How to Build & Sand Blast a Cabinet

Outline and measure. Start by planning the cabinet. Determine how tall, wide and long it will be. Make sure that you consider the size of the room where you will place the cabinet and the contents of the cabinet when you plot out the outlines of the cabinet. Make sure that you also determine the size of the drawers inside of the cabinet. When measuring, make sure that you consider the thickness of the planks to be used. You need precise measurements so that you can use dado joints to connect the planks together.

Cut the wood. Apply some edge banding before you cut the wood. The edge banding will make the edges smoother. You can use any type of wood that you like, but choose those that have melamine fused into it, because these types of wood tend to have a longer life span.

Create joints for the wood planks. Add the joints to the wood planks using dado joints. Closed dados should be added to the interior ends of the side plans, while an open dado should be added on the top and bottom frames. Slide the frames together and then use a stable gun to attach the frame of the cabinet in place. Mark where the rest of the drawers and divisions in the cabinet will be attached and use the staple gun to attach them. You can also add dado joints in the planks to be attached to the insides.

Prepare the wood. Once the cabinet is fully assembled, add some wood sealer on the outer surface of the cabinet, including the doors. After the wood sealant has dried, add a resist mask made from sandblasting adhesive. Cut out the design that you want for the cabinet on the mask and then pull out the part of the mask that you want sandblasted. Use a heat gun to keep the mask in place.

Sandblast the wood. Pour your silica sand into the sandblaster's tank and set the pressure to around 80 PSI. Blast the sides of the cabinet while making sure that the nozzle of the sandblaster is half an inch away.

Remove the mask. After you have finished blasting the entire cabinet, you can remove the resist mask following the grain of the wood. Afterwards, add some paint or sealant to cover the cabinet.