HF bench top sand blast cabinet Q&A

Been looking at getting one. Anyone have and use one? How much compressor do you need to use it? I have a Home Depot 17 gal compressor and tank I purchased new over a decade ago. Pretty sure it will be running constantly to keep up with whatever blast job I want to do. Mostly I want to clean brake calipers, suspension pieces and such. No huge parts. I've seen a few videos on hooking up a dust collector using Homer buckets. Anything else I need to consider?

Thanks in advance.

I have both the HF bench top and their free standing model as well.  You can adapt any number of blast guns to the HF cabinets although I did use the guns that came with the units for a while but they do tend to jam due to dust getting in the trigger works. This doesn't happen with the ones I bought to replace the OEM guns.

Also make sure you seal up all the seams or you will have dust forced out of them. I also use the shrink plastic they sell to make temporary storm windows to protect the plastic window from fogging.  You apply the double faced tape to the inside edge of the clear panel and then the plastic sheet,  apply heat to shrink.  If you use a vac you don't need to install the clear panel in the cabinet. I just apply some foam seal to the edge of the  opening in the cabinet and with the clear panel in a frame I made I just lay it on the foam tape seal and the vac sucks it down when I turn it on.  It makes putting items in or out of the cabinet easy as I don't have to open the side door if the item is  on the smaller side. I just shut off the vac and the panel lifts off. 

Your guess is on point on what your air compressor will be required to do.  I've found that I don't blast continually, but stop every couple of minutes to check my progress, etc. This should allow your compressor to catch up as it did mine.  Do use a vacuum to keep the cabinet clear of dust. I use a shop vac with double filtration and  a dust trap made out of a 5 gal. plastic bucket in line from the cabinet to the vacuum.  I did all this as I blast in my basement with my air compressor in the garage about 50 ft away. If you blast in your garage and don't care about the dust then you don't need a vac. 

I have replaced my old Sears compressor which broke down a couple of months ago with a Quincy 60 gal.  2 stage. My old one is repairable and I will fix it later,  but for now I have more than enough air compressor. 

I have a 5hp 20? gallon compressor. I have to let it catch up every so often or it would run constantly, but like the guy above suggested you may have to stop and check your progress, move the part around, wait for the dust to clear, etc.  I don't have a vacuum hooked up to mine currently as my shop vac is an old cheap one and the inlet is too small to fit the port in the cabinet.

Though it seals up pretty well, dust and some media will still leak out at spots.

I got a 5 gal bucket of media at Tractor Supply.

For the price it can't be beat. Unlike the cheap model from Eastwood the HF one comes assembled. I thought I wanted a top loader originally but actually prefer the side load now that I have it. It is big enough for most stuff I do but small enough I can still move it by myself.

I have the HF floor standing model. I also have 7.5 HP, two stage, 80 gallon compressor that keeps up but runs a lot.

I too upgraded my gun as the stock one didn't last. I also have Dust Deputy separator and a 6 HP shop vac to keep the air clear.

The light inside is weak and will be the next upgrade if I stay with this cabinet. I say that because numerous times I've wanted to blast a part that wouldn't fit or when it did fit you can't blast the entire thing because the gun won't reach the far corners very well. My next cabinet will be bigger and have 4 gloves.

Thanks all! Keep the comments coming.