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I have a bench top blast cabnet and have been using it for sandblasting. I also sandblast outdoors with a portable pressure tank type and do lots of old firebird parts and cylinder heads. I have never used glass bead in either and i would like to run it in my bench top unit. My questions are:

1. Do i have to change the nozzel to a different size?

2. Whats optimal air pressure for beadblasting?

3. Whats better, Glassbead or Glass abrasive or i've seen a combo mix of the 2 of them? (I plan on blasting alum., magn.,and pot metal parts like old scorcher gear cases)

4. Although i'm asking about beadblasting, Has anyone tried running walnut shells in their cabnet on these types of metel?

5. Last, Will it harm the cabnet if switching back and forth from sand to beads?

Thanks in advance.

1.Nope, same nozzle will work for any type abrasive media. Some media will wear it out faster than others though.
2.I don't have "HUGE" compressor so 'balls to the wall' pressure is where my setting is
3.I believe glass bead is pretty much the same as glass abrasive. Its pretty much like a 80 grit sandpaper to a 90 grit paper. Might be wrong on this but I believe the bead lasts longer than the abrasive and is courser. I say longer since I reuse mine til its 'gone' pretty much. The more you use it the more 'blasted' it gets and takes less off each time you use it. As long as hit it 'lightly' you shouldn't have any problems. Test the hidden side first if it makes you feel better.
4.I've used walnut and personally don't like it. Seemed really dusty when I used it and clogged my air cleaner fast. Worked good but seemed to lose its edge fast.
5.Won't hurt your cabinet in the least. Might even be better on your innards of the cabinet to use less abrasive stuff.

Its been so long since I've had to buy any media (stockpiled awhile ago) that I couldn't really tell you the best of the best for it but someone might be able to come up with some answers on it. An easy way but with some decent reading is to check up on some media details at HarborFreight's website:
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=sandblaster
Good luck with your choice and let us know how it works out for you.
Todd

Here's how to make a small soda blaster for about $40. Should work great for small parts that are bare.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=65208.0