Sandblast Cabinet

A need for my sandblast cabinet resurfaced while I was working on my Puch No. 5 bike.   I wanted to paint a set of star rims I purchase a while back.  I didn't what to spend the effort to paint strip and sand these rims.  I made a blast cabinet using an old electrical utility cabinet that I got for free.  It worked when I used it to blast the frame of my Autisa Puch Maxi.  The cabinet has been in storage for the past five years.  I figured its a good time to unpack it and make some improvements.

 My old system didn't have a recycle media hopper for the siphon gun.  So I made one out of wood.  Built the frame out of 2x4.  The hopper was made out of 1/4" plywood.  Making the hopper was a more complicated process than I anticipated.  Dealing with compound miters to construct a pyramid was challenging.  In the end, I used a jigsaw to fix the f-ups and a lot of liquid nail filler to cover up the mistakes.  Overall it turned out well:

2x4 hopper frame

cardboard mock up of the hopper

...and trimmed

covered up...

view from inside of electrical utility cabinet with bottom cutout for hopper

painted the hopper and did additional modifications

hard lined copper piping for the air source in line with a water filter and pressure regulator

$10 siphon sandblast gun from Napa Auto Store

3/8" dia. rubber tubes for air and media feed

1/4" copper tube with hole at the lowest point of the line (hole in copper pipe facing down) for the media feed and air relief/mixture

added a dust vent system

pvc piping that will connect to a dust collector

  

plexiglass with drilled holes for intake screen 

homemade dust collection system

simple straight pipe and elbow

added a lighting system out of old Ikea recess lights I never used

refurbished the cover and glass

finished side

finished product

open door

light switch and vacuum out

let the blasting begin...happy painting...

cover add on if i wanna go smaller

*UPDATE*