Has anyone sandblasted an etching into wood? More specifically,

I'd like to etch to a depth of 0.0625 (1/16th) of an inch.

I'm working with soft and hardwoods. Particularly Pine, Cedar, Maple,
Oak, Birch, Cherry and Mahogany.

I am familiar with the sandblast/stencil process used for etching
glass and would like to apply the same to wood. I understand stencil
creation/photoemulsion techniques, etc.

I am familiar with the sandblasting concept (compressor, pressure or
siphon feed abrasive blaster, blasting medium, cabinet to contain
mess).

The only area I'm foggy on is actual blasters. What I've come across
a

Badger mini-blaster

Paasche AEC Air Eraser

Micro-Etch 2 (used for Jewelry sandblasting. I believe the company
also makes blasters for dental work).

Glastar Microabrasive blaster

I read somewhere that Campbell-Hausfeld makes a kit that can be used
for micro abrasion as well.


There's also a self contained kit (i.e. no external compressor) by
Armour sold at hobby stores for $40. It's basically a can of
compressed air and silicone carbide. I'm leary of buying this because
I don't think the compressed air would move the silicone with enough
pressure. It also seems overpriced compared to something like the
Paasche and a C-H compressor set up, but IF it works, it could be
something used in a pinch when a compressor fails.

Also, a friend told me that the Badger likes to clog up in our humid
(Georgia) climate. The Paasche has a moisture trap with the hose.
Would that solve the problem if it is a problem? Has anyone used any
of these or have experience sandblast etching in wood?

I know I should be a master wood carver or buy a carvewright, but at
the moment I'd like to give something like this a try first, if it
works.

Any thoughts from experienced users are appreciated.

"Charley" wrote:
What are you planning to sand carve? If you make wooden jewelry those might
work OK, but for signs, etc. and larger work I have been using a 10 gallon
pressure pot style sand blaster that I bought from Northern Equipment.


I'd like to etch to a depth of 0.0625 (1/16th) of an inch on soft and
hardwoods. (Pine, Cedar, Maple,
Oak, Birch, Cherry and Mahogany). I'm doing detailed design work on a
flat surface, typically 1.5" x 8"; nothing as large as a sign. I've
looked at some of the abrasive blasters and was concerned that they
would either be overkill for something so small and thus unnecessary
expense, but I could be wrong. I also understand that soft and hard
wood, even within the same board, will be removed at different rates.
I'm set on using silicone carbide since it can be reclaimed more than
most materials, isn't a health hazard and doesn't create the static
charge aluminume oxide might.

"Chrisgiraffe" wrote in message
...
"Charley" wrote:
What are you planning to sand carve? If you make wooden jewelry those
might
work OK, but for signs, etc. and larger work I have been using a 10
gallon
pressure pot style sand blaster that I bought from Northern Equipment.


I'd like to etch to a depth of 0.0625 (1/16th) of an inch on soft and
hardwoods. (Pine, Cedar, Maple,
Oak, Birch, Cherry and Mahogany). I'm doing detailed design work on a
flat surface, typically 1.5" x 8"; nothing as large as a sign. I've
looked at some of the abrasive blasters and was concerned that they
would either be overkill for something so small and thus unnecessary
expense, but I could be wrong. I also understand that soft and hard
wood, even within the same board, will be removed at different rates.
I'm set on using silicone carbide since it can be reclaimed more than
most materials, isn't a health hazard and doesn't create the static
charge aluminume oxide might.


CG:

First, all fine, inhalable dusts are a health hazard. Use a dust collector
and wear a cartridge mask.
The other suggestions you've had are good. You might want to check with --or
google on--the
monument/tombstone process for their robust stenciling materials. Also,
check the sign-making suppliers.

The blasters I use are very, very fine and are intended for rock and metal
and I employ them freehand. They are also not cheap and I don't think you
need to consider them. Your governing constraints are the finest width of
line you need to make and the hardness of the wood, which will effect the
choice of abrasive type, sieve grade, blast nozzle aperture and air pressure
you need. Blast angle, nozzle distance and dwell time are other
considerations you will have to reckon with. Experimentation on your subject
wood will give you a quick education.

Hygroscopic clogging is a constant concern. I oven dry my abrasives and
avoid leaving them in
any drafty hopper or container. Nice grading sieves that can be nested are
available commonly on
Ebay. Looking under +(brass OR stainless) +sieves would be productive.

You might want to make a call to a technical advisor at S.L. Fusco, 3M or
other makers/marketers of
free abrasives to see if you can either get more guidance or a reference to
an end user who will kindly
spare you some time.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

Mon, Dec 10, 2007, 7:47am (EST-3) (Chrisgiraffe)
doth query:
Has anyone sandblasted an etching into wood? More specifically, snip

More specifically nothing. I've read the thread, and I don't see
anything that tells what you actually want to do. I don't know what you
want to do, and I've gotten the impression you don't know what you're
doing, or want to do, either. From what little that I 'gleaned' I
believe you might be best off by getting a Dremel tool, tental drills,
and routing out what ever, because it seems you want small detail. I
hardly think you're going to get small, or fine, detail with a
sandblaster. Not on wood anyway. Or you could carve out whatever. Me,
I might use a woodburning tool, if I wanted whatever actually IN the
wood - otherwise I'd probabl just glue a label on the wood or paint the
design.



JOAT
Even Popeye didn't eat his spinach until he had to.

"J T" wrote in message
...
Mon, Dec 10, 2007, 7:47am (EST-3) (Chrisgiraffe)
doth query:
Has anyone sandblasted an etching into wood? More specifically, snip

More specifically nothing. I've read the thread, and I don't see
anything that tells what you actually want to do. I don't know what you
want to do, and I've gotten the impression you don't know what you're
doing, or want to do, either. From what little that I 'gleaned' I
believe you might be best off by getting a Dremel tool, tental drills,
and routing out what ever, because it seems you want small detail. I
hardly think you're going to get small, or fine, detail with a
sandblaster. Not on wood anyway. Or you could carve out whatever. Me,
I might use a woodburning tool, if I wanted whatever actually IN the
wood - otherwise I'd probabl just glue a label on the wood or paint the
design.



JOAT
Even Popeye didn't eat his spinach until he had to.
---
It MIGHT be, that he has an idea that he wants to keep a secret so that
someone else doesn't take it and run with it.
Kate

"J T" wrote in message
...
Mon, Dec 10, 2007, 7:47am (EST-3) (Chrisgiraffe)
doth query:
Has anyone sandblasted an etching into wood? More specifically, snip

More specifically nothing. I've read the thread, and I don't see
anything that tells what you actually want to do. I don't know what you
want to do, and I've gotten the impression you don't know what you're
doing, or want to do, either. From what little that I 'gleaned' I
believe you might be best off by getting a Dremel tool, tental drills,
and routing out what ever, because it seems you want small detail. I
hardly think you're going to get small, or fine, detail with a
sandblaster. Not on wood anyway. Or you could carve out whatever. Me,
I might use a woodburning tool, if I wanted whatever actually IN the
wood - otherwise I'd probabl just glue a label on the wood or paint the
design.

you can sandblast lines the thickness of the particle. i doubt that you're
going to be able to burn a line or etch with a dremel lines the size of
200-300 grit 'sand'.

to the op: if you're looking to do this cheaply, i use shelf contact paper
for my masks. cut it with a blade. i can get 1/32-1/16" deep blasts on
glass; wood is significantly softer.

you can also make a photo screen and use that for light blasting. anything
deeper you'll have to use buttercut or something similar.

regards,
charlie
http://glassartists.org/chaniarts

Mon, Dec 10, 2007, 5:24pm (EST-2)
(charlie) doth sayeth:
you can sandblast lines the thickness of the particle. snip

On wood?



JOAT
Even Popeye didn't eat his spinach until he had to.

"J T" wrote in message
...
Mon, Dec 10, 2007, 5:24pm (EST-2)
(charlie) doth sayeth:
you can sandblast lines the thickness of the particle. snip

On wood?

JT:

I'm leaning your way on that one. Your particles--the grit size--must be
such that they individually
span and impact a portion of the smallest width one wishes to blast. The
smaller the better to quickly capture fine detail.
If particles were used that measured the exact size of the smallest width,
it would take
longer to blast out the detail, with the increased probability of
deleterious effects on the margin of
the stencilling material used and diminution of detail as it frays and
degrades.

Regards,

Edward Hennessey

More specifically nothing. I've read the thread, and I don't see
anything that tells what you actually want to do. I don't know what you
want to do, and I've gotten the impression you don't know what you're
doing, or want to do, either.

JOAT, I always come to this board to help or be helped. I think that's
a good reason to be here. I'm not sure how you might consider your
posts helpful or worthwhile. Didn't I ask for people with sandblasting
experience? I guess you did take a shot at sandblasting my post, but I
did ask for replys from those who've sandblasted wood, not words. I
thought my post was specific enough without the need to submit
blueprints. I already stated I have no intent to carve. There are many
reasons I wouldn't want to carve hundreds of the same pattern in wood.
I'd hope that I wouldn't need to tell the world that I'm applying a
repeating pattern several hundred times and that they'd just take my
word for it that I don't want to take the carving route, but there's
always someone who has already figured the best way to do everything
without knowing what's being done and thinks a guy is stupid for
asking a question. You were really off the mark on this one and I'm
not sure why you wasted your time with it other than to make noise.
Well, I hear you loud and clear. Perhaps next time you might try being
helpful instead.

Sincerely.

"Chrisgiraffe" got offended and tried to reason with JOAT

Maybe you could take some of that fine abrasive sand and spray a little on
your skin to thicken it up. Thin skinned folks don't do well on usenet.

JOAT is the group curmudgeon. He really doesn't care what you or I think of
him, or his posts. His form of logic and general approach to things is not
very reverant. He does things his own way. I find it refreshing.

His approach of nailing together a couple of boards and scrounging some
cheap materials to make something is an incredible alternative to the guys
who need to buy the latest (expensive) toy or gadget. It remind me of the
folks I grew up with. They did not have money, but they built things, got
things done and displayed an incredible amount of creativity.

And like all old farts, he may lack in social graces. But I consider that to
be a good thing, not a bad thing.

Mon, Dec 10, 2007, 10:11pm (EST-3) (Chrisgiraffe)
did say something I snipped;

Now you're assuming. I guess I'll just leave all the sandblating
equipment with my older son then. I bought it several years ago.

You didn't exactly state sandblating wood as such. I'm not an
expert, but don't think you're going to find it real easy to accurately
hold to a depth of 1/16" in wood.

You day say you wanted to do 'fine detail' in pieces of various
types of wood approximately 1.5" X 8". I didn't ask for any blueprints,
but that doesn't sound very specific to me. What's 'fine detail' to one
person might not be to the nest guy.

I only mentioned carving as an option.

I didn't say anything about carving hundreds of the same pattern
either. In fact this is the first I recall anything about hundreds at
all.

People always leave out details, and then want a detailed answer.

OK, you want a helpful sugestion? Then you've got it:
Take whatever sandblasting equipment you have and try it.
And remember what Granny Weatherwas always says:
You'll never get anywhere if you believe what you "hear". What do you
"know"?



JOAT
Even Popeye didn't eat his spinach until he had to.

On Dec 10, 12:35 pm, "Charley" wrote:
What are you planning to sand carve? If you make wooden jewelry those might
work OK, but for signs, etc. and larger work I have been using a 10 gallon
pressure pot style sand blaster that I bought from Northern Equipment. These
are available for about $150. The blasting sand is available at the Borgs
for just a few bucks per 50 lb bag so it's way cheaper to operate then those
micro units although not as good for micro fine work.

If you go this way buy and use a gravy strainer to sift the sand as it will
tend to clog from bigger pieces that always seem to be mixed into the sand.
They must have a small hole in their grading screen as I always seem to find
some pieces that are 2-3 times as large as the sand granules. There aren't
many, just enough to drive you crazy if you don't get them out. You also
need to use a good water filter on your compressor and your compressor needs
to be 8 cfm at 100 psi or larger to run the blaster properly, or you can add
a large storage tank to what you have to get a few minutes of use at a time,
if your compressor isn't large enough to keep up with the blaster.

Charley

"Chrisgiraffe" wrote in message

...

Has anyone sandblasted an etching into wood? More specifically,

I'd like to etch to a depth of 0.0625 (1/16th) of an inch.

I'm working with soft and hardwoods. Particularly Pine, Cedar, Maple,
Oak, Birch, Cherry and Mahogany.

I am familiar with the sandblast/stencil process used for etching
glass and would like to apply the same to wood. I understand stencil
creation/photoemulsion techniques, etc.

I am familiar with the sandblasting concept (compressor, pressure or
siphon feed abrasive blaster, blasting medium, cabinet to contain
mess).

The only area I'm foggy on is actual blasters. What I've come across
a

Badger mini-blaster

Paasche AEC Air Eraser

Micro-Etch 2 (used for Jewelry sandblasting. I believe the company
also makes blasters for dental work).

Glastar Microabrasive blaster

I read somewhere that Campbell-Hausfeld makes a kit that can be used
for micro abrasion as well.

There's also a self contained kit (i.e. no external compressor) by
Armour sold at hobby stores for $40. It's basically a can of
compressed air and silicone carbide. I'm leary of buying this because
I don't think the compressed air would move the silicone with enough
pressure. It also seems overpriced compared to something like the
Paasche and a C-H compressor set up, but IF it works, it could be
something used in a pinch when a compressor fails.

Also, a friend told me that the Badger likes to clog up in our humid
(Georgia) climate. The Paasche has a moisture trap with the hose.
Would that solve the problem if it is a problem? Has anyone used any
of these or have experience sandblast etching in wood?

I know I should be a master wood carver or buy a carvewright, but at
the moment I'd like to give something like this a try first, if it
works.

Any thoughts from experienced users are appreciated.

Folks; I have a similar interest.


I have a pole barn with six hickory poles. I have enclosed it nicely,
new roof, wall system, concrete slab, etc. and was thinking of
sandblasting the posts to remove the bark and get down to the wood
surface. My thought was that I could sandblast it smooth enough to
take a finish and provide an interesting appearance "coming out" of
the walls as it would appear.

Anyone ever tried something like this - Anyone who has recommend a
type blasting media ?

Chrisgiraffe wrote:
More specifically nothing. I've read the thread, and I don't
see anything that tells what you actually want to do. I don't know
what you want to do, and I've gotten the impression you don't know
what you're doing, or want to do, either.

JOAT, I always come to this board to help or be helped. I think
that's
a good reason to be here. I'm not sure how you might consider your
posts helpful or worthwhile. Didn't I ask for people with
sandblasting
experience?

What are you getting defensive about? He asked a perfectly reasonable
question.

If you gave an example of the kind of result you were attempting to
achieve it would be very helpful to others who are trying to come up
with a recommendation.

I guess you did take a shot at sandblasting my post, but I
did ask for replys from those who've sandblasted wood, not words. I
thought my post was specific enough without the need to submit
blueprints. I already stated I have no intent to carve. There are
many
reasons I wouldn't want to carve hundreds of the same pattern in
wood.
I'd hope that I wouldn't need to tell the world that I'm applying a
repeating pattern several hundred times

Well, actually that's useful information. People can't read your
mind. Your original post suggested that it was lack of carving skill
rather than high production volume that was keeping you from it.

and that they'd just take my
word for it that I don't want to take the carving route, but there's
always someone who has already figured the best way to do everything
without knowing what's being done

So how is he supposed to know "what's being done" if you don't tell
him. This is rec.woodworking, not rec.telepathy.

and thinks a guy is stupid for
asking a question. You were really off the mark on this one and I'm
not sure why you wasted your time with it other than to make noise.
Well, I hear you loud and clear. Perhaps next time you might try
being
helpful instead.

If you want people to be helpful you really should provide enough
information to allow them to assist you. As is you asked something
equivalent to "I need to pull something, how big a rope do I need?"

--
--
--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...


What are you getting defensive about? He asked a perfectly reasonable
question.


I think he has every right to get defensive John. JOAT did (IMHO) get more
than a bit crotchety in his reply. I went back and read the original post
again, and I find it perfectly acceptable in what was being asked. The
issue has become that JOAT decided he wanted to take exception to this post
and turn it into something that it wasn't. The OP gave enough specific
information and made enough specific requests to generate dialog, but JOAT
decided and has been followed by too many people who have become equally
sidetracked, to demand that he needed to know exactly what the OP was doing.
It does not matter. The original post clearly indicated he desired to
sandblast in a variety of woods to a dept of 1/16th of an inch. That's
plenty of information to advance dialog. I find JOAT's reply to be anything
by reasonable.

If you gave an example of the kind of result you were attempting to
achieve it would be very helpful to others who are trying to come up
with a recommendation.


That is the nature of dialog. Any one of the responders who elected to
point out the insufficiencies of the OP could just as easily have offered
advice from experience and asked for further detail. That's not the
approach that was taken.

I guess you did take a shot at sandblasting my post, but I
did ask for replys from those who've sandblasted wood, not words. I
thought my post was specific enough without the need to submit
blueprints. I already stated I have no intent to carve. There are
many
reasons I wouldn't want to carve hundreds of the same pattern in
wood.
I'd hope that I wouldn't need to tell the world that I'm applying a
repeating pattern several hundred times

Well, actually that's useful information. People can't read your
mind. Your original post suggested that it was lack of carving skill
rather than high production volume that was keeping you from it.

Neither would matter with respect to the original post.


and that they'd just take my
word for it that I don't want to take the carving route, but there's
always someone who has already figured the best way to do everything
without knowing what's being done

So how is he supposed to know "what's being done" if you don't tell
him. This is rec.woodworking, not rec.telepathy.

Come on John - JOAT doesn't know a thing about the question and to attempt
to make his response in any way noble is pure bull. His response was
intended to simply chastise and be a wise ass. Go back and read the
original post again. You'll see that enough information was given for
dialog to ensue. Since when is it more appropriate to make an ass of
yourself than to simply ask "are you trying to do..."? Sorry - I can't
defend JOAT's response to this thread.


and thinks a guy is stupid for
asking a question. You were really off the mark on this one and I'm
not sure why you wasted your time with it other than to make noise.
Well, I hear you loud and clear. Perhaps next time you might try
being
helpful instead.

If you want people to be helpful you really should provide enough
information to allow them to assist you. As is you asked something
equivalent to "I need to pull something, how big a rope do I need?"


Geezus - sometimes it seems that folks here think too much of themselves and
the advice they think they have to offer. The demands they place on others
to meet their standards in order to be graced by a helpful reply are
something to marvel at. Would it hurt the "knowledgeable" participants here
to get out of their little boxes and meet a guy in the middle when he asks a
question that does not perfectly suit their expectations?

Man - this whole thread has gotten way out of hand.

--

-Mike-

"J T" wrote in message
...
Mon, Dec 10, 2007, 5:24pm (EST-2)
(charlie) doth sayeth:
you can sandblast lines the thickness of the particle. snip

On wood?

sure, depending upon if you can make your mask openings be that thickness
too. usually done with etching of a photoresist. i've made some with 200
mesh screen material, sort of like the way they make screens for tshirt
silkscreening. the blasted pattern may not show up if the wood isn't shiny
enough though. if you sand/pumice/rottenstone it to a french polish, it will
show up just fine.

Tue, Dec 11, 2007, 3:15am
(Lee*Michaels) doth claimeth:
snip JOAT is the group curmudgeon. snip of a bunch of other stuff"

Ain't no crumbmudgin. Do care, just not quite as much as some
people desire. The logic is a result of my upbringing, and 20+ years in
the Army. I'm spiritual, not reverant. Blatant lie, I glue everything
together (wood that is).

I've found that things I can buy, too often don't do just what I
want/need, or are lower quality than things I can make myself. Part of
growing up, loads of time you made it yourself of did without. The old
man put a pickup bed in the back of a Model A coupe. Plenty of people
did that, the old man just refined it - his dumped. Pull a hand lever,
the loaded bed dumped, then when it was empty, tipped back. Can't
afford a lot of the things I would like, but that's OK, because I've
learned I can make things that suit me just as well, maybe even better.
Urgh, I need to finish my first cuppa, then get another, maybe two more.



JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso

Tue, Dec 11, 2007, 9:46am (Mike*Marlow) doth
sayeth:
snip JOAT did (IMHO) get more than a bit crotchety in his reply. I
went back and read the original post again, and I find it perfectly
acceptable in what was being asked. The issue has become that JOAT
decided he wanted to take exception to this post and turn it into
something that it wasn't. The OP gave enough specific information and
made enough specific requests to generate dialog, but JOAT decided and
has been followed by too many people who have become equally
sidetracked, to demand that he needed to know exactly what the OP was
doing. It does not matter. The original post clearly indicated he
desired to sandblast in a variety of woods to a dept of 1/16th of an
inch. That's plenty of information to advance dialog. I find JOAT's
reply to be anything by reasonable. snip of the rest

I like John's post better. LOL Nah, I didn't take exception to
his post. I just don't think he gave enough details. For one, how does
he plan consisent depth in just one piece of wood, let alone different
varieds of wood? He says himself he realizes that problem. How wide
does he plan to have the unblasted parts between the blasted parts?
Really narrow? Or relatively wide - 1/8", 1/4"? Wood can be fragile,
and if the gap is really narrow, it can easily be damaged; then it'd
need to be repaired, or abandoned. Stuff like that. Details. I'm not
after blueprints, or his plans to riches, or whatever, just some
details. I might well have some ideas that could possibly help him, but
I just don't know what he's planning. I get that from way too many
years of people telling me what they needed, then when they got it
telling me that wasn't what they meant. Now I need stuff spelled out.

Like I said in anothe rpost, the best way for him to find out is to
use whatever equipment he's got and try it. Nothing ventured nothing
lost.



JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso

Tue, Dec 11, 2007, 11:33am (EST-2)
(charlie) doth sayeth:
sure, depending upon if you can make your mask openings be that
thickness too. snip

Hmm, interesting. I don't plan on sandblasting anything near that
delicate, but, how pricey is the equipment for doing something that
delicate?

I'm just curious, any delicate etching I do, I use etching cream,
or something similar - I'll stick with that - or engraving.

Question. Do you use something like that to make a design? Or,
just freehand? Seems to me it would be pretty time consuming to make a
detailed design that way, but maybe worth it on a one-time basis. I
would think multiples might well be a major PITA. More than once would
be work. LOL



JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso

"J T" wrote in message
...
Tue, Dec 11, 2007, 11:33am (EST-2)
(charlie) doth sayeth:
sure, depending upon if you can make your mask openings be that
thickness too. snip

Hmm, interesting. I don't plan on sandblasting anything near that
delicate, but, how pricey is the equipment for doing something that
delicate?

well, what process are you talking about? i can cut freehand maybe 1/8"
details in contact paper and that's pretty cheap.

if you're talking about photoetching, you need the special films, you can
use the sun for exposure although a UV light is recommended, a high pressure
hose for washing out the exposed portions of the film. you then need the
compressor and either a pressure pot or a grit recirculating blasting box
(for that you need a larger compressor).

you can get halftones with photoresist, which is good enough resolution to
get recognizable b/w pictures out of.

you might be able to get started doing this for $750 for everything.

see http://www.etchmaster.com/Merchant2/...ge=ES/CTGY/S-2 for a
good example pictures of the process.

you can look over http://rayzist.com/ which is one of the major producers of
photoetching films.

I'm just curious, any delicate etching I do, I use etching cream,
or something similar - I'll stick with that - or engraving.

you can use etching cream through photoresist too, although abrasive is more
common. you don't have to worry that the carrier of the cream won't also
dissolve your resist. they also have photoresist that you can put on silk,
use glass paint, and after firing in a kiln, you can basically do tshirt
silkscreening onto glass blanks.

Question. Do you use something like that to make a design? Or,
just freehand? Seems to me it would be pretty time consuming to make a
detailed design that way, but maybe worth it on a one-time basis. I
would think multiples might well be a major PITA. More than once would
be work. LOL


both. when it has to be detailed, there's not an easy way to cut a resist by
hand (interior dots, for example), or you're doing more than one, then
photoresist is the way to go. for broad kind of blasting, i cut it by hand.
for example,

http://www.glassartists.org/Images/F...8977_blue1.jpg

took 2 different cut by hand masks, and 5 trips through the kiln, to
produce.

your talk about consistent blasts is also misguided. when you get good with
a blaster, you can do broad expanses at a constant depth using a blaster. it
just takes practice, and it doesn't come out well until you do get good.

regards,
charlie
http://glassartists.org/chaniarts

Tue, Dec 11, 2007, 1:53pm (EST-2)
(charlie) elnlightens:
well, what process are you talking about? snip
your talk about consistent blasts is also misguided. when you get good
with a blaster, you can do broad expanses at a constant depth using a
blaster. it just takes practice, and it doesn't come out well until you
do get good.

Ah, details, I didn't give enough details. I hate it when that
happense.

Actually I meant the blasting equipment to do that, when I was
sking about how expensive it was.

And when I was talking consistency in depth I was meaning in wood,
because you can get a soft spot, or especially hard spot, so I don't see
a consistent depth. Close, yes, consistent, as would be metal, I don't
see it, not with wood, or at least pine,cedar, and so on.

I don't expect to do any of it, but always interesting to learn
something new. It does give me a bit of inspiration. LOL.



JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso

"J T" wrote in message
...
Tue, Dec 11, 2007, 1:53pm (EST-2)
(charlie) elnlightens:
well, what process are you talking about? snip
your talk about consistent blasts is also misguided. when you get good
with a blaster, you can do broad expanses at a constant depth using a
blaster. it just takes practice, and it doesn't come out well until you
do get good.

Ah, details, I didn't give enough details. I hate it when that
happense.

Actually I meant the blasting equipment to do that, when I was
sking about how expensive it was.

starting price for a compressor that you'd want to use for blasting: 500
cabinet: anywhere from free to 200. i built mine from plans at
http://mrcol.freeyellow.com/sand-blaster/ for about 50 in materials. the
harbor freight one is ok at around 100, but needs to be caulked well to work
ok. some people make theirs out of a very large tupperware tub for cheap,
but that's ok for small things.
pressure pot: harbor freight 100
dust extraction: large shopvac to small dust extractor: 100-300. get .5
micron or less (hepa) filters if you value your lungs. you're only issued
with 2.

And when I was talking consistency in depth I was meaning in wood,
because you can get a soft spot, or especially hard spot, so I don't see
a consistent depth. Close, yes, consistent, as would be metal, I don't
see it, not with wood, or at least pine,cedar, and so on.

I don't expect to do any of it, but always interesting to learn
something new. It does give me a bit of inspiration. LOL.



JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso

I apologize for taking offense at JOAT. Not because I feel any regret
toward JOAT, but because it sidetracked the conversation. I thought I
was being specific enough but obviously I wasn't for some. I don't
think I was too vague or that JOAT was too narrow, but more that our
mindset on the issue was entirely different. I have no method to
riches I'm trying to hide either. In fact, I don't know if new
techniques for working wood have been invented and if they were I
can't imagine finding them out here.

At this point I don't know if it's even worth it to continue this
thread but I want to be crystal clear about what I was asking. I was
asking a question similar to "which table saw is best for the money".
I was as simple as that. I listed five products, similar to table
saws, and thought there might be someone out there who's used them for
woodworking. Now, when someone asks what table saw is best do we all
beat them up with, 'well, what are you cutting with it, how deep, what
design are you cutting, how many pieces, will the pieces be X
size . . .'. We don't say, 'buy them all and give them a try you cheap
lazy *******. Nothing gained nothing lost!' I think what fouled JOAT
up was that it was a two part question. 1. which is the best of these
tools, 2. Anyone ever use them on small wood (regardless of the
specific design). I guess he thought the first part was unimportant.
It still rubs me that he's NEVER sandblasted wood (as far as I know)
and has anything to say on this topic. Again, why waste his time?

Not that this is the only post I've seen him attack because it didn't
come specially tailored for him. There was one about a guy who wanted
to make fiddle/violin cases. JOAT jibs the guy for using the word
'fiddle'. Personally, the word 'fiddle' seems silly to me too but I
took a shot at helping the guy. If we don't help one another, why are
we here? Entertainment? I find this group to be the least entertaining
thing I could ever interact with. I'd rather be cutting wood or
listening to music. Just about anything than being here. I used to
come here a lot when I first started woodworking. These days it's
almost better to skip it and work out the problem yourself because God
knows helping one another is beyond probability and finding useful
information takes more time than your best guess. I don't mean to
flame but I'm just frustrated that one of the few good things about
the internet on a topic of great personal interest is really not much
more than wild variances of opinion, hearsay and grumpy old men who
love to take a shot at the new guy.

Again, I don't mean to flame here but I just think there has to be a
better way to conduct this group before it disintegrates into being
entirely useless. These days I can't hardly even see the topics from
all the damned porn ads anyways. Is this even worth it?

I ask that no one reply to this message because it's not a worthwhile
topic. And if you can't help but reply, perhaps suggestions to make
this usenet group a little better would go futher than another rant
like my own.

Wed, Dec 12, 2007, 12:21pm (EST-3) (Chrisgiraffe)
doth dreameth thusly
snip but because it sidetracked the conversation. snip

Wow, you are really new here aren't you? Yeah, that's never
happened here before. Right gang? Bet you're young too. LMAO



JOAT
I do things I don't know how to do, so that I might learn how to do
them.
- Picasso