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I'm in the process of putting together a sandblasting setup in my workshop and have a question regarding dust collection for a sandblaster. Can the sandblaster be tied into my workshop dust collection system or does it need a separate designated dust collection system? I've searched the web for an answer and have come up empty. I did see a post that Kurt posted that he used a shop vac and 5 gallon bucket for two stage to catch blasting media. Can I do the same with my Jet dust collector?

Anyone?....Beuhler?.....Beuhler?.....Beuhler?

I might be wary of doing that since the particulate flow is in the same path as the motor's bearing. No matter what media you use, it could destroy that bearing in short order.

I suppose you could use a 35 gallon garbage pail, followed by a prefilter box, then off to your dust collector. I have no idea what that prefilter would look like though I imagine you could build it as a box and use a shop-vac filter to catch anything that made it through the garbage can. Seems like it would work well enough I think...

I use a dedicated 5 gallon shop vac. I've been using it for 4 years. Eventually, the media will eat the motor, I'm sure, but I'm way ahead at this point. The shop vac cost me about $35.00. Whatever you use, make it dedicated to your sand blasting setup. Media is expensive, and you want to be able to recycle it quite a few times.

In my shop vac, the briar dust collects all over the filter (which you can shake out and then blow out), while the media collects at the bottom and can be dumped back into the cabinet.

A little media is lost each time, but the majority can be recycled.

Rad

Thanks fellas. Sounds like the designated Shopvac is the best route for me and it makes perfect sense.

Do yourself a Favor and get a collector made for a blaster. Take a look at the link below.

http://www.mytoolstore.com/cyclone/dustcol.html#dc1500

Oooh, I didn't realize that Cyclone made those! That's not a bad price for one at all.

Thanks for posting this, Jon!

Yeah, I saw those when I was looking at the Cyclone blasters. They're considerably more expensive than a shop vac.

True, and it boils down to your budget and if "good enough" is good enough.

Like Rad, I've been using the same Shop Vac for about 4 years. It's getting a little whiny, but it still works with regular filter cleanings. It does, however, tend to clog often, making cleaning a very regular activity. I have no idea how often the dedicated units need cleaned due to reduced airflow.

Kurt, wouldnt the pre-stage 35 gallon (or even 5 gallon bucket) cut down on a lot of the invasive blast media getting into the vacuum?

Yep, it sure will. Most of the media ends up in the bucket, some in the bottom of the shop-vac, and whats left is really, really fine particulates that the filter stops most of. Some does get into the interior of the shop-vac and wear on the bearings, but what are you going to do. That stuff has got to be so fine that normal filters wouldn't stop it.