Sandblasting Sand Reclamation Shaker

Project:
Create a shaker to filter out the small dust particles in sandblasting sand

Difficulty Level (Easy, Medium, Hard, Insane):
Easy

Process:
I posted a sandblasting ad on Kijiji and got some interesting calls (one guy wanted me to sand blast a full size freight train, another one his pickup truck, another one his boat trailer) but one job that I actually ended up taking on was a bunch of parts and rims for a kids three-wheeler. I hadn't used my sand blasting cabinet all that much so when I got started on this job I realized I'd need some sort of shaker to filter out the sandblasting particles that were too small so I could re-use the compound for subsequent blasting.

I usually use the 30 to 60 grit crushed glass, I found that it provides the best combination of abrasion and smoothness. However, during the blasting, the 30 grit glass particles get smashed up and inevitably turn into fine dust. Some people like to buy new blasting compound every time but I like to save some money by reclaiming the used up grit.

In order to filter out the particles (paint, wood etc.) that are too big and could clog up the nozzle I use a regular kitchen strainer (no, it's not Melanie's; I bought my own for the shop), but for the particles that are too small I had to find a different way.

I ended up ordering some 120 mesh nylon silk screen bolting material online for under $15 bucks. I used it once by hand but it didn't work so well so I figured if I could use an automatic setup it would go a lot quicker.

I ended up using the steel mesh from my sand blasting cabinet and built a wooden frame that sits on top of it. I bolted it down to the work bench with some clamps and used my home made concrete vibrator attached to my drill press to shake the screen.

I have to say, it worked quite well and definitely eliminated the dust inside of the blasting cabinet. Out of a 50lbs bag of spent blasting compound I was able to reclaim about 35lbs, the rest was glass dust which I might use to melt some glass in my foundry one day...

Videos:

Pictures:

The mesh I bought online

The dust falls through the mesh and the re-useable compound falls into the tote

A view from the top

All the spent glass dust

Here's what I got

And this is what it looked like when I was done

I also did 3 rims on the tires

They turned out quite nice

A close-up of one of the parts

Tools:
Air nailer
Air stapler
Chop saw
Drill press


Materials:
Some left-over wood
100 grit nylon mesh
Glue
Concrete Vibrator

Cost:
$13.41

Time:
30min

Savings:
$7.50 each time I use it

Conclusion:
It's great.