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MG MGA - Blast Cabinet

I had to smile earlier this morning. I was using the blast cabinet in the workshop to clean a couple of MGA bits when the inlet hose to the grit gun parted company inside the cabinet. This caused immediate overpressure in the box with an unrestricted feed from my compressure. This caused my grit gloves to compress tightly over my hands making it extremely difficult to pull my hands out of the rubberised gloves. In the mean time the overpressure bowed the acceess door at neck level and I was covered head to foot in grit and grit dust! I looked like a Victorian brat chimney sweep! Finally pulled my hands out at which point the gloves pushed out the 2 holes and inflated making it look like 2 cows udders attached to the cabinet face. Pulled off the air supply and retired to the shower room.

Enough mechanics for one day. Off to watch cricket.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Wow. Small cabinet, big compressor? I highly suggest getting a foot-operated switch. It's much nicer to use, and would avoid that ever happening again. Or at least a larger intake vent in the cabinet!
Steve Simmons

Steve

Yes, quite big. I also use it for my car hoist. Good point you make. I will investigate. It was more amusing than lethal. My wife gave me one look and sent me to the shower.

Steve
Steve Gyles

So now you need to clean the shower trap before the debris rusts into a solid block.....
Chris at Octarine Services

Mr. Safety ----hope you're wearing a mask
William Revit

Steve, don't you run a vacuum on the cabinet to clear the haze?
Mine would easily cope with the compressor output
Art Pearse

Art

It is an option I had not integrated. Seemed a lot of hassle for the little I used the cabinet. I currently have a filter over the inside of the exit hole and a cloth vacuum sack over its external side. This acts as a collector for anything that gets through the internal filter. Your comment is totally valid and I will definitely now plumb the vacuum in during my overhaul tomorrow.

The pressure from the air compressor was slightly higher than the exit hole could cope with - in the main due to the 2 filters and no positive extraction with a vacuum. I must admit it was getting a bit foggy inside that cabinet.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Yes, in my experience it takes about 30 sec of blasting rust or paint to get so cloudy I can't see!
Plus it keeps the fines out of the sand
Just use a shop vac.

Art
Art Pearse

why are you using an open connector, you should have one that shuts the air off when the gun is disconnected
Dominic Clancy

You need to ask Machine Mart that one Dominic. It is a standard fitting on their cabinets.

Air pressure to the gun is cut off when the the quick release female coupler from the compressor is pulled off the male coupler on the outside of the cabinet. This action also shuts off the compressor airflow.

Inside the cabinet there is a male pipe connector section of the external male coupler. The gun pipe connects to this and is what came adrift.

You seem to be suggesting that there should be another female/male coupler inside the cabinet but I cannot see that this would change anything if a pipe comes adrift. The air would still flow through the coupler. The only time you get an air cut off is when the couplers are pulled apart. Anyway, the hose attachment cannot be reached with your hands in the gloves.

Steve

PS. I have had the cabinet for 10 years and never been impressed with it. The floor does not slope steeply enough towards the grit pick up pipe. I repeatedly have to manually push it back.
Steve Gyles

You definitely don't want any removable connectors inside the cabinet. Hard connections only. A dust vac is mandatory in my opinion. Otherwise it's impossible to see anything, especially in a large cabinet. Shop vacs do work but don't last very long. A real dust collector is better, but costs more.
Steve Simmons

You can make a real dust collector out of a shop vac; just get the "Dust Deputy" kit from Amazon and add a Hepa filter to your vac.

Would have liked to watch that happen, from a distance. Glad you are okay. Many, many hours of running blast cabinets, and I have never had anything like that happen.

-Del
D Rawlins

Back to the drawing board. I took up Steve Simmons advice and adapted the filtered vent from the cabinet to connect to my 'George' garage vacuum.

Switched on. Unfortunately the suction was so great that the perspex viewing lid started to bow in and the rubber gloves inflated under the suction. I could not flex them to operate the grit gun to alleviate the vacuum - Apollo space suit gloves on the moon came to mind! At least it brought another smile to my face.

I now need to cut a second hole to solve the problem and fit a suitable dust filter on it.

What surprises me is that the cabinet was not made with the second hole for the vacuum option.

By the way, having mentioned Apollo I remember it all so well. On the 18th I flew a Mach 2.6 closure rate head-on interception in my Lightning F6. Got changed and drove 450 miles from St Andrews in Scotland to Norwich in Norfolk. On the 19th while the craft was in moon orbit I got engaged. On the 20th celebrated our engagement in a restaurant while watching the landing on a TV that had been specifically set up in the dining area. After the meal I got back in my car and drove the 450 miles overnight back to base while listening to the moon walk coverage. Got back at dawn, a few hours sleep then reported for flying duties after lunch. Memorable weekend all round.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Was it at Leuchars that you had your ‘little’ incident. Went to many open days there. Once made mistake of driving hence watching most of display from traffic jam, and same again leaving. Always took train after that.

Doing a weekend drive like that you have no excuse not to come on next Saturday’s Scottish MGA day! We do have one car from Devon, and a crew from the US.

Paul
Paul Dean

Paul

Yes. 43 Sqn F4 XV571 on 21 November 77. On take-off runway 27 (sea behind me).

Good railway station at Leuchars. On the main line Aberdeen to London. The overnight sleeper used to stop to pick up us pilots during our Lightning days in the 60s. Off to the smoke for the weekend. On one occasion the driver spotted a group carrying crates of ale. They spent the entire journey on the footplate; never made the bunks!

Steve
Steve Gyles

Steve,
when you say you got "engaged", I hope you were not speaking as a Fighter pilot? :-)

I can almost visualise you and future SWMBO circling each other trying to get a "lock-on" with your sidewinders! :-)

Paul,
I think you would have to guarantee Steve 5 days of sunshine to tempt him to be at the Scottish MGA Day, Steve doesn't have a soft top fitted to his MGA!

See you in Scotland on Friday.

Cheers
Colyn

Colyn Firth

Steve

I remember being stopped at Leuchar’s station, probably in the 70s, when I saw a plane appearing to climb vertically with flames coming out of its back end, presumably a Lightning. Perhaps even you! By the way the Aberdeen sleeper still stops at Leuchars. It might not have RAF now but it still has an affluent University in an affluent golf resort just down the road, and the Army at your old base.

We may not have your weather protection free A on our event. On the other hand we have an ex racer with complete fibre glass front that is pictured in ‘Call it MGA’, and that certainly doesn’t have weather protection, not even wipers. Only has to come from the Borders though not Hampshire.
Paul

Paul Dean

This thread was discussed between 15/06/2019 and 23/07/2019

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