Long long ago I bought one of those ones that's just a pistol grip with a couple different orifice nozzles and a hose you put into a bucket for the pickup. Plug in the airline and the venturi effect sucks the sand.
Not bad, for the price. It worked pretty darn good when it was new. The biggest problem is adequate air capacity at pressure. It needs pressure. My 110 psi max is barely adequate for proper operation, and my air tank capacity is not enough to keep it that high for very long. It works for small parts like a-arms, headers, that type of thing & it would work fine for wheels, but there's a lot of waiting for the air to build up again. I made a sand reservoir from a 5-gallon water bottle turned upside down in a small square milk crate with the bottom (now top) cut off and a cork with the pickup tube in the top (now bottom)(---well, like it is on the water cooler). That helped too.
It works if you only need one infrequently, and for not serious blasting. Mine's old enough now and worn out enough (Well, it's also sandblasting its innards) that it ain't much good and it's time I should get another, but I'll wait till I need it again and this old one pisses me off enough.
Don't use beach sand or dirty sand--go buy clean sand at the Home Despot.
Wear goggles & a bandana around your nose & mouth.
