I got rid of my Snap on "wanna be" sand blast cabinet (made by someone else FOR Snap on) last summer, because I got a better unit; side entry. 'lil narrower but taller (takes up less space but will swallow larger parts) and a huge vac system (1/2HP industrial Baldor motor the likes of which is larger than I've seen on some drill presses and such) that will hopefully allow my glass window to last longer, and I can actually breathe myself, while operating it.
I got this obviously commercial duty machine, courtesy of my cousin, when his old job went belly up and they actually gave him orders to SCRAP it! Looking at some of the units on the Web, ones this heavy duty are not seen in many ads, and when they are is a $1300-ish cabinet. but I got it free; my 'cuz took it home, but after sitting in his garage a few years, he never got the "biggie sized" compressor he had hoped to get in order to run it; which I already have (he he he) so this is a "hand me down that I'm actually glad to get!
But though I have used foot pedal operated ones I have never had to work on/get parts for one. I need a new gun (this one's a cobbled up mess; 1/2 apparently some sort of "factory made" unit, with the other 1/2 consisting of 1"NPT to 3/8" bell reducer and ~3" hardware store nipple as its "nozzle";
though my comp is a 18 CFM@175 PSI 4 cylinder dual stage unit with an 80 gallon tank, ("emglo" brand about 22 years old) I don't think that it will run that large of a "nozzle"; I see no ID plate regarding a manufacturer of the unit; obviously NOT a homemade one. (though some of the controls, etc have been back yard engineered) Anyone have a good source of sandblast guns for foot pedal activated machines (hopefully US made) with readily available nozzles and other parts????

Next Q; I just used basic Black Beauty (coal slag) or Silica sand in the old Snap on one, as well as the (borrowed) pressure pot I had for larger jobs; anyone I see that sells things like walnut shells, glass beads, etc wants as much to ship as to buy the material.
What type of (local, at least semi local) place would have various abrasives like these(I can get black Beauty or silica sand about at several places around here)
I have some alum castings that I'd like to do, and the manifolds etc., I saw at the swap meet that I went to Sunday, were scary to say the least that had been actually SAND blasted to a point that I'd be afraid they may have a hard time sealing up. What this one gut was selling was turned into basically over priced scrap by his blast/clean up job.

I've got a local sand/gravel place here that stocks and sells all the different blast media.They also do bricks/paver blocks etc so look for something like that close to you. Also a local paint/body shop supply place sells bead blast parts and pieces and I would think it wouldn't be to hard to re-enginer to a blast gun with the replaceable ceramic nozzels,so check your local body shop supply place.Most of the bodyshops around here have a blast cabinet,check yours and see where they get their stuff.

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Yeah I'm not real worried about a little re engineering. Cabinet's definitely worth it. Gotta take the window frame out of this cab and take it in to have fitted for new glass, along with the requisite spares.

Don, You can get clear window covers (disposable) to keep from blasting your window. Mine’s had the same glass for almost 20 years now. I also keep a small baseball bat in the corner there for when I catch someone blasting without a cover over the window...

http://www.toolsplus1.com/bcparts.htm

You can blast aluminum parts with baking soda. They sell some just for blasting and it’s best but regular old Arm & Hammer works in a siphon blaster.

Danny

Cool and thanks; I had been actually wondering about using soda as a blast media, as from what I had seen lurking the internet they seem to offer a different machine for soda blasting. There is a guy not that far from me that offers soda blasting for car bodies for~$800+ and I was wondering if I could do so with a "regular" pressure pot when I get ready to do the body on my car; I already did the whole car except the outer sheet metal and its starting to "flash-rust" so it will need to be done again once I get the body work done before paint--- along with doing the outer body sheetmetal that way while I'm at it.
I had heard someone mention Grainger and Tractor Supply; the closest of either is an hour from me, tahts why I had asked for other suggestions; if baking soda is a workable option in my cabinet I wonder if a bulk food outlet or bakery supply place could sell it in 50lb sacks like flour??? (that said I am NOcook)!!!

The blasting soda comes in sacks but I’m not sure if regular baking soda does. What I bought was in large boxes (similar to the small boxes) I think about 5lbs each. It’s been a long time; I don’t remember where I got it but I bought a case and still have some left I think. I remember calling the number on the Arm & Hammer box (A nice lady will tell you where to buy either one). You can probably find it on the newfangled Internet now. One or two boxes is enough for my cabinet blaster.

Don’t put regular baking soda in a pressure blaster. When you open the pressure valve it instantly compresses it into a brick inside the tank. And it absorbs every drop of moisture. I had to make a long chisel/poker thing to bust it up, then fished my shop-vac hose down through the hole to vacuum it out.

Blasting soda is like regular soda that has been glued together into little balls. It doesn’t work great in a pressure blaster either. I had to have someone shake the pressure tank to keep the media moving while I blasted. It could have been moisture in the air but I don’t think that’s the only problem. I’ve never seen a soda blasting set up to figure out what is different. It could probably be figured out - I just never did. I think after what I learned with the regular soda, I’d try regulating the tank pressure with the blasting soda.

Walnut shells work okay but they are odd sized and I didn't have any way to screen them. I may have had to use a larger tip; I know they kept stopping it up but that isn’t such a big deal with a siphon blaster.

Danny