media/sand blaster?

[cdhicks99]

Anyone have any suggestions for a small rig for axles, frames, etc.?

[88pathoffroad]

Harbor Freight has a hand-held small sandblaster you can just put a cup or two of sand into and hook up to an air compressor. I'm going to get one when they go back on sale. They're $15 on sale, $39.99 otherwise.

[mws]

I assume blasting outdoors?

The cheapo gun from Harbor will do the job for a couple hours, but it will wear out pretty quick. I ended up throwing away the gun that came with my HF blast cabinet after 3 hours of use and replacing with a decent $20 gun. If you plan to do more than a few hours, get a gun with a ceramic tip. And I'd recommend one with at least 5 or 10 pound hopper or suction feed out of a 5 gallon bucket. A 1 cup hopper will last about 10 seconds when trying to strip a chassis.

 

And make sure you wear sealed eye protection and a high quality particle mask! Breathing that dust hurts now and can cause DEATH and other breathing problems down the road. And getting that dust in your eyes can result in scratched corneas. A new level of pain, if you've never done it.

 

Another tip: Put a huge tarp down before you start. You can sweep up and re-use the sand 2 or 3 times before it breaks down too much.

Edited October 2, 2006 by mws

[88pathoffroad]

Martin is smart, Martin is wise.

[RedPath88]

I have to agree with Martin (and '88) HF has a lot of "good" deals, but they also have a lot of items that you need to stay clear of -thnkboutit-

[mws]

and Martin make many mistakes over the years...

 

But he learns!

 

Did I also mention the HF blast cabinet leaks profusely??? It is a little better than blasting without a cabinet, but not much... Have a BUNCH of duct tape on hand to seal it up. And the plastic (!) window was good for about 38 seconds, after which it went opaque from the media pitting it.