Here at Sandblastingmachines.com, we enjoy hearing stories from our customers about the jobs they have undertaken with the tools they purchased through us. One such loyal customer with a story to tell is Tom Frederico of Frederico Wrecking in Delray Beach, FL.
Tom came to us looking for parts to build a homemade sandblasting machine. Although we are always eager to help, our top concern in this instance was Tom’s safety if he did decide to follow through with the project. Being the professional that he is, however, Tom assured us that he knew what he was doing and was taking the proper safety precautions as necessary.
“I looked at [my] old sandblaster and said to myself, ‘This is a simple idea to copy,’” said Tom, “I had a large propane tank in my yard and thought that this would be big enough and strong enough to take all the pressures a 125 [PSI] compressor can put out.”
Assembly of the machine took over one year according to Tom, largely due to his workload and other equipment repairs. Once he reached a point where the main components were ready, Tom took the tank to a friend of his who installed handles, wheels, a seat for the pop-up plug, and an inspection door.
Tom then called us back to order the remainder of the essential equipment needed to properly use a sandblasting machine, including filters, hoses, nozzles, a helmet, and a suit.
“This started out to be a copy of a simple version of a professional model but after talking to [Sandblastingmachines.com] and considering the size factor, I decided to go about it in the safest way,” said Tom. “We blasted three truck frames so far with four 60-yard dump trailers to follow.”
The question remained though: was it all worth it?
According to Tom, “It was worth it to me because I love making things, and it was fun doing, and I didn’t have to shell out six or eight thousand dollars at one time.”
*Neither SandblastingMachines.com nor Industrial Outpost endorse the building of homemade blast machines; these are specialized pieces of heavy machinery and can be dangerous when not used properly.