Sandblasting media

[cletrac (RIP)]

When it comes to protecting a vision port the best thing I've found is a piece os Saran Wrap or the like. The sand bounces off without making a mark.
I agree with Rob on the media bit. Sand is cheap and you don't want to breathe the dust off any of it. This thread http://www.class-five.com/~mlu/forum...t=sandblasting
shows the cabinet I made.

[George McKenzie]

When I am beadblasting I could do it with a white shirt and tie There is no dust what so ever .The only time I use a mask is when I put things in or out . My window is 18"x30" and is plastic so I cover it with the Princess Auto material and I didn't think it was very expensive and will do quit a bit of blasting before I have to change it .

[Jordan Baker]

OK so I got the cabinet all setup today and finished assembling it. I used a silicone adhesive to seal all the panels but still found a few spots that I missed. As for the media I chose. I just went with the glass/sand for now.

My next problem is the compressor. The little one we have just wont cut it and I fear that I will wear it out rather quickly. I was going to check out Home Depot tomorrow to see what they had. Any suggestions.

[Lynn Eades]

The air consumption depends on the type of gun and the jet in it.
Compressors are rated by the FAD (free air delivery) in cu. feet per minute.
It's hard to get apples for apples, but go for the biggest one you can afford.
A large receiver (tank) will let you blast longer before the pressure drops off, but it also means that you have to wait longer to pump up again, if the pump is to small.
Keeping the media (sand) dry is very important to having it flow freely, and work well.
LASTLY, but MOST IMPORTANT. A young fella like you needs to be very careful when it comes to dust, and when blasting it is hard to avoid breathing at least some of it, sometimes. Because of this I would seriously reccommend using a media that is NOT silica based. Silicosis leads to lung cancer. Buy some garnet or other suitable media, and a respirator. They're cheap compared to maybe cutting 20 years off your life.

[rob love]

I am not even sure you will find a compressor big enough at home depot. Seems like what they call a 5 hp has a motor about the size of a household clothes dryer, and the results to match. I drilled out the passage in my sandblast gun to allow more flow mind you, and get the results of a commercial sandblaster out of it.

As to air supply; I have an older 2 hp (with one of those massive old style 70 pound electric motors) and will run one of those wheelbarrow type gas compressors in tandem with it when I sandblast. I am using one of the princess auto made gas powered compressors, somewhere around the 9 horsepower range. It will also keep up enough air to use a commercial spray gun. Once I get electricity into my new shop, I will hook up my 2 stage 7-1/2 horsepower compressor, which I got from a auto dealership closeout.

I will echo Lynn's recommendation to avoid that dust. I'll snap a photo of my exhaust system when I get out to the shop later. It is the best $120 you will spend, as it removes all dust from the cabinet, dumping it outside.

[Bob Carriere]

Oure expereince at the barn has been with the Princess cabinet..... which once assembled needs to be glued shut and/or taped.

I choose at the outset to use aluminum oxide.....expensive but lasts a long time and cuts fast. Sandblasting cabinet is USELESS unless you hookup a shop vac to create a neg. pressure....... I use a 5 gal. metal can to catch osme of the heavier dust before it enters the shop vac...... buy a shop vac with a written 5 year wrranty and expect to replace every year...... no matter what you do the aluminum oxide will kill the blower/motor bearings.

On a regular basis dump the blasign media as it gets full of large flakes that will plug the suction tube....... nozzles also need to be replaced as the wear to a large orifice and reduce your cutting capacity.

On the glass...... I made a new wooden frame held by wooden screews which are easier to remove to replace the plastic lining. Have a set of spare rubber gloves.... you will cut them or wear holes in them at themost unopportune time..... like late on a weekend and Princess is closed....

Keeping a good source of lights inside is also a challenge.... I have taken to junking them regularly when they get tooooo pitted to let light out....I have opted for under the counter lights from Home depot that runs on 12 volts....cheap and easy to replace.

Finally the "kompressor"....... like other manly things bigger is better.

Check out the specified C.F.M. of the cabinet as listed in the Princess catalogue...... you do not need high pressure but high volume.... youmight get by with a high CFM 7 1/2 HP..... as large a tank as you can find for the reasons given above...... you do not necessarily need a two stage compressor....... but they do come in handy to run a 3/4 inch impact for those stubborn rims studs...... requires 125/150 psi..... 900 pounds of torque and we still need touse the hot wrench to mellow the nuts to some mobility..

I am using a 10HP Princess running on single phase 60 amps on start up..... when it kicks in the lights dim in the village..... 120 gal. tank rated at 33 CFM at 100 psi.....

Caution..... whatever size you buy..... install it as far away as you can... they are noisy...... I had no previous expereince and installed mine in the attic of the barn...... never regretted the efforts to get it up there..... if you are in attic looking for parts and the sucker goes on...... hope your head is not under a low part of the ceiling.......they are as noisy as a Harley Dee.

Be prepared to drain the water out of the tank regularly.... so make provision for easy access to the drain plug/valve...... a good 3/4 in. ball valve from Princess will do the trick.... and a hose section to shoot the water in a desireable direction....... one litre of water at a time coming out at 150 psi really fogs up quickly......including oil from the compressor....

One final note..... when you pipe in your air lines from a remote location to your work site....... consider installing a special flexible section to you 1 inch steel delivery line..... it will reduce noise and vibration to the steel line.... and use a water trap in addition to draining the tank.

Now you are set for a blow job.....

my 5 cents worth

BooBee

[Jordan Baker]

Hi BooBee

Thanks for the info. I picked up 2 bags of the sand/crushed glass to start with. When I built the cabinet I applied silicone adheasive along all the joints. I found a few places I missed once I got started but overall its reasonably leak free. The only big leak is around the bottom edge of the door. That plastic seems to have a slight warp to it. I may jsut have to make it out of steel plate then.

So far I'm not using any lights, just shining a light from above me. And I don't have any suction hooked up yet. i find it works out fine so far. Ive got no dust that gets out when im spraying and with such a small compressor I can only spray for a min then wait for it to catch up. My uncle maybe getting a big compressor via work. He said its got a huge tank so we will see.