Topic: washing machine blasting cabinet

[greasy j]

I need a blast cab, but I'm cheap. was thinkin of makin somethin like this:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=65208.0

lookin in the garage for somethin to use. I have an old washing machine that doesn't work. landlord left it, doesn't want it back. I was thinkin about using that. it's taking up the room anyways...

so I was thinkin cut a hole in the lid almost to the edge, so I can still use the lid. and put plexiglass in it. but it might be kind of dark. being deep and all. the door is in the top.

so maybe put it on it's side? and cut a hole in the side(now top), plexiglass. obviously I'm gonna dig out all the internals and toss em. it also just happens to have 2 cut outs in the back that are the perfect size for glove holes. and a water drain that could be an air outlet. I could make some legs out of wood so it is like a table. hmmm.

suggestions? anyone done this?

also I may use this to clean carbs and whatnot but mostly to strip paint and rust off stuff to prep for paint. will blasting soda take off old paint and rust? or do I need different media?

here's some pics of the thing. if I decide to do this I'll take a bunch of pics and show how it turned out.

[greasy j]

I just took the thing apart.

I now have a blast cab frame and what looks like it could be a parts washer. with drain, too. but it's super big and heavy. the damn center of the wash mach is on the bottom piece pretty good, and that piece is full of holes, so I'll just put plywood on that end. the other walls are pretty good w/ holes in places that seem useable.

as I was rippin it apart I was thinkin about how this could prob be easily fixed by a qualified elec/plumber/maytag man. makes ya feel kinda giddy to ruin something perfectly good just to make something all half ass and home built. felt like when I was a kid smashin windows. must be how chopper guys feel.

[Peters1983]

that is an awsome idea, I saw the other post and that design is a little too small for what I want to do. this has me thinkin how i can convert the broken dryer in the basement.

[BlindJoe]

cool, i think i remember seeing one made out of an old fridge a while back

[Bowswell]

here,s mine.

[mystic_1]

I'm sensing a theme...



mystic_1

[greasy j]

thanks for the support, I was hoping no one would have a reason why this is crazy.

I'm finishing a job tomorrow then I'm gonna come home and see what I can do with this.

so I figure I need:
the gloves, but long ones, or sewn to pant legs?
pvc and worm clamps like in other thread
the glass/plexiglass
blast gun (I actually have the same air gun they use in the homemade style one, but I might get the one from HD, it's only $9)
bit of plywood for where the bottom was, now side
sealant, caulk or whatnot?

not sure how i'll do the bottom, yet. I suppose I just scrape the stuff up and put it in a box, but it'd be nice to have the funnel bottom.

where can I get blast material? is soda good enough for paint or should I get some soda for cleaning. and sand or ? for stripping paint?

I can go to HF but it's a haul so I'd rather not. home depot?

should I seal this up with silicone, how tight does it need to be?

[greasy j]

here,s mine.

that looks like a decent size. is there a tight seal when you shut the lid, or does that matter?

[Bowswell]

plexiglass cover

[Ace]

I've seen one made out of a clothes dryer.  Cut the front out and put in glass window and holes for gloves, cut the back out and fitted hinged door, put a metal grate in the bottom to sit bigger parts in it instead of having to hold them, installed light so you can see and the bottom had a large funnel shaped hole in to with a bucket to collect the glass bead that the guy was using.  Worked really well.  shame I couldn't put it in my pocket and take it home 

[greasy j]

just finished sealing everything up.

let the pics do the talkin. I'm tired,

[mgbgt89]

as I was rippin it apart I was thinkin about how this could prob be easily fixed by a qualified elec/plumber/maytag man. makes ya feel kinda giddy to ruin something perfectly good just to make something all half ass and home built. felt like when I was a kid smashin windows. must be how chopper guys feel.

Haha.. ZING!

[greasy j]

as I was rippin it apart I was thinkin about how this could prob be easily fixed by a qualified elec/plumber/maytag man. makes ya feel kinda giddy to ruin something perfectly good just to make something all half ass and home built. felt like when I was a kid smashin windows. must be how chopper guys feel.

Haha.. ZING!

sometimes it's hard to get sense of humor across on the net. glad you laughed. no offense chopper guys, you are the gung ho tough-assed(literally) marines in our Honda-4 army.

so I did end up goin to HF. got the blaster gun w/ hopper there. that way I can use it separate for stuff that doesn't fit like my frame. I bought a high speed metal cutter for $7! but I can't go there without seeing a 100 things I need. it was really hard not to buy a standing buffer/grinder, next time...

got the light, hinges, magnet door shutters for both sides and lots of little stuff there as well. for blast media I bought a 50 lb bag of blast soda and 20 lbs of aluminum oxide.

I actually took the light apart(wiring) so I could get the wire through a hole smaller than the plug, keep everything sealed up. not sure how critical airtightness is, but it is pretty close, besides vac attach and baffle of course. I sealed up all the other cracks w/ silicone sealant and used weather stripping on the doors. the wooden door has an extremely close fit, I'm proud of that part. the whole thing was wanting to slant so I used the legs to reinforce it. It came out perfectly straight. prob didn't need the stripping. there was a big gap where the overhang of what used to be the lid is. I bent a part that was facing in, out to cover the whole.(1st pic)

the air plug is mounted on the slanted plate near the bottom. so I just plug in my air line to the unit, plug in the light and go. there's an attach for the vac mounted as well. didn't use pvc arm tubes, figured out another way to connect. I will be standing at this with my arms goin in at an angle, so it wouldn't work the other way. I tested it and I can reach all the way in if need be and comfortably stand there and wave my arms around. need to blast something soon, see how she works!

my girlfriend is the best, she let me chop up the wash machine and use one of the oven racks for my cabinet. she always just says "yeah, that's awesome- go for it". she is my muse, couldn't do anything cool w/out her. thanks, baby!

I'll blast somethin and post more pics. 1st I gotta clean out the garage.

[mystic_1]

Great job!

Looks like with the legs you have room to chop a large hole the bottom, make a "square funnel" type shape outta plywood, and have your sand drop right into your blaster's feed hopper.  That way the hopper wouldn't be taking up room inside the cabinet.  Build a little trap door to feed your gun into the cabinet and it'll still be removable when you want to blast something outside.



mystic_1

[greasy j]

thanks, Mystic! good idea.

I actually saw some dryer vent type things that were funnel shaped attached to a metal square. I might use one of those. I'm def gonna do what you suggested at some point. the hopper does take up a bit of room. I'm also making a wire box for blasting small stuff inside of.

[bucky katt]

i actually have a blast cabinet but the craftsman compressor even with the 33 gal tank cant run it for more than 30 seconds or so at a stretch, then wait 2 or 3 until it's charged enough to use it for another 30 seconds.

[BlindJoe]

do you have some kind of ventilation for the dust?

[ksmith0034]

I guess that's kinda nice, but it ain't got NUTHIN on my cardboard blasting box!

[greasy j]

^ ha ha that's awesome

I just used it to do a gas tank. it came out great, but I made a few mods to the cabinet to make it better. shortened the hoses and filled in the big gaps along the edges of the inside where dust was filling up and a pain to scoop out. I'll post pics of the tank tomorrow.

and yes, it does have ventilation for the vac. the holes are diagonally opposed right under the window so it clears my viewing area. I left the shop vac at a job so I used the house vac and it worked fine.

[faux fiddy]

I like it! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

[lifguardct]

Where is the best place to get the gloves?

[greasy j]

I got them at Harbor freight. they are plenty long enough for a small cabinet, but I sewed them onto some pant legs to make them long enough for this one.

[greasy j]

I like it! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

thanks

is your avatar from the maakies?

[greasy j]

here's the results of using this thing on a RUSTY gas tank. not mach paint on it to remove, but what was there came off relatively easy. I used alum oxide for this. which was a super pita to clear out of the cab afterwards so I filled any remaining gaps in the box, like where the sheet metal is joined and creates a lip, so it is easier to get it clean now.

when I do my engine bits I want to use soda only so I don't risk little pieces of metal hiding in crevices. soda will disolve in water. which is why it's important that I can get this clean to switch media.

here's the pics-





last pic has oil on it to prevent flash rust, makes it look shiny. it's not. matte grey dull. ready for action.

if action means lots of prep work... but I don't think it does. I think it means sex.

you don't wanna poke this thing.

so I mean action as in prime, fill, sand, lacquer putty, spot prime, base, clear, decal?, clear, stripes? you get the pic.

[greasy j]

I made some improvements. or else I ruined it. not sure yet. waiting for glue to dry...

I filled in the big gaps all over with foam. painters call it backer rod. I call it Burt Backerrod.
then caulked over everything. and spray primed it. so it's easier to clean up.

just now I added the trap door thing that Mystic suggested, but I left out the hopper and just used a paint mixing cup on the end of some roofing sheet metal thingamajob. used the inlet from the hopper on the mixing cup. and the sheet metal piece is glued into the bottom of the cabinet. I had to cut a hole obviously.

oh, yeah I used a grill from an old speaker for a sifter. don't know how that'll work out, so it's just taped in. this is scotch tough extreme tape, though. not to be confused with extreme doritos or ultra extreme right guard.

I save random weird crap that I think I might be able to build something out of. I have tons of gaskets from taking things apart. my girlfriend thinks it's cool when I actually use this stuff. I used a lot of it on this one.

[greasy j]

so the plan is to have a pile of media in the corner to just push into the 'hopper' when it is runnin low. and I will leave a duster brush in the cab for sweepin it into the hole as I go, so I don't really ever have to stop and open it until I'm done.

[wildcatmahone]

haha very nice greasy!

[Kong]

I was thinking about what you all use for media.  My only experience with blasting, other than haveing paid to have it done, was once when I borrowed a friend's small sand blaster, went and bought a bag of media, and tried it out on a gas tank.  I quit after a little bit and removed the paint the old fashioned way, with a grinder, because it was such slow going.

However I can see its usefulness on a lot of parts and I was wondering about the sorts of things you could use for medim.  I've read of people using walnut shells and all sorts of abrasives.  I was wondering if you could use something like table salt or maybe rice, with the thought that different media might give different texture to the finish.  Particularly with aluminum covers and such its not uncommon for the owner to want some personality in the finish and this might be a way to get it.  I dunno, just sayin'.

[pidaster]

I use 60-80 grit Aluminum Oxide.

[tango911]

most of the work is done by stripping the paint, the blaster gets the rust and excess paint off. 

 Ill be building a cabinet for my workshop as well.   When i had the house build they install the wrong perspective counter top in my kitchen,  so now that counter is my work bench and still has the hole for the sink, so im going to build the blasting cabinet under that hole and put a plastic see through lid where the hole is.   My compressor is already in the corner under the counter.   Ill post pics when i get mine done as well.

[ksmith0034]

most of the work is done by stripping the paint, the blaster gets the rust and excess paint off. 

 Ill be building a cabinet for my workshop as well.   When i had the house build they install the wrong perspective counter top in my kitchen,  so now that counter is my work bench and still has the hole for the sink, so im going to build the blasting cabinet under that hole and put a plastic see through lid where the hole is.   My compressor is already in the corner under the counter.   Ill post pics when i get mine done as well.

Be ready for a sore back!  You'll be hunched over like a little old lady for hours and won't even notice the pain until you stand up.

[tango911]

most of the work is done by stripping the paint, the blaster gets the rust and excess paint off. 

 Ill be building a cabinet for my workshop as well.   When i had the house build they install the wrong perspective counter top in my kitchen,  so now that counter is my work bench and still has the hole for the sink, so im going to build the blasting cabinet under that hole and put a plastic see through lid where the hole is.   My compressor is already in the corner under the counter.   Ill post pics when i get mine done as well.

Be ready for a sore back!  You'll be hunched over like a little old lady for hours and won't even notice the pain until you stand up.

my counter top is higher than standard.  no matter what cabinet you use you hunch over.