Mentioned picking up the bead blaster a while back.
Just wanted to post a little more:
Used to have access to a larger (4' x 3') commercial
bead blaster in a friends shop some years back... missed
having access to it since moving to Texas. [Small manifold
took about 20 minutes to really clean nicely].
Back to what I have now:
Little table-top Cyclone model, made of the plastic
and pretty much ready to go. Small shop vac came with
it, for a total for $215 on sale [ apprx 20" x 14" x 14"
work area].
With my small 3 hp air compressor (15 year old Craftsman )
I opted to use the 5 cfm restricer (standard is a 14 cfm).
With the 5 cfm nozzle my compressor can keep up fine.
COMMENTS: It is too !@$%^ small! Size was dictated by a "free
area" dumb mistake... should have bought a bigger unit, and put
it on wheels, etc. [Much cheaper to make one yourself... doesn't
have to be fancy, I'll still keep the small one with super fine
glass beads for those small fittings and detail jobs]
MEDIA: Stopped by the industrial house, and asked for "medium
glass beads" Fellow gave me a bag labled "BF8". Hmm, the beads
seem extremely fine. The do excellent work on SMALL close up
area (brass fitting for a temperatur sender... excellent, nice
glossy finish to it). Still, need to clean an aluminum intake
manifold seems like I'll need HOURS.
Anyone recognize that "BF8" mesh size? Is that extra fine?
AIR COMPRESSOR: Next on the list will be a new one. Yep, something
that can handle 15 cfm at 90 psi. ;-)
For the "BUILD IT YOURSELF" Enco shows the "kit" (blast gun, hose,
feed tube) - and the photo looks IDENTICAL to what was fitted in my
CYCLONE cabinet. Also they have the large industrial gloves [Figure
about $60 for the gun and gloves... I do not have the catalog in front
of me at the moment].
Cheers,
Tom Walter
Austin, TX.
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