On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 21:10:28 -0700, "Bill" wrote:

this really depends on the blaster and what you are blasting - even with the
smallest tip, my TIP brand blaster drains my 20 gal crafstman compressor
(it's 7.2CFM) in about 20 seconds - my 5 hp Quincy can keep up (19.5CFM at
160 PSI if I remember right) - if you are blasting rust off of a frame you
need more pressure than if you are bead blasting a casting or carving wood,
and a small tip uses less air but will take forever with a large dirty
object.

I can see the truth in that, but I was referring to the average
sandblaster you can get off the shelf at a hardware store- You know,
the ones with the 1 gallon open topped red can hopper or the nozzle
assembly with the tube you stick into a bucket of sand. I've used
larger pressurized canister ones on a big shop compressor, but they're
really not all that nice for a homeowner- the place I used that rig
was doing production work, and I'd end up standing in a large area of
desert-like dunes and bright red all over from flying sand any time I
used it. Figured that wasn't the OP's thing, though I could have been
wrong.

I'm not sure how large a blaster you're referring to, but those little
guys don't do too badly when doing smaller tasks like cleaning up a
porch rail prior to painting or frosting a piece of glass. Never did
any sandblasting on wood, but they're probably fine for that as well-
that's why I figured any given homeowner compressor would be fine.