A side project...

[rtgambit]

If you follow my Dark Horse Project in E-body pics you may have noticed that I haven't posted in about a week. Well, there's good reason for that. After starting to sand-blast the gas tank braces outside I realized that I would be out of sand pretty quick. With all the blasting I'm anticipating will happen I'll need a sandblasting cabinet to cut down on media costs. So with that in mind I started poking around on the net looking for the size I wanted.

Here's the exact size that I want:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=5177&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=1310&iSubCat=1312&iProductID=5177

But at $1600 it's a little steep. Then I figured, hey, I've got a welder - why not make my own? So that's what I'm gonna do, and pricing the sheet metal puts me at roughly $250! I've sketched a design, and made a mock-up using cardboard. 5 feet wide, 2 feet deep, and 1.5 feet high at the front.

[moparclown]

I love following the work you have been doing to your car.I guess thats why i want to get a challenger for myself.Imiss doing the welding and steal work. people think im crazy but my 69 cuda is so solid and nearly done that i have gotten really bored.but have decided to finish her then find a challenger to work on.by the way that cabinet looks great mocked up.was thinking about it myself but was gonna try to build at a real low cost by using an old home oil tank.just because you can get them for about nothing from people because they dont want to deal with it.keep us posted on the cabinet.

[Rev-It-Up]

Great idea!!  And why not...it's just a metal cabinet!!  Let us know how it works out!

[Street_Challenged73]

That thing's going to be HUGE!!!!  It'll be awesome to have a cabinet that size.

[Oldschool]

Gonna be a nice cabinet.  When you are done with the cardboard pattern, flip it over and cut out a door.  Instant doghouse!      ....Oldschool

[Topcat]

looks great....Now whats that saying..."build a better mouse trap and the world will beat a path to your door.

[whitesatinmopar]

Looks like a dandy of a blast cabinet, but I'd say you better build it where ya want it, that puppy will make ya sing in a higher note if you have to move it around, LOL.  Nice !

[AprilsPink72Cuda]

Very awesome idea!!!!  Why not build your own.  Please let us know how it works out!

[rtgambit]

Looks like a dandy of a blast cabinet, but I'd say you better build it where ya want it, that puppy will make ya sing in a higher note if you have to move it around, LOL.  Nice !

You're not kidding! Just to move the cardboard mock-up from the house to the garage was a little much for one person. Not very heavy, but incredibly awkward!

I'll be picking up the metal this Monday (after a weekend hiking trip in the Adirondacks). I'll keep you guys posted on how it turns out - with pictures, of course.

[rtgambit]

An update! I bought the sheetmetal for the cabinet on Friday and spent all of today cutting and welding some of it together. Within 5 minutes of starting I found out that my cut-off tool is starting to die, so I had to hold the grinder sideways and use it to cut with. I'm kinda surprised it worked out as well as it did. Here's a few pics for your enjoyment...

[Silver R/T]

nice project, could use one myself

[Rev-It-Up]

This is a fun project to watch!!  Thanks for the update...keep them coming.

[rtgambit]

An update!! 

Here I'm joining the box area with the media hopper. I still messed up my measurements, but it turns out that this is a good thing. I was off by 1/2 inch on each side, but now I have a lip for the expanded sheet which is what the part being blasted will sit on. This allows the sand to get back to the hopper area.

[whitesatinmopar]

Looking good, and ya gotta love those "happy accidents" that work out for the better.

[rtgambit]

Almost done! Now I just have to make the lid and cut the arm holes, plus a few other things.





Here you can see the difference between the mock-up and the real thing. I decided to bring the height down slightly, and the mock-up wasn't as wide as the real thing.