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Sandblasting

W

Wayne Spence

Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
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Location
Denver, Colorado
Could someone(s) enlighten me on some sandblasting particulars such as volume and pressure needed. How about particular makes and models if we are allowed to mention them.. Most of it would be in softwoods, some in ash. Thanks.

Wayne
 
I recently searched the forum here for info on compressors and IIRC, there were some interesting discussions relative to sandblasting, including different types of equipment. I came away with a new realization for the capacity 😱 required for sandblasting.

If you haven't tried a search yet, you might get a head start that way while you wait for someone with more hands-on experience to reply.
 
Rick M

Thanks for suggesting the search (engine). As usual the AAW members did a great job in discussing the subject. I was hoping that for wood a small compressor would be OK but it appears not to be the case. In the 50's I worked at the Corvette plant in St. Louis. One summer my job was to sandblast the fiberglass body parts for epoxying together in the body mold. Our cabinet was large enough for two sandblasters plus the large conveyor belt that fed the pieces through the cabinet. That plant was not environmental friendly.

Thanks again for the reply.
 
I have extremely limited experience with sandblasting as I only needed to do it on one project. I have a small compressor. It works but it runs constantly so I let it go through a couple of cycles and then take a break to let it cool down. Patience is the key if you don't have a big hoss of a compressor.
I bought a really cheap gun from Harbour Frieht for $20 and got some sand from a friend who sandblast metal. I don't even know what grit it was. I sprayed outside with a faceshield and dust mask. I put a garbage can behind it to collect as much of the abrasive as I could.
It worked. It's not what I would recommend if you plan to do more than one or two projects. I now have a larger compressor but haven't installed it due to the need to run another 120ft 220 line to the shop. That's going to cost more than I paid for the compressor. When I get it installed I will probably do more research on sandblasting and get decent equipement.
 
Hello,
I do a lot of sandblasting. actually for many pieces I spend more time on sandblasting than on turning (you can see some pieces here in the gallery or on my site at www.lavieenbois.com and go to "the sand" gallery)
what you need is plenty of airflow. 22 cfm is a good figure to start with. size of the tank doesn't matter much, anyway it will be empty in less than a minute. in Europe you need to go to 3 phases power line for this, because it means at least a 5HP compressor . as John says, it costed me more than the cost of the compressor.
pressure: it depends on the effect you want, I'd say from 4 bars to 8 or more (sorry about the metric units, in my demo in Albuquerque I had everything converted to imperial but I don't have the slides with me now)
of course you could do with a smaller compressor, it all depends if you want to blast something occasionally, or are really serious about it. I burnt a 3HP compressor by running it too much.
the "speed blaster" with a tank on it is a good option for a small compressor and occasional use.
don't forget safety, do this outside dressed like an astronaut or use a closed sandblasting cabinet.
Pascal
 
Pascal Oudet said:
Hello,
I do a lot of sandblasting. actually for many pieces I spend more time on sandblasting than on turning (you can see some pieces here in the gallery or on my site at www.lavieenbois.com and go to "the sand" gallery)
what you need is plenty of airflow. 22 cfm is a good figure to start with. size of the tank doesn't matter much, anyway it will be empty in less than a minute. in Europe you need to go to 3 phases power line for this, because it means at least a 5HP compressor . as John says, it costed me more than the cost of the compressor.
pressure: it depends on the effect you want, I'd say from 4 bars to 8 or more (sorry about the metric units, in my demo in Albuquerque I had everything converted to imperial but I don't have the slides with me now)
of course you could do with a smaller compressor, it all depends if you want to blast something occasionally, or are really serious about it. I burnt a 3HP compressor by running it too much.
the "speed blaster" with a tank on it is a good option for a small compressor and occasional use.
don't forget safety, do this outside dressed like an astronaut or use a closed sandblasting cabinet.
Pascal
Click to expand...

Thanks for showing us your sandblasted turnings, Pascal......

Very nice work, you've done.....

If I'm not mistaken, it looks like you might be using bleach on some of your turnings, as well.

If so, you might want to respond in this thread, too:

click:

http://www.aawforum.org/vbforum/showthread.php?t=6753
 
you're right Odie, I use bleach a lot. I have little experience with bleach and glue, since all my pieces are done in one block of wood. for some specific pieces (the planets) I have a plug glued and I bleach before applying the dye, I've noticed some glues swell with hydrogen peroxyde, and some glue fail. but I'm not using the same brands as on your side of the pond, so it won't help much.
Texian, since you are at ease with unit conversion, a typical sandblasting gun east 250l/min. take into account 70% of efficiency for the compressor, running it no more than 50% of the time = 43m3/h=27 cfm ideally. I must say my compressor runs far more than 50% of the time, but is designed for heavy duty use. and yes it's a big one.
the problem with pressure pots is that you need to refill them all the time.(even worse with the speed blaster, the tank lasts less than 1 minute. but it's a low cost alternative with pretty good results with a "small" compressor).
Pascal
 
Pascal Steve

Pascal-I went to your web site and liked (I hate to use the word impressed) your work. I once did stone sculpture, still do some and dropped out because of the dust being so aggressive on the lungs, everyone has probably heard of silicosis. A trip back to the old studio found that the sculptors there still do not have a sandblaster but use one from another very large studio if needed. It is 30hp and I believe 150 psi. It will, I am told, eat through a 2 x 4 in about 15 seconds.

With this in mind I hope you are taking the necessary precautions in your use of the sandblaster. The wood dust is a hazard as well as the blasting medium. Please be careful.

Steve -thanks for the info on the pressure pot. It might work for my limited use of sandblasting.
 
thanks for your concern Wayne, don't worry. I'm very aware of the danger of wood and abrasive dust. I sandblast in a closed cabinet, which is always in depression and connected to a vacuum with a very fine filter (festool). and each time I open the cabinet or handle the abrasive (when changing the grit for example) I wear my Airshield.
Pascal
 
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