I've got a lot of parts I need to blast, so I figured I'd build a soda blaster from this link:
http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/But, I didn't want to spend the winter hosing down my driveway each time I used it. So, I needed to find a soda blaster cabinet. I stumbled across Torchmonkey's cabinet (
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=61848.66) and thought it was a GREAT design!
I emailed Torchmonkey and asked for his blessing to put the build process up here to share with the group. He liked the idea, so here we go. Please note I may have built mine a bit differently, but the same functionality is achieved.
Budget 1-1.5 hours, and here are the parts you'll need:
18 gallon tote
| $4.50
|
4" PVC male adapter x 2
| $13.50
|
4" metal worm gear clamp x 2
| $2.75
|
5/16"ID vinyl tubing x 3
| $.60
|
Plexiglass - 11"x15.5"
| $3.00
|
XL Neoprene gloves - long cuff
| $5.00
|
| Air gun w/ nozzle | $~7.00
|
| Total | $36.00
|
Of the above items, I already had the air gun w/ barbed nozzle, so I priced the items out at Lowe's and Home Depot. They're about $7.00. If you can find a thinner nozzle than a barbed nozzle, I'd highly recommend it. The barbed nozzle doesn't allow much of it to enter the tubing without restricting soda flow.
Here are the parts for the cabinet:
This gives you a feel for how the gloves will mount. Just stretch the glove's cuff over the 4" PVC male adapter and then put the 4" metal worm gear clamp over the glove's cuff to secure it to the adapter:
I held my hands flush with the side of the cabinet and marked where they would enter the side of the cabinet. I then traced the adapters' outside diameter on the side of the cabinet. [NOTE: After finishing the cabinet, I noticed the holes were a bit low. This makes sense, since when using the cabinet my hands are inside it 8-10 inches, and my forearms angle down toward my hands (instead of being parallel to the ground). So, figure out where your hands rest comfortably outside the cabinet and mark that spot - then, when you cut your holes for the adapters, raise them 1" or so.] In this pic, you can see marks on the cabinet inside of the adapter. Those are where I marked the outlines of my fists as I rested them against the side of the cabinet. On the left side, I initially traced the adapter too high, so I dropped it down before cutting.
I bought a Dremel cutting tool for plastic to cut out the adapters' holes - BIG MISTAKE! I had shavings everywhere for the next 45 minutes until, fed up, I swept the garage I drilled a hole inside each adapter hole to get the Dremel going.
Live and learn. To cut out the opening for the plexiglass window on top of the cabinet, I used an exacto knife to cut the corners and tin snips to cut the plastic out. It was MUCH cleaner. The plexiglass piece I had cut was 11"x15.5", so I cut out an opening that was 10.5"x15".
I silicone caulked the plexiglass to the lid. I was bummed I only had white caulk (that didn't sound right!), but I didn't want to make another trip to the store. Dropped some weights on it for awhile to help the caulk set.
I want the soda to be inside the cabinet, but I still need to cut holes for the air compressor line and the shop vac. Based on where I thought I'd hold the gun, I decided to drill here (about 2" lower than the drill's bit). I also mounted the gloves and drilled a hole for the shop vac.
On to the gun. See the above aircooledtech link for how to do this. Again, if you can find a thinner air nozzle than my barbed nozzle, I highly recommend it, as I think my seal to the tubing could be better. I used a pencil taped to the end of the tubing to keep it straight in the soda box. And, per aircooledtech, a 45 deg angle on the bottom of the tubing is important.
Hook up the gun to the air compressor and . . . IT'S ALIVE!!
I spent five minutes blasting a carb bowl. Here were the results:
Before
After
I was somewhat pleased with the results. Here's what I'm going to tweak to see if I can get better pressure:
1. Re-tape my barbed nozzle to the tubing.
2. Shorten my hose from 6 feet to 3 feet. I think it's tough to create a high-pressure pull through 6 feet of hose.
3. If 1 & 2 don't help me get the remaining marks/crud off the piece, I'll likely go to Harbor Freight for some blasting soda.
As for keeping the mess down, I would:
1. Upgrade the cabinet to a unit that either has a latching top or, better yet, see if the cabinet has a seal between the lid and cabinet. Some soda seeps through there.
2. Put a grommet around the air compressor hose hole - soda escapes from there, too.
So, for less than $40 and 1-1.5 hours of your time, you'll have a soda blaster cabinet that you can pull off the shelf whenever you need to clean up a part! Many thanks to Torchmonkey for such a cool cabinet idea!
