Questions: Harbor Freight -Air Compressor + Sand blaster...

CaptNugget

Active Member
#1
Hi, im getting deep into collecting and restoring vintage trikes. Im trying to build up by tool collection.. Ive been looking at buying an air compressor and sandblaster from harbor freight and was hoping to get some opinions...
Ive been looking at the : Central Pneumatic 2.5HP, 21 Gal, 125 PSI Cast Iron Vertical Air compressor + Central Pneumatic 20 lb Pressurized Abrasive Blaster.
Would this be a decent combination setup? (It wont be used alot but just to do frames and small jobs here and there)
I figured itll run me about $220 for both and that seems like a decent $ if theyd work together.
Also, if anyone has suggestions on paint sprayers to go with this set-up ill be looking into that in the near future probably.
Thanks for the help!:grind::shrug:
 
#2
I did not check the link but if you cannot can get the door closed on the blaster cabinet you will make a big mess in glass beads and be buying a lot of beads.

I send my big parts to other people for blasting - frames, racks, etc. But you can sure do a bunch of little things in your cabinet. Mine paid for itself pretty quick. I have the largest cabinet that Harbor Freight sells.

Rick

Two CT90 and two ST90 bikes
 

WLB

Active Member
#4
Just my opinion but 2.5 hp 125 psi is not enough for bead blasting. My 5 hp 170 psi 220 volt takes forever to do a Bronc wheel. Great for small stuff but big wheels and auto A arms go to the professionals. Without a cabinet you will go through a lot of media.
 
#6
You need atleast 12+cfm @ 90psi.

I run an old gravity feed blaster on my old 20gal compressor..

Its painfully slow!

A good braided wire wheel and a decent angle grinder would be a better investment.


I purchased one those pressurized blasters from harbor freight.. long story short.. i returned it.. no better than my 30yr old gravity feed blaster. (Basically a bucket with a hose)
 
#7
noooo, you need CFM's to blast with. the small HF cabinet has small nozzles and you can run it with a smaller cfm compressor but damn, you will take 3 weeks to blast anything and your still going to have to find a source to blast the bigger pieces clean for you, so real world, save your money and buy a big set up that will really help you instead of frustrate you.
I cant tell you enough NOOOOOOOOOO on the small compressor and blaster.
go somewhere with a cabinet and a nice compressor and see how it works if they let you. I have 3 upright 80 gallon 20 cfm each compressors and 2 big cabinets and its not enough.
My outdoor system will go through a diesel 180 cfm's compressor pretty easy as well, depending on nozzle size and media used.
 
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#8
2x what Txpowdercoater said.

The small blasting cabinet here will crush the 14 CFM, 125 PSI, 80 gallon compressor in 2 or 3 minutes. I am looking at a 20 CFM, 175 PSI two-stage, 120 gallon rig.

The compressor is the center of your air tool collection. Get a BIG one.
 

vwfan79

Active Member
#9
I have that compressor and use it with a siphon sand blaster and it can't keep up, I now have a much bigger compressor hooked to my blast and am much happier.
 
#10
Yeah, starting to think i should pass on the combo...
Alota mixed reviews, glad i posted ?s here first..

I guess i could pass on blasting for now, just have to take my time with wire wheels and other sanding methods.
They dont necessarily need to be "Perfect" but i want them to be nice and last.

Thanks for all the input

Do those small gravity feed blasters work well? (for those tight spots wheels and sand paper cant get)
Things i need to still get tool wise:
Air Compressor
Welder
Paint Sprayer (maybe)
Tire Changer (was thinking Harbor Freight?)
etc..*but those are the biggies*

Setting up new garage at new house so any suggestions on what to get would be appreciated

((air compressor wise..thinking just small for now -- something to fill tires/tubes, and maybe use a small paint gun or gravity feed blaster))
((welder: something to handle repairs to my trike frames and parts))

trying to spend as little as possible as always haha dont need anything big or fancy yet, itll only get used on occasion:grind:
 

vwfan79

Active Member
#11
I have a siphon sandblaster and made a cabinet out of a 100 gallon rubber maid container. The siphon sand blasters are only about $100 and the container was only 20 and it's big enough to fit a frame in and allows for recycling of the sand.
 
#12
((air compressor wise..thinking just small for now -- something to fill tires/tubes, and maybe use a small paint gun or gravity feed blaster))
((welder: something to handle repairs to my trike frames and parts))

trying to spend as little as possible as always haha dont need anything big or fancy yet, itll only get used on occasion:grind:
My "road" compressor is a Husky (Home Depot) 3 gallon unit. It will run almost any air tool, at least briefly. It was 99 dollars, inflate tires, blows out carbs and assemblies, and best of all it has dual air pressure gauges and a regulator. Adding a quick-disconnect system made it compatible with all the air tools in the collection.
 
#13
I had a small siphon blaster when I started restoring cars. Slow and painful, it was.
Came across a pressure blaster that needed some fittings and a hose. It made a big difference. Will be updating my compressor soon though. The 5 hp , 30 gal. works too hard.
We have a HF in Lincoln. I looked at the cabinet there. Not impressed, small door opening and the gloves were shredded in the floor model.

Just my $0.02,
Loren
 
#16
yup......I bought it. replace the pump and use good solvent, I use safety cleen in mine. other than that nothing else can go bad!
agreed, I have one also and its been a good useful tool to have. you can let carbs, engine blocks etc etc soak and scrub clean, I use mineral spirits in mine
 
#17
Can anyone explain to me how after re jetting my carburetor with 140 imulsion tube how now my bikes been bogging down. It certainly sounds and feels like the carb isnt getting enough fuel. any suggestions
 
#18
I like VWfan79 take on this the best. I have the 99 dollar blast cabinet from HF been great for years but small stuff only, but just recently tried the $19.99 sand blast gun with black beauty media and was blown away, but you can remove metal with that so use caution I have a 22 gal compressor black max from bj's like 25-30 yrs old but con sider just doing the powder coating my guy does it all strip, color and clear for $150 for a plane Jane frame
 
#19
Hi, im getting deep into collecting and restoring vintage trikes. Im trying to build up by tool collection.. Ive been looking at buying an air compressor and sandblaster from harbor freight and was hoping to get some opinions...
Ive been looking at the : Central Pneumatic 2.5HP, 21 Gal, 125 PSI Cast Iron Vertical Air compressor + Central Pneumatic 20 lb Pressurized Abrasive Blaster.
Would this be a decent combination setup? (It wont be used alot but just to do frames and small jobs here and there)
I figured itll run me about $220 for both and that seems like a decent $ if theyd work together.
Also, if anyone has suggestions on paint sprayers to go with this set-up ill be looking into that in the near future probably.
Thanks for the help!:grind::shrug:
I use almost the same setup
and that compressor is the perfect smallest size for a small cabinet
this is the cabinet I use



it will run constantly, but not run out of air even with a small die grinder only rarely will it run out if I bog it down
I do use the replaceable dryer on the end for the blaster, not sure if that reduces the flow any

and my compressor is max psi 90 I believe

its a good combo


the cabinet is on the smallish size, but for everything I do its fine
You usually need to only put something half the size in the cabinet as you need room to work the gun
so for frames it will be too small
My biggest I do is 10 inch wheels, and even that is a little crowded

But you can get those outdoor guns and make a mess on the ground for those rare large projects

I just wear ear plugs when im doing alot of parts to drown out the compressor noise
I use a shop vac too help keep the dust down, and mounted a large led light inside so I can see better

bigger cabinet would be ideal if you can think in advance and afford one
I had to get that size because of no space available in my shed

also the gun is horrible I get really bad hand cramps
I may look into replacing it one day with something different
I dread doing hard projects I have to switch fingers constantly, and when im really in pain hands and thats hard if you have a large item in the way


also the gloves rotted out within a year
I found way nicer ones on ebay, but ended up being like $40 for the set

I try to baby powder my hands and arms when im in there for a while
makes it easier to slide in and out, sweaty hands and arms stick and risk stretching or tearing the gloves
 
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