging up the machine more than the sand or glass will.
Now that we know a little more about sand blasting it is time to talk about a sandblast cabinets. What is a sandblast cabinet? Well, it serves two purposes when sandblasting smaller objects. It protects you and it recycles. Now, of course you do not need one when taking the graffiti off a bridge but when dealing with smaller things they are idea. They work by being a small, enclosed environment. There is a tough see-through shield so you can see your work. Also, though, it collects and reuses the abrasive via a vacuum system. This can save a good deal of wasted money in the long run.
If you are so inclined you can try to build you own homemade sandblast cabinets but it might not be just as easy as you think. The part of the cabinet that protects your eyes is pretty straight forward. Re-adding the abrasive is not to hard either but creating the vacuum system that continually recycles the abrasive is a little tricky. Regardless, you are still better off than no cabinet at all.
Like any thing else, you will get out of your sandblasting cabinet what you put into it. Your needs will dictate the best course of action for your use but no matter which you choose, you will enjoy the investment.
