Larry,
Thanks... you covered the whole story. I have a smallish SEARS
8 gallon 1.5 HP compressor that I bought 10-12 years ago for 1/4
scale RC airplane building. It worked fine for those painting
and cleaning chores fine. I still use it for cleaning parts as
they come out of the parts washer and for general garage
chores... but will not run big air tools and probably will not do
for bead blasting.
Thanks again
Brian Sanborn
'62 TR4 CT16260L soon to be "O" - Groton, MA
My TR4 Restoration Web Site
http://www.net1plus.com/users/sanborn
E-Mail: sanborn@net1plus.com
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of
LaJoMor@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2001 4:36 PM
To: sanborn@net1plus.com; triumphs@autox.team.net
Cc: shop-talk@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Bead blasting cabinet(long reply)
Brian...
Different media require different pressures. Aluminum oxide used
for heavy
duty paint and rust removal will require somewhere between
80-90psi. Glass
beads...for cleaning cast aluminum etc. probably 40-50psi. My
compressor, a
SEARS 5.5hp, 25 gallon, runs quite a bit when I use it at
80-90psi. It will
do the work but as I said, it runs a lot. It is rated at 8.6 scfm
@ 40psi,
6.4 scfm @ 90psi. It is a single cylinder, oil-free, 120volt
model. If you
are planning on doing a lot of blasting get the biggest mamu you
can afford.
I do not blast big (wheels, etc) items.
Thoughts on the compressor...adequate, noisy, has held up well
over about 2
years on and off use. Can be used for air tools as well. Be sure
to get and
use a moisture trap or two. The compressor does not (!) come with
it. Use
MUST use these if you are doing any type of painting. It helps
also to keep
the water out of air tools!
I have a Harbour Freight stand-alone cabinet. It was something
like $270 a
couple of years ago. Have to put the legs on yourself. No big
deal. Cabinet
is adequate for cost. The additional fluorescent light lasted
about a week. I
would not buy it again. I use an external light (incandescent on
magnetic
base) with better results. The fluorescent was just too dim to
help anyhow.
The viewing glass was held in with sheet metal screws and leaked
media. I
replaced them with nuts and bolts and it works fine now. They
supply a few
clear thin acetate (?) sheets that have double-sided tape to hold
it to the
inside of the glass. You have to change these frequently when
using high
pressures. If you don't use these the glass gets frosted and you
have to
replace IT!. You get used to the routine.
Wheels...I am pretty sure 15" would fit but it's tight. Not much
room to
maneuver the gun. Probably would be a chore.
Blasting media...Harbour Freight sells it at their retail stores.
Eastwood
sells it. Also there are other places that sell blasting media.
Check your
Yellow Pages under sandblasting.
Sorry for the length. Hope this helps.
Larry Morrison
TR250
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