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Sandblasting Question

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84gmcjimmy

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Hey, I was looking at bucket sand blasters (pour sand in pail for sandblasting) and I was wondering if it is safe to use it inside a shop, if all the doors/windows were open, and I had a fan pointing towards the door. I want one for the price, and so I don't always have to grind sheetmetal to get it clean. And obvisly other things. Is there any reason why I shouldn't get one? I will be getting a air compressor soon so that's taken care of. There used to be one of eastwood.com but I couldn't find one. Does anyone know where I can find one? I also want it so I can do axles, because they obvisly won't fit in a cabnet! Thanks /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
You'll end up with sand and dust EVERYWHERE in your garage. It's freakin' amazing how far the sand flies as it ricochets off the parts you're blasting. Sandblasting is a job best done outdoors. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Just like I never thought about overspray when I painted my truck's bed in my garage--now my shop(and everything in it)has a fine glaze of yellow paint on it---had to wash the tv screen off with carb cleaner in order to watch it again! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gifI tried painting outdoors but its futile this time of year--too many catapillars and maple tree "helicoptors"and pollen floating around.
If you are going to buy a sandblaster and compressor,get the biggest compressor you can afford,and your wiring will handle--there is no such thing as too much CFM when it comes to sandblasting,many folks I know use those tow behind the truck ones with 4 cylinder engines,portable and no waiting for air pressure to build up. As for the sandblaster I would reccomend a pressure feed one that has the sand under pressure,I havent had much luck with the siphon feed ones,and most of the pros I know who sandblast railings and such prefer the pressure type.Nothing beats a sandblaster for getting ALL the rust out !. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Yeah do it out doors. Myself I plan on doing a 6'x6'x8' little building someday made of PVC and coverd in clear plastic. Plenty of room for axels and such. A resperator will be needed though.
 
I have a little sandblasting booth (one of the cheap ones from homier discount tool). Its the standup version, holds 50lbs of media. It blows chit everywhere and its a sealed unit. I'm going to spray that bedliner spray in the cans all over the seams and make a dust collector with a vent that blows out a window (so whatever gets past the filter and the dust collector goes outside, IE the realy small particals). Second you can't use regular sand, its very dangerous to breath the stuff in. I use a coarse media called black magma. Its not as good as the normal sand but hey silica in the lungs is bad /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I also have one of those spot sandblaster that is like a roller cart and its a syfin (sp?) feed from the bottom. It works ok but then your media goes everywhere and you have you use a couple pours through screens to sift out the big peices before you can reuse what you sweep up.

Either way, doing it inside a garage is probley not the best idea. But if your just cleaning small things for stripping paint for welding I'd say go for it but dont forget a good filtered mask (not the little white paper ones), a set of goggles and a full face mask along with some LONG sleeved thick skinned set of gloves if your going to be holding a piece while you blast it. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you are going to buy a sandblaster and compressor,get the biggest compressor you can afford,and your wiring will handle--there is no such thing as too much CFM when it comes to sandblasting,many folks I know use those tow behind the truck ones with 4 cylinder engines,portable and no waiting for air pressure to build up.

[/ QUOTE ]

you mean like this...



55.jpg


That is a lindsay 125Q air compressor putting out 125CFM at 100 PSI. I am professional sandblaster and that is what I use. It's an interesting piece of equipment. Basically it's a chrysler 318 motor. One side is your normal internal combustion engine while the other side runs a modified head and compresses air. I can fill 500 gallons of air tanks to 100 psi in about 5 mins /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif. If you look on the back of the compressor you can see my portable sandblaster strapped on. I only use pressurised sandblasters rather than the siphon feed ones. Pressurised works MUCH faster but requires more CFM and higher pressure. I work at 100 PSI.

Here is a picture of my big 1,000lb sandblaster...

files.053.jpg


and here's my small machine that I use steel bead in...

files.54.jpg


Now you can't really tell from these pictures but I have 2 5'x7' sandblasting rooms back to back. These rooms have a 3HP blower exhausting the dust outside. Even with the blowers my floor is constantly covered in dust. I have my sandblast area walled off separate from my work area for this reason. Sandblasting is very messy.

As for media I use crushed silica mostly but as said before it is VERY hard on the lungs. You must use an OSHA approved filter. The mask I use costed about $30 and filters are $35 for a pack of 50. You can use a fresh air hood but they just get in my way. Sand works well on most heavy metal parts but it does generate heat and will warp thin body panels. You need poly or crushed walnut media for thin metal. I also have steel bead but I only use that for the business work. Here is what I make...

Dammit. I'll have to try and upload the rest of the pics later as it seems right now my dsl connection is messed up /forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif
 
Yeah I will be getting the biggest air compressor I can, the next size up is one you bolt to the floor, and I need a portable one so I am getting the one down from that. I read on eastwood.com about the different media to use for certain things so I have planned on what I need for different jobs.
Where can I get those OHSA aprroved masks? I looked on eastwood.com and all they had were masks for painting and such. And second, where can I find the pressurized sandblasting parts? Minus the booth, since I will be outside. Thanks for the help /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
I got my mask and filters from Bicknell Mfg. out of elberton GA. I dunno if they have a website. The # is 1-800-241-7105 and the mask is a dustfoe model. They also sell sandblasting supplies. The smallest pressurised sandblaster I see listed in the catalog uses 10cfm at 80 psi.
 
Okay thanks, I'll use that place as a back up if I don't find anything /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Yes,that the compressor type I was trying to describe! They work well,a friend has one with a 460 ford motor setup like yours.My local boneyard has one for sale that has a 231 v-6 in it,but the motor is blown,300 for it with a running car motor,I was thinking about it, /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gifbut cash is really tight right now.
I made a greenhouse looking thing out of 20 ft lengths of 1-1/2 inch pvc pipe.I drove 3 ft peices of steel pipe in the ground in 2 rows 12 ft.apart and 20 ft long,slid the pvc pipe on one side,bent it into an arch shape and slid it over the other steel pipe on the other side(took a little doing)and fastened them to the steel pipes to prevent the wind from blowing it away,then I put 1x3 furring strips on the inside with conduit clamps to link the arches together in 3 places,1 at the center and 1 on each side about 3 ft up from the ground.Add a 20x30 tarp or greenhouse plastic and voila!it looks alot like those "instant garages",except mine cost 75 bucks to build it!.I got 2 years out of a cheap blue tarp,now its got the genuine greenhouse plastic on it I scored when local nursery near me was changing theirs.That pvc is tough--I can still do a chinup on the arches,even after a blizzard crushed it nearly flat last winter.This makes an excellent paint or sandblasting booth--so far mine is holding the lawnmowers and other junk thats always in my way in the garage.No taxes or building permit,and it keeps the sand all in one spot for easy recycling! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I got a Campbell-Hausfeld blaster from Walmart for less than $15.00. Check to make sure all the pieces are there before you leave. It saved me a trip back. I bought a sand blasting hood from Northern Tool for about $20.00. It works pretty good. After a while the clear plastic you look thru got so scuffed up it was like sand blasting in a fog. I got some thin clear plastic from a hobby shop to make "tear aways" to protect the more expensive, thicker clear lense.

I buy 50 pound bags of playsand at Lowe's. I think they're around $2.50 a bag. The ones from Quikcrete have a of rocks in them and have to be filtered, but the other brand they sometimes carry (clear bag with red and blue trim) doesn't and I just dump it in the bucket.

I learned my lesson about doing the blasting inside. The stuff goes everywhere. It's still falling out of the nooks and crannies under my truck.
 
Even with a hood you need a respirator unless it is a fresh air hood. I just use an old welding mask. I get the local hardware store to cut me a pile of single thickness glass to the size I need for lenses and swap them out when they frost over.

As for media if you blast in a place with a floor and can recollect your sand I recommend no.1 dry crushed silica. Most places that sell colored rock and sand for swimming pools or masonry will carry sandblasting sand. It runs around $5 per 100lb bag around here and is reusable. I get a good 4-5 uses out of the sand before it turns to powder and that is while blasting granite.. If you can't reuse the sand then just get the playsand.
 
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