Sandblasting media

[rob love]

Personally I just use the sand I dig out of my back yard. I make sure it is dry, and sift it through some window screen. I prefill a couple garbage cans so I can make it through winter. The stuff works like a charm, costs nothing, and when it gets too fine it just gets sucked out of the vent.

For venting your cabinet, I would reccomend the princess auto dust collector. Toss out the filter bag mind you, and just shoot whatever it collects outside. They run about $120 and will keep the inside of your cabinet in a negative pressure state. This also prevents the dusts from sandblasting from escaping through the cracks in the cabinet. Duct tape also works well towards this....but put the tape on the outside of the cabinet. Inside will not be around too long.

I find that the gun will clog with various debris from the sandblasting. Things like chunks of rust etc. I plan to put another screen lower in the hopper to prevent the debris from getting to the pickup tube. While you can put your hand over the nozzle for a second and clear the debris, it just keeps coming back.

Also, be prepared to replace those gloves pretty quick. They tend to tear open fairly early in their life. The replacement gloves at princess are just fine.

Lastly, you may find small jolts of static jumping from your chest to the machine. It hurts like a bugger after a while. We get it here in the winter when it is especially dry, but it occurs on any dry day. For that I run a small wire to a sports wristband. The wire is attached to a snap which touches my arm. The other end of the cord is attached to the cabinet. Kind of evens out the electrostatic states.

[Jordan Baker]

Thanks for the info. I didn't know it needs an extra vent. Is it a must?

I will set it up tomorrow and try to give it a wirl on the weekend. I can't wait to try it out as I have never used a sandblaster before.

[cantankrs]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

Thanks for the info. I didn't know it needs an extra vent. Is it a must?

Hi Jordan,

You've figured the air you're pumping in has to go somewhere. If you don't vent the cabinet by a powered means, after a very short while you can't see jack in there because only a fraction of the dust leaves with the exhaust air. Try it - if it's a problem go from there. Buying or building something to create some suction is probably necessary.

If you live in a high density housing area I'd reconsider ejecting silica dust into the air outside. If plenty of room then not such a problem. Just be sure it can't circulate back into your home or shed. I'm considering building a water sprayer unit to direct the exhaust thru so the particulates drop out of the airstream to form sediment. Depends entirely on your surroundings.

Some people use silica sand and bugger the consequences, others pay good money for Garnet which I've been told is not toxic. You can buy glass beads from a blasting media distributor, and even crushed wallnut shells, possibly plastic blasting beads, etc, etc.

Glass beads probably good idea for aluminium items.

Have FUN!

Alex