Homemade Blasting Cabinet??

Has anyone made their own? Do you really need the vacuum? Seems like containing the media is the primary issue.

I was thinking of just using a regular freehand blast gun. Setup a big wood or cardboard box with a parts rack 1/2 way down into it. blast parts from the top. do it outside and maybe 2/3 of the media would be saved in the bottom of the box. The rest would blow out. just an idea. what do u think? would it work?

im got a piece of crap i made out of an old dryer it works but it takes forever,my ol man paid like $5000.00 for the monster hes got its a master blaster or some name like that,if i was doing a lot of glassbeading i would break down and buy a good cabinet with all the goodies but i guess im just too cheap:P

I have a homemade blasting cabinet that I bought at an auction for $6.

It's about 36" long, 24" wide, and 34" high on the inside, has lights in the top, whole ftont side is a door with a glass window, it has a vacuum, and is constructed of 1/2" plywood and lined with sheet metal on the inside. It actually looks just like a large commercial version except made of wood.

I made my own cabinet from a set of plans from TP tools . It's nice . I use a standard shop vac as dust removal :woohoo: I don't remember exactly how much moolah I had in it , i'm thinking 3 or 4 hundred . Special assistance from my dad in the building of it . That guy is the greatest !!! I have the plans on file if anyone wants a copy , i think there is like 15 pages to the plans .:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

toss 'em in the filebase!

Vacuum is a must. Blasting kicks up lots of dust and you will not be able to see the part you are blasting without a vacuum. That dust is VERY fine. 5 minutes after I am done blasting there is still dust floating around the cabinet. If I turn on the vacuum for a few seconds it all disappears.

yeah, those plans should go in the filebase. thanks gearbangr!

My buddy made a quickie cheapie out of a WalMart-sourced plastic storage tub, some plexiglas, and silicone. Worked good!

I bought a HF cheapie and would agree visibility gets bad fast without dust collection. Static cling of the dust is another issue (not to mention the static zap) I hadn't considered. As a hobbyist woodworker, I have a dust collector. Watch out with shop-vac type solutions and fine dust -- the dust can trash a motor fast if you're using aluminum oxide blast media. You need a good filter (usually sold as accessories).

Or you could do this- (not mine, pic is from Fatkow's shop)

If I get one of those blasters from HF or other store I can use diffrent types of media in it?

I've been thinking about this a lot myself. I live on a farm and there's always stuff popping up that looks like a viable candidate. There's an old grain bin with a nice funnel shape at the bottom. More sheet metal on the rusting away combines, etc. There's a cheap way to do, then there's a real cheap way to do it. Cardboard box would definitely be the latter, but I can't imagine it would last more than a few blasts. And I'm liking the suction/filter ideas.
Interesting discussion, keep it coming guys.