I bought a used bench top sander last summer and finally used it yesterday. At first it would not work, it turned out the sand intake hose was clogged with a piece of plastic. It then worked for about 30 seconds then the sand stopped again. I tapped the, it worked some more than quit. The sand media is dry, the guy said it is made for the machine, but is used. with the sand tube off, I can feel suction at the connection so I suspect it has to do with the tube or media. Any ideas, I'm thinking it might be crud in the media that is recirculating and making enough resistance that the sand won't flow right. Any other ideas?? thanks Patrick

filter it through a screen to get all the big (clogging) pieces out of the media.

I'll have my wife do it, she is already doing the cat litter...LOL that is probably the problem.

I bought a common flour sifter at Wally World housewares dept.......each time i recover media, i sift it before refilling blaster...can usually get about 3 or 4 runs before abrasive gets too fine.......

If its the model with the v-eed bottom and the tube running length ways. I drilled holes in the tube so the sand will fall into the tube. Do yourself a favor and buy a better box. I spent more time than it was worth fooling around with a chinese blaster. PLEASE Hook up a small shop vac to it so you are not breathing in silica.

might be moisture in your air line causing it to clog.

I read the other thread below and am going to check for moisture. Also THANKS for the shop vac comment, I had not even thought about that (I was wearing a good cartridge resperator) but there is a hole for one that the guy I bought it from did not mention.

Thanks for all the comments, looks like a common deal, now I need to get a flourer sifter.

I had a similar problem. Ended up being a piece of string, teflon tape or something similar. It was caught up in the gun. Back flushing moved it but it was hung up enough that it wouldn't come out. Finally found the problem when I took the gun apart.

Update - I sifted the sand and it had alot of crud in it. Put it back together and it works fine. Also hooked up the shop vac and am wearing my good particulate mask. It really does a good job, I did all my door hinges, and kick panel vents. It's one of those things I wondering why I didn't get one 20 years ago. Thanks for the comments.

post a pic of the blaster so we can see brand and size!!! also fit the biggest part as possible in it and take a pic will help others decided on if the size is right or not for them. thanks for info and updates on repairing. Brandon

Hey Pat, get one of these Unitec UT-007-B - Unitec Speed Blaster Gravity Feed Media Blasters - summitracing.com (http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MDS%2DUT%2D007%2DB&N=700+115&autoview=sku) and make a plywood box with sheetmetal screwed to the inside and you can blast anything with anything (depending on the size of box you make).
Personaly, I use glass bead or aluminum oxide for pretty much everything. Much safer then silica sand.