Basic Blasting Cabinet Set Up?

[Bill Shields]

ah...now....that I understand.

a widget that can be purchased?

[Greg_Lewis]

RSG pretty much covered it. It's a venturi-like gadget that attaches to the bottom of the bin. If you do a web search for "blast cabinet metering valve," you'll find them. There is a valve on it by which you can adjust the intake air. As RSG wrote, you don't want to use too much pressure as that will break the beads into dust before their time. I think I have mine set for 60 or so, and it works just fine. I attach the shop vac to the exhaust outlet on the side of the cabinet which draws a small amount of vacuum inside the box and keeps the dust from going all over the shop. I have a cyclone separator on the shop vac which catches most of the dust before it gets to the vac filter. It's called a Dust Deputy, and I just mounted it atop an old metal can. (Someone has a Youtube video of making a separator from a soda bottle.) I put that whole set on a cart so I can move it around the shop.

[Harold_V]

Thanks, guys! New to me!
I agree with what happens to glass beads. They are shattered when used with too much pressure. Might just as well use crushed glass in that case, and it's a lot cheaper to buy.

H

[RSG]

Greg, you will be happy with the results. I ended up buying a metering valve for the vacuum port at the back of the cabinet to control the amount of suction after I found my shop vac to be too strong. Even the smallest of shop vacs will suck the media out of the cabinet in short order.

[Greg_Lewis]

Greg, you will be happy with the results. I ended up buying a metering valve for the vacuum port at the back of the cabinet to control the amount of suction after I found my shop vac to be too strong. Even the smallest of shop vacs will suck the media out of the cabinet in short order.

Yup. I've had this for about five years and like it a lot. The cyclone really saves the vac filters which are about ten bucks each. Good idea about reducing the vac suction.