I'm considering buying the sand blaster shown at the link, however, I'd
like a little input as to whether I have enought air compressor before
I shell out the $$. I would use the blaster to finish burls similar to
the one in my privious post and and other like tasks. I know a blaster
takes a lot of air....I think I'd need to run it 15 - 20 seconds at a
time then let the tank charge a bit. I've done a search but I think I
need to have input from someone who has a similar sandblaster.

My compressor says it will put out 7.2scfm @ 40 psi. and 5.6scfm @ 90
psi. and this is the blaster I'm looking at:

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/pictu...8&NTITEM=B2034

Thanks, Tom

tomstorey wrote:
I'm considering buying the sand blaster shown at the link, however, I'd
like a little input as to whether I have enought air compressor before
I shell out the $$. I would use the blaster to finish burls similar to
the one in my privious post and and other like tasks. I know a blaster
takes a lot of air....I think I'd need to run it 15 - 20 seconds at a
time then let the tank charge a bit. I've done a search but I think I
need to have input from someone who has a similar sandblaster.

My compressor says it will put out 7.2scfm @ 40 psi. and 5.6scfm @ 90
psi. and this is the blaster I'm looking at:

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/pictu...8&NTITEM=B2034

Thanks, Tom


If it is for occasional use only, here is a cheaper one from HF.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45411

--
Gerald Ross
Cochran, GA

A man's got to know his limitations.





----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----

"tomstorey" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm considering buying the sand blaster shown at the link, however, I'd
like a little input as to whether I have enought air compressor before
I shell out the $$. I would use the blaster to finish burls similar to
the one in my privious post and and other like tasks. I know a blaster
takes a lot of air....I think I'd need to run it 15 - 20 seconds at a
time then let the tank charge a bit. I've done a search but I think I
need to have input from someone who has a similar sandblaster.

My compressor says it will put out 7.2scfm @ 40 psi. and 5.6scfm @ 90
psi. and this is the blaster I'm looking at:

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/pictu...8&NTITEM=B2034

Thanks, Tom
=====================
Tom,
Your system is a medeium output unit, but for intermittent use, the size of
your storage tank will have more to do with its' performance than the actual
compressor. You can add an auxilary tank to your system and increase your
short term output considerably. Just be sure it is ANSI approved for the
working presasure you expect to be using.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

I don't know why, but I was not able to get your sandblaster link to work,
so I'll assume that it is a 5 or 10 gallon pressurized tank system similar
in design to the one that I have. Mine is one of the "made in china"
pressurized tank type models that are readily available at Northern, Tractor
Supply and other retail tool stores. The cheaper "non pressurized" tank type
blasters that work on a venturi technique to mix the sand with the air
stream are considerably less expensive, considerably less effective, and in
my opinion, not worth buying if you expect good results and minimum
headaches.
Your present compressor isn't big enough to run a sand blaster continuously,
but if you add an additional storage tank to your system you will be able to
easily run a sand blaster for short periods, even considerably longer than
20 seconds at a time. The compressor will take longer than it does now to
recover and shut off, but the added tank capacity will give you much more
blasting time at useable pressure. How much time will depend on how big your
total tank capacity is and not how big your compressor is. The compressor
size will determine how fast the system recovers back to full pressure (how
long your break time is) before you can blast again. You will also need to
seriously consider adding a good moisture filter to the air line ahead of
the blaster or the sand blaster will frequently plug up. Only dry sand and
air will work. I found a filter at an automotive paint supplier for about
$30 that uses rolls of toilet paper as the filter medium. This proved to be
a very effective and economical way of getting dry air for me. A fresh roll
before each day's use and I can get dry air all day and the roll doesn't
even have to be Charmin. Even the cheapest stuff does a good job. It is also
a good idea to filter your sand before you put it in the tank. The bagged
blasting sand that is available from Lowes and Home Depot are not graded
very well and will have some oversize particles in them that will also plug
your sand blaster. For trouble free sand blasting you need well graded sand.
You can buy a tool for this, but a kitchen type wire sifter will do the job
too, and it's a lot cheaper.

Some years ago I had an 11 cfm 2 horsepower ( 2 real hp) compressor with a
20 gallon tank. When I used it for sand blasting I had an old 100 lb propane
cylinder (totally cleaned out and the fittings replaced) that I would
connect via a tee in the air line. This combination gave me about 5 minutes
of blasting time before the pressure was too low to use. I have now upgraded
to an 18.4 cfm at 90 psi system with an 80 gallon tank. When sand blasting
with this system the compressor stays ahead of the blaster and I can do
continuous blasting until my whole 10 gal tank of sand is gone.

--
Charley


"tomstorey" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm considering buying the sand blaster shown at the link, however, I'd
like a little input as to whether I have enought air compressor before
I shell out the $$. I would use the blaster to finish burls similar to
the one in my privious post and and other like tasks. I know a blaster
takes a lot of air....I think I'd need to run it 15 - 20 seconds at a
time then let the tank charge a bit. I've done a search but I think I
need to have input from someone who has a similar sandblaster.

My compressor says it will put out 7.2scfm @ 40 psi. and 5.6scfm @ 90
psi. and this is the blaster I'm looking at:


http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/pictu...8&NTITEM=B2034

Thanks, Tom

Charley, Thank you very much for a very good discussion about a subject
seldom discussed here. I don't know much about the mechanics & equipment
required for sandblasting, but I do know that no matter how good the
wood artist, he can't use the technique if he can't blast the sand. I
still don't know much about the equipment needed, but I know more than I
did before reading your post. Thanks again.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

I have a pressureized tank sandblaster that I use for automotive work,
though I haven't used it in a while - my Sears air compressor was rated 7.2
CFM at (as I recall) either 40 or 60 PSI - it would run the thing for about
15 seconds and then I'd have to wait for it to refill. My current
compressor will produce 19CFM at 160 PSI, but I havne't needed to sand blast
anything in a long time -

the message we are sending you is that you need a LOT of air, and also that
the smaller sand blasters are more of a problem (clogging, etc). you may
wish to have a sand blast cabinet and save some $ on media.


"Arch" wrote in message
...
Charley, Thank you very much for a very good discussion about a subject
seldom discussed here. I don't know much about the mechanics & equipment
required for sandblasting, but I do know that no matter how good the
wood artist, he can't use the technique if he can't blast the sand. I
still don't know much about the equipment needed, but I know more than I
did before reading your post. Thanks again.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter


http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Hi All,

Very interesting what everyone thinks about sandblasters.

But from what some are saying, that they can only blast away for 20 - 30
seconds at a time, then stop to let the air build up again. Or some I
think said that they could go for a couple of minutes then had to stop
for the air to build up. My friends, If that is what I had to do with
any sandblaster, I would throw it away as next to useless, useful only
to clean spark plugs. I can maintain a constant blaster operation for
hours at a time, non stop, with My cheap open type siphon sandblaster.
And have done entire cars with it, as well as anything else I take a
mind to use it on.

It is not fast maybe, but my air compressor can maintain 60 Lbs at the
nozzle for as long as I keep the trigger pulled. And I have run it up to
4 hours at a stretch without letting up on the trigger. I have worn out
somewhere between 40 to 60 nozzles and run tons of dry play sand through
it. Having my boys sweep it up and put it back into the hopper till it
was just too fine to continue using.

The cabinet type sandblasters are nice when you have only small parts to
do, I built my own cabinet once, but what if you need to do something
like a car fender, or an engine block? It works good for putting
designs on Glass also, and if you are going to sandblast wood, remember
that you have to mask off anything that you don't want the sand to hit.

Just my opinion, but just don't take too serious what every one of us is
saying. Look over what is out there, and pick something that will do the
job you want done. It's your money and there is a lot of verity out
there. But keep in mind that there has been,over the years, hundreds
more of these cheep open siphon sandblasters sold and used. The design
has not changed in almost 100 years because they work. I've been using
mine for a little over 40 years now. It still works great.

Zap

Leif Thorvaldson wrote:
tomstorey wrote:

I'm considering buying the sand blaster shown at the link, however, I'd
like a little input as to whether I have enought air compressor before
I shell out the $$. I would use the blaster to finish burls similar to
the one in my privious post and and other like tasks. I know a blaster
takes a lot of air....I think I'd need to run it 15 - 20 seconds at a
time then let the tank charge a bit. I've done a search but I think I
need to have input from someone who has a similar sandblaster.

My compressor says it will put out 7.2scfm @ 40 psi. and 5.6scfm @ 90
psi. and this is the blaster I'm looking at:

http://busybeetools.ca/cgi-bin/pictu...8&NTITEM=B2034


Thanks, Tom


=====I note from the URL page that they don't list any suggested
airconsumption rates required for best performance. Perhaps you could
email the company and ask them for more information on the unit??

Leif

"zap" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi All,

Very interesting what everyone thinks about sandblasters.

But from what some are saying, that they can only blast away for 20 - 30
seconds at a time, then stop to let the air build up again. Or some I
think said that they could go for a couple of minutes then had to stop for
the air to build up. My friends, If that is what I had to do with any
sandblaster, I would throw it away as next to useless, useful only to
clean spark plugs. I can maintain a constant blaster operation for hours
at a time, non stop, with My cheap open type siphon sandblaster. And have
done entire cars with it, as well as anything else I take a mind to use it
on.

It is not fast maybe, but my air compressor can maintain 60 Lbs at the
nozzle for as long as I keep the trigger pulled. And I have run it up to 4
hours at a stretch without letting up on the trigger. I have worn out
somewhere between 40 to 60 nozzles and run tons of dry play sand through
it. Having my boys sweep it up and put it back into the hopper till it
was just too fine to continue using.

The cabinet type sandblasters are nice when you have only small parts to
do, I built my own cabinet once, but what if you need to do something like
a car fender, or an engine block? It works good for putting designs on
Glass also, and if you are going to sandblast wood, remember that you have
to mask off anything that you don't want the sand to hit.

Just my opinion, but just don't take too serious what every one of us is
saying. Look over what is out there, and pick something that will do the
job you want done. It's your money and there is a lot of verity out
there. But keep in mind that there has been,over the years, hundreds more
of these cheep open siphon sandblasters sold and used. The design has not
changed in almost 100 years because they work. I've been using mine for a
little over 40 years now. It still works great.

Zap
====================

What is the air volume consumption (CFM) of your unit at 60 psi? How big is
your compressor (HP)?

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

Hi Ken,

In answer to your questions:

My air Compressor is a sears brand twin cylinder model 106.154540 rated
at 100 psi displacement of 8.1 standard cubic feet per minute.

A rated delivery of 6.4 cfm @ 40 lbs, and 5.4 cfm @ 90 lbs.

Has a 1 hp electric motor and a 12 gal tank.

I use a sears sand blaster model 106.168110 which can be used with
either the attached canister or with an open hopper. The canister can
be used in either a pressure mode or in a siphon mode. The Hopper in a
siphon mode.

The manual gives the following for pressure and volume of air needed.

Can be operated with a non-tank type portable air compressor rated at
least 1/3 hp, and delivering a minimum of 2.2 cfm at 40 psi.

When used in the high pressure tank type air compressor in the pressure
mode, with attached canister, a maximum of 50 psi is not to be exceeded.
(for safety in not blowing up the attached canister.) When used in
conjunction with high pressure compressors, it is recommended that the
gun be used as a siphon feed operation.

This gun may be used with a sand hopper, or with a gun canister. When
this sand blast gun is used in the siphon feed mode, either with a
canister, or the sand hopper, it may be used with any air compressor
delivering a minimum of 3.5 cfm at 50 psi or more.

Comment: In the siphon mode any pressure at 50 psi or above to the
maximum your compressor can deliver as long as you can maintain 3.5 cfm
volume of air. Now what the ratings say, and what your compressor can
actually put out may be different. Only time and experience will give
you those answers.

Other applications: Your sand blast equipment performs equally well
when using soap and water for cleaning purposes such as auto washing,
lawn chair cleaning, screen cleaning and any number of other cleaning
applications. Liquid and owner insecticides, kerosene and other solvents
may also be dispensed with your sand blast equipment. When large amounts
of liquid are to be dispensed by your sand blast gun in a short period
of time, it is recommended that your gun be operated in the pressure
feed mode. Otherwise it is recommended that you use your sand blast gun
in th siphon feed mode. In order to obtain a high pressure liquid stream
it is recommended that you operate your sandblast gun in the pressure
feed mode.

Types of Abrasive:

Sand Grit Size 30 (16-45 mesh) – General purpose use. Light rust and
paint removal from metals, seeds, other surfaces, wood finishing, metal
cleaning, glass and stone etching, drilling of holes in glass, brick or
cement block, brass and silver cleaning, fight brick cleaning, exterior
automotive parts cleaning, light stone and cement removal, and water
deposits removed.

Sand Grit Size 70 to 90 (40-140 mesh) – Desirable for fine polish
finishes, antique wood finish, bfrass and silver polishing, automotive
parts cleaning and polishing, sheet metal surface polishing, and fine
glass etching.

Aluminum Oxide Grit Size 50-80 - Heavy rust removal, rough surface
paint removal.

Glass Beads - Fine polish finishes of all wood grains, silver and
brass objects, automotive parts, fine etching of glass, etc.

Comment: While regular sand blast sand is available and works well
because the sand has rough edges, I chose to use a fine play sand which
has rounded edges like beach sand, because it is much cheaper. However
with play sand, you do have to check the actual sand which is bagged to
see that it is a fine sand and consistent for that brand of sand. Many
play sands have very course grains, and are more like a builders sand.
But note that any sand that you can feed through your sand blast gun
will do the job.

Always use some kind of water trap between the air compressor and the
sand blast gun. You do not want the gun to be spitting out water
instead of sand.

In any case, whenever you use a sand blaster outside of a special box,
be sure to wear eye protection, the kind that covers the side of your
eyes also. And if you can, a face shield, and long sleeves, because that
sand will bounce off of what you are cleaning, and it will sting if it
hits bare skin.

When sand blasting a picture or design on glass, reduce the pressure to
almost nothing for control, and be sure to cover anything that you do
not want the sand to hit. Some ones initials on a set of glasses makes
a great gift.

Zap




Ken Moon wrote:
"zap" wrote in message
nk.net...

Hi All,

Very interesting what everyone thinks about sandblasters.

But from what some are saying, that they can only blast away for 20 - 30
seconds at a time, then stop to let the air build up again. Or some I
think said that they could go for a couple of minutes then had to stop for
the air to build up. My friends, If that is what I had to do with any
sandblaster, I would throw it away as next to useless, useful only to
clean spark plugs. I can maintain a constant blaster operation for hours
at a time, non stop, with My cheap open type siphon sandblaster. And have
done entire cars with it, as well as anything else I take a mind to use it
on.

It is not fast maybe, but my air compressor can maintain 60 Lbs at the
nozzle for as long as I keep the trigger pulled. And I have run it up to 4
hours at a stretch without letting up on the trigger. I have worn out
somewhere between 40 to 60 nozzles and run tons of dry play sand through
it. Having my boys sweep it up and put it back into the hopper till it
was just too fine to continue using.

The cabinet type sandblasters are nice when you have only small parts to
do, I built my own cabinet once, but what if you need to do something like
a car fender, or an engine block? It works good for putting designs on
Glass also, and if you are going to sandblast wood, remember that you have
to mask off anything that you don't want the sand to hit.

Just my opinion, but just don't take too serious what every one of us is
saying. Look over what is out there, and pick something that will do the
job you want done. It's your money and there is a lot of verity out
there. But keep in mind that there has been,over the years, hundreds more
of these cheep open siphon sandblasters sold and used. The design has not
changed in almost 100 years because they work. I've been using mine for a
little over 40 years now. It still works great.

Zap

====================

What is the air volume consumption (CFM) of your unit at 60 psi? How big is
your compressor (HP)?

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 06:42:41 GMT, zap wrote:

I'm going to agree with Zap here- I've done a little more sandblasting
than I care to think about, and it's been my experience that any given
generic compressor with at least a 6 gallon tank should keep a little
blaster going in perpetuity. I wouldn't use a pancake or hot dog
style compressor, but any reasonable shop one should work just fine-
it doesn't even have to be a good one, I've used old junkers that
looked like they were about to fall apart with no apparent difference.

Hi All,

Very interesting what everyone thinks about sandblasters.

But from what some are saying, that they can only blast away for 20 - 30
seconds at a time, then stop to let the air build up again. Or some I
think said that they could go for a couple of minutes then had to stop
for the air to build up. My friends, If that is what I had to do with
any sandblaster, I would throw it away as next to useless, useful only
to clean spark plugs. I can maintain a constant blaster operation for
hours at a time, non stop, with My cheap open type siphon sandblaster.
And have done entire cars with it, as well as anything else I take a
mind to use it on.

It is not fast maybe, but my air compressor can maintain 60 Lbs at the
nozzle for as long as I keep the trigger pulled. And I have run it up to
4 hours at a stretch without letting up on the trigger. I have worn out
somewhere between 40 to 60 nozzles and run tons of dry play sand through
it. Having my boys sweep it up and put it back into the hopper till it
was just too fine to continue using.

The cabinet type sandblasters are nice when you have only small parts to
do, I built my own cabinet once, but what if you need to do something
like a car fender, or an engine block? It works good for putting
designs on Glass also, and if you are going to sandblast wood, remember
that you have to mask off anything that you don't want the sand to hit.

Just my opinion, but just don't take too serious what every one of us is
saying. Look over what is out there, and pick something that will do the
job you want done. It's your money and there is a lot of verity out
there. But keep in mind that there has been,over the years, hundreds
more of these cheep open siphon sandblasters sold and used. The design
has not changed in almost 100 years because they work. I've been using
mine for a little over 40 years now. It still works great.

Zap

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.


"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 06:42:41 GMT, zap wrote:

I'm going to agree with Zap here- I've done a little more sandblasting
than I care to think about, and it's been my experience that any given
generic compressor with at least a 6 gallon tank should keep a little
blaster going in perpetuity. I wouldn't use a pancake or hot dog
style compressor, but any reasonable shop one should work just fine-
it doesn't even have to be a good one, I've used old junkers that
looked like they were about to fall apart with no apparent difference.

Hi All,

Very interesting what everyone thinks about sandblasters.

But from what some are saying, that they can only blast away for 20 - 30
seconds at a time, then stop to let the air build up again. Or some I
think said that they could go for a couple of minutes then had to stop
for the air to build up. My friends, If that is what I had to do with
any sandblaster, I would throw it away as next to useless, useful only
to clean spark plugs. I can maintain a constant blaster operation for
hours at a time, non stop, with My cheap open type siphon sandblaster.
And have done entire cars with it, as well as anything else I take a
mind to use it on.

It is not fast maybe, but my air compressor can maintain 60 Lbs at the
nozzle for as long as I keep the trigger pulled. And I have run it up to
4 hours at a stretch without letting up on the trigger. I have worn out
somewhere between 40 to 60 nozzles and run tons of dry play sand through
it. Having my boys sweep it up and put it back into the hopper till it
was just too fine to continue using.

The cabinet type sandblasters are nice when you have only small parts to
do, I built my own cabinet once, but what if you need to do something
like a car fender, or an engine block? It works good for putting
designs on Glass also, and if you are going to sandblast wood, remember
that you have to mask off anything that you don't want the sand to hit.

Just my opinion, but just don't take too serious what every one of us is
saying. Look over what is out there, and pick something that will do the
job you want done. It's your money and there is a lot of verity out
there. But keep in mind that there has been,over the years, hundreds
more of these cheep open siphon sandblasters sold and used. The design
has not changed in almost 100 years because they work. I've been using
mine for a little over 40 years now. It still works great.

Zap




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Hi Bill,

Yes, that is absolutely true. But then I thought that this question
about the sand Blasters was about using one in a home shop environment.
I did not think that the reference here was for the sand blasters used
in a commercial undertaking.

As I recall, the original intent of the question had to do with sand
blasting wood Burls in a home shop. Asking if the air compressor he was
contemplating had enough power to do the job. Not for cleaning 100 sq ft
of steel plate in 5 minutes.

Yes, I have used those kinds of large sand blasters you are speaking of,
and even larger, in metal working plants where the constant air
pressure out of the large noel ran to close to 300 lbs psi and would use
up at least a thousand lbs of sand an hour, where you didn't hold the
noel, you only guided it. I have worked in sand Blasters where we went
into the chamber in special suits. But that is not the kind of sand
Blasting that the original thread started out with. That is NOT home
type sand blasting, and has no place in this thread.

Of course if you are sand blasting a Bridge, you would not use the small
sand blasters spoken about by most in this thread. And if you desire
to day in and day out sand blast car chassis while being paid by the
Job, you would use the proper equipment and air compressors to do the
job fast. But if you want to sand blast some wood, you had better not
use the kind of sand blaster that you are speaking of, for one blast and
there would be no wood left.

Zap

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.


"Prometheus" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 06:42:41 GMT, zap wrote:

I'm going to agree with Zap here- I've done a little more sandblasting
than I care to think about, and it's been my experience that any given
generic compressor with at least a 6 gallon tank should keep a little
blaster going in perpetuity. I wouldn't use a pancake or hot dog
style compressor, but any reasonable shop one should work just fine-
it doesn't even have to be a good one, I've used old junkers that
looked like they were about to fall apart with no apparent difference.


Hi All,

Very interesting what everyone thinks about sandblasters.

But from what some are saying, that they can only blast away for 20 - 30
seconds at a time, then stop to let the air build up again. Or some I
think said that they could go for a couple of minutes then had to stop
for the air to build up. My friends, If that is what I had to do with
any sandblaster, I would throw it away as next to useless, useful only
to clean spark plugs. I can maintain a constant blaster operation for
hours at a time, non stop, with My cheap open type siphon sandblaster.
And have done entire cars with it, as well as anything else I take a
mind to use it on.

It is not fast maybe, but my air compressor can maintain 60 Lbs at the
nozzle for as long as I keep the trigger pulled. And I have run it up to
4 hours at a stretch without letting up on the trigger. I have worn out
somewhere between 40 to 60 nozzles and run tons of dry play sand through
it. Having my boys sweep it up and put it back into the hopper till it
was just too fine to continue using.

The cabinet type sandblasters are nice when you have only small parts to
do, I built my own cabinet once, but what if you need to do something
like a car fender, or an engine block? It works good for putting
designs on Glass also, and if you are going to sandblast wood, remember
that you have to mask off anything that you don't want the sand to hit.

Just my opinion, but just don't take too serious what every one of us is
saying. Look over what is out there, and pick something that will do the
job you want done. It's your money and there is a lot of verity out
there. But keep in mind that there has been,over the years, hundreds
more of these cheep open siphon sandblasters sold and used. The design
has not changed in almost 100 years because they work. I've been using
mine for a little over 40 years now. It still works great.

Zap

I really wasn't trying to be facetious - the last time I used my own sand
blaster was to clean up the frame on my 36 cadillac - that took some
pressure and time because it had a lot of grime and rust on it. Doing some
heavy blasting on a large burl might also require a fair amount of pressure
an volume, whereas doing fine "carving" with a small tip blaster would be a
whole different thing - and I would expect the tools to be quite different -
there are little sand blasters that I have seen, not much larger than an air
brush, used for detail work (with I suppose fine aluminum oxide for media) -
"zap" wrote in message
nk.net...
Hi Bill,

Yes, that is absolutely true. But then I thought that this question about
the sand Blasters was about using one in a home shop environment. I did
not think that the reference here was for the sand blasters used in a
commercial undertaking.

As I recall, the original intent of the question had to do with sand
blasting wood Burls in a home shop. Asking if the air compressor he was
contemplating had enough power to do the job. Not for cleaning 100 sq ft
of steel plate in 5 minutes.

Yes, I have used those kinds of large sand blasters you are speaking of,
and even larger, in metal working plants where the constant air pressure
out of the large noel ran to close to 300 lbs psi and would use up at
least a thousand lbs of sand an hour, where you didn't hold the noel, you
only guided it. I have worked in sand Blasters where we went into the
chamber in special suits. But that is not the kind of sand Blasting that
the original thread started out with. That is NOT home type sand blasting,
and has no place in this thread.

Of course if you are sand blasting a Bridge, you would not use the small
sand blasters spoken about by most in this thread. And if you desire to
day in and day out sand blast car chassis while being paid by the Job, you
would use the proper equipment and air compressors to do the job fast. But
if you want to sand blast some wood, you had better not use the kind of
sand blaster that you are speaking of, for one blast and there would be no
wood left.

Zap

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.


"Prometheus" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 06:42:41 GMT, zap wrote:

I'm going to agree with Zap here- I've done a little more sandblasting
than I care to think about, and it's been my experience that any given
generic compressor with at least a 6 gallon tank should keep a little
blaster going in perpetuity. I wouldn't use a pancake or hot dog
style compressor, but any reasonable shop one should work just fine-
it doesn't even have to be a good one, I've used old junkers that
looked like they were about to fall apart with no apparent difference.


Hi All,

Very interesting what everyone thinks about sandblasters.

But from what some are saying, that they can only blast away for 20 - 30
seconds at a time, then stop to let the air build up again. Or some I
think said that they could go for a couple of minutes then had to stop
for the air to build up. My friends, If that is what I had to do with
any sandblaster, I would throw it away as next to useless, useful only
to clean spark plugs. I can maintain a constant blaster operation for
hours at a time, non stop, with My cheap open type siphon sandblaster.
And have done entire cars with it, as well as anything else I take a
mind to use it on.

It is not fast maybe, but my air compressor can maintain 60 Lbs at the
nozzle for as long as I keep the trigger pulled. And I have run it up to
4 hours at a stretch without letting up on the trigger. I have worn out
somewhere between 40 to 60 nozzles and run tons of dry play sand through
it. Having my boys sweep it up and put it back into the hopper till it
was just too fine to continue using.

The cabinet type sandblasters are nice when you have only small parts to
do, I built my own cabinet once, but what if you need to do something
like a car fender, or an engine block? It works good for putting
designs on Glass also, and if you are going to sandblast wood, remember
that you have to mask off anything that you don't want the sand to hit.

Just my opinion, but just don't take too serious what every one of us is
saying. Look over what is out there, and pick something that will do the
job you want done. It's your money and there is a lot of verity out
there. But keep in mind that there has been,over the years, hundreds
more of these cheep open siphon sandblasters sold and used. The design
has not changed in almost 100 years because they work. I've been using
mine for a little over 40 years now. It still works great.

Zap





--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

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.