Sandblaster part 6

The parts required for the sandblaster are the following.

• 1 empty propane tank.
• 3 1/2 inch ball valves - one for inbound air supply, one for regulating sand flow, and one behind blasting nozzle
• 2 1/2 inch npt male thread hose barbs - to fit blaster hose to tank and nozzle
• 1 1 /2 inch pipe "T" - for the air manifold at the top of the tank
• 1 1/2 inch pipe cross - for the sand supply at the bottom. The cross allows for a tank clean out.
• 1 3 inch pipe nipple cut in half - for the filler neck
• 1 3 inch pipe cap - to cap the filler neck
• 1 1/2 inch pipe plug - to plug the clean out at the bottom of the tee
• 3 1/2 inch close fit pipe nipples - one to thread the cross to bottom of the tank, one to weld onto the tank for the air supply, and one to between the dielectric fitting used to hole the nozzle, and the valve to control sand flow at the valve
• 2 1/2 inch pipe elbows - to rout rigid air lines from the air manifold (1/2 T) to the cross at the bottom of the tank
• 1/2 inch pipe to fit air line - rigid air line
• 1 1/2 inch dielectric fitting - to use for attaching the ceramic nozzle
• 1 1/2 inch union - to allow the rigid air supply to be threaded into place
• 1 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch reducer - to adapt 1/2inch piping to 3/4 inch thread where propane regulator was
• 1 1/2 inch to 1/4 inch reducer - for pressure pop off
• 2 wheels
• misc steel for legs and handle.
• 1/2 id rubber hose for the blaster hose (I used some old washing machine supply lines.

The majority of the fittings were salvaged from a house re-piping project.

Sandblaster part 5

This weekend, I added a third leg, so the sandblaster doesn't have to lay on the ground. The legs are made of some perforated angle stock scraps I had.

The handle will make it easier to wheel around. I found the perfect thing in my junk pile, a lug wrench that doesn't fit any of our cars. good shape, about the right length (I'd have preferred a bit longer).

Next is the plumbing for the air and sand. It will be a little while though, because I'll be using the old galvanized water pipe and fittings that I'm currently taking out of the house. (We're re-piping in copper).

When I'm done I'll post a parts list in case anyone out there wants to make one of their own.

More later

sandblaster part 4

So, More work on the sandblaster tonight... but first, Nicola served me a tasty dinner of sushi....Yum!

Tonight, I started on the axle for the wheels. While it's a small sandblaster, It will weigh 40 to 50 pounds when full, so I'd prefer to wheel it around than carry it.

To serve the purpose, I have some pneumatic wheels I've had from another project, so I'll use those. They will be good for rolling around the driveway with it's uneven surface.

Naturally they'll need air though.

For the axle itself, I have a steel rod, and a sleeve that fits tightly around it. It was leftover from another project as well, but it was sitting outside, so...


They're kind of rusted together,I'll put some liquid wrench in there and bang with a hammer to get them apart.


I stuck a screwdriver in the middle and .... banged it with a hammer. The rod is a tight fit through the bearings on the wheel, and the tube gets cut to a sufficient length to serve as a stop against which the wheels butt tightly....



The Only problem is that the steel tube is too short.



So, I'll cut the tube in half.

And I'll tack weld them to the axle-rod in the correct locations for the inside wheel bearings to register against holding them in position.

And with four tack welds, the axle is nearly complete.





The last thing before attaching it to the sandblaster is to drill two holes for cotter pins. which will be used to hold washers in place to register the outside wheel bearings for a nice snug fit.



The penultimate activity of the evening was to weld the axle onto the Blaster...




The final activity was to test mount the wheels.



In this picture you can see some of it coming together, and you can see how the axle tube had to be split, and the purpose it serves to position the wheels.

Next, I'll add a third leg so the blaster can sit upright, and a handle from an old tire iron that does not fit any of our cars.

More later

Sandblaster part 3

Resuming from yesterdays post. I welded in the 1/4 npt bung for the pressure releif valve, and drilled out the center of the 1/2 npt nipple for the air supply.

I threaded in the air releif valve..I was afraid I warped the bung with too much heat on the welder, but...no, came out fine.

Finished off one more bead on the air supply to fill in the tack welds.

Started on the brackets to attach the wheels.... it's looking pretty rough, but it will look a lot better once it's sandblasted.... :-)

More to come....

Sandblaster part 2

I did a little more on the sandblaster today.

Lala and I drilled the hole where sand is poured into the pressure tank. (through the pipe nipple welded on in the last post)


I cleaned the paint off in a couple of spots where I'll weld on a 1/2 inch pipe nipple for the air supply going into the pressure vessel, and a spot where I'll weld on a nut to which I'll screw in a pressure release valve.


1/2 inch pipe nipple. I'll cut it in half and use it for the air into the blaster, and to make an adapter that will thread into the tank where the gas valve was. The thread in the tank is 3/4 npt, but I will be using 1/2 inch npt fittings.

I cut the end off the handle for the 3/4 in portion of the adapter.
I cut the end off the 1/2 inch nipple, saving the leftover for welcing on the tank later.While I weld up the two cut down threaded portions, I'll slide them down a piece of threaded rod to keep them aligned while welding.

And the welded together adapter to go from 3/4 down to 1/2.

Here it is threaded into the top of the propane tank, ready for me to put the other 1/2 inch fittings on.

Next, I drilled a hole for the pressure release. the purpose is to ensure the pressure doesn't build up to a dangerous level

Hole Drilled
Hole drilled to be big enough to clearance the fitting... I'll weld the nut that it will thread into later.

Finally, I welded on the remaining half of the 1/2 inch nipple to the tank. I'll drill out the 1/2 inch hole later.

More to come....

Tasty

Had to be

Sandblaster

I need a sandblaster. but I don't want to pay for one. I do however have heaps of junk, and a welder, so I'll make one.

I will use 1 empty propane tank, 2 wheels, 2 steel fence posts, and a heap of plumbing fittings, and the outcome will be a sandblaster.

first, how to get the valve off the propane tanks, normal wrenches won't do it. A 'propane tank wrench costs 29 bucks. that doesn't save money.So, I made one with some 1.5 in water pipe that has been laying around.

next.... get the valve off.

Valve off!
Then fill tank with water to displace the remaining propane
make filler lid so I can pour sand in, and have a lid which will hold pressure. I'm using a 3" diameter pipe cap with a 3/4 in pipe cut and welded on

For the filler spout, I'm using a 3" pipe nipple cut in half.............
Next, I cleaned the paint off the bottom of the propane tank where I'll weld the pipe nipple.Weld on to the propane tank (bottom).

With the lid screwed on.

That's it for today, next will be to add wheels, handles, and cut a hole where the filler pipe is mounted.

more to come.............

Catch up on progress to date part 2

On the drivers side, fitting in the convertible re-enforcement required more finesse than the passenger side.

This is because the torque box and floor pan had already been welded in prior to making the decision to add the convertible type sheet metal to the coupe.

The toughest thing was to cut the proper sized hole to get clearance to insert the rail, as it extends all the way to the front of the torque box. Given that it needed to be inserted at an angle to clear the rear torque box, the hole in the front had to be over sized.

To do this while maintaining a tight fit for later welding in, a flap had to be cut and bent up to allow clearance, then bent down and welded back in, as shown above.Once that was done, the fit to the rear torque box was just right and dropped into place.

With the drivers side rocker in place, the passenger side was fitted as well, allowing for the seat support to be dropped in

With the seat support in place, the convertible sub frame could be clamped in to determine correct placement.


now that the seat support is in, we will be able to locate the replacement floor and torque panels


Front passenger torque panel being located. (in grey, upper center) View with seat support in place....no doors
Front torque panel in place...(temporary placement, welding of all panels will happen after they are fitted).
More to come... My daughter (lala) 's chalkboard, and her first experience with time on the tire.