My simple Sand Blasting setup

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

I'm been using this setup for many years now, so I thought I should share this with you as sandblasting is something all of us can use it.

The pistol itself is a Taiwan Pearl one yo can buy for 5$
The sand I'm using is the fine white sand that is used by masons. Don't use the rougher one.

When you buy a bag of it, the white sand is wet, so open the bag and leave less than half the content and let it dry.
I use a regular compressor and use 8 bar.

To sandblast, simply put both hands in the bag, one holding the pistol, the other the piece that need to be blasted. Just keep a peephole to look inside the bag so you can see what you are doing. The rubber tube of course needs to be in the sand. No need to wear hand gloves. The sand also will remain in the bag.

I'm using the 25 kilo white sand for more than 15 years. Some sand is lost of course, but who cares.

I know there are some sophisticated systems with "special granulates" I never tried it as my setup does the job I like.
Sometimes if I need less matted surfaces, I use a brass rotation brush after sanding.

arnaud

 

[fegarex]

Speaking of sandblaster set ups, this is mine for doing larger items like rifles and shotguns. Most cabinets aren't big enough to handle a barrel so I came up with a simple fix. This is one of those blaster cabinets you can buy at places like Harbor Freight or Tractor Supply Co for around $100.00. To accommodate long items like barrels I cut a hole in each side and then bolted a PVC toilet flange over the hole. Then I used a PVC cap to seal the hole. When I need to do a barrel I just remove the caps and attach a short chunk of PVC pipe on each end and cap them off. It isn't perfect but does allow me to pass the barrel back and forth to blast it, yet keep all the dust inside the cabinet. I just hook a small shop vac to it for dust removal.

 

[Marcus Hunt]

You yankees are so lucky to have space in your workshops. I'm just about to convert a bench into a jewellers bench and the stuff I have to get rid of to make it fit in my small studio is amazing. I'd love to have a proper sand blasting cabinet like yours Rex, but my set up is more like Arnaud's but will more mess! Thanks for the tip Arnaud, I'll give it a try.

 

[rod]

Marcus,

I am having success with a simple approach....

I got one of those small dentist's sandblasters that are the size of a pen (http://www.dentalcompare.com/details/950/Microetcher-ERC.html), tried several aluminium oxide grades and also glass bead, and have opted for the lovely matte finish that size 90 glass beads give, with a low enough air pressure to not shatter the beads, hence giving a very smooth matte background, against which bright flare cut silver shows well. Buying your glass beads in bulk, say 10 pounds is much cheaper than one pound from the dental suppliers.

I use Mother Nature for my cabinet .... made a tee junction on my air line, and drilled a hole in the window frame to feed the small plastic air pipe out doors. Good to use a mask and goggles, plastic gloves, etc., if you want to be fully prepared. Choose your direction wisely if there is weather ( don't pee into the wind!). The air line and blaster stay outdoors in a plastic bag when not in use, and no rusting parts anyway. Takes about a minute to bead blast a wide silver ring 30mm diameter and 20 mm wide. I allow the inert beads to drift off and join the sand down on the Pacific beach. Cost of beads is a few cents per item. Thanks to 'Coincutter' and 'Dave London' for getting me started. They have different setups.

Rod

 

[Kevin P.]

Another inexpensive approach is the 'Badger Mini Sandblaster' under $30 in the US which includes a can of compressed air and even a face mask.
Kevin P.

 

[wandrist]

You might try Paasche's air eraser. hopfully this link will work. http://www.micromark.com/PAASCHE-AIR-ERASER-MINI-SANDBLAST-GUN-SET,9117.html

 

[Arnaud Van Tilburgh]

Thank you all, you have inspired me to a new system. Only cost me 15 euro.
So now I have throw away my old sandbag , this new one works great.
Just drilled two holes for my arms in the cover.

arnaud

 

[Cloudy]

Clever stuff, all!

 

[Robert Morales]

I don't want to sound like a Naysayer here, I use the same set up with "Play Sand" found at the hardware stores. Nothing cleans old car parts like this! As it states on the bag, Don't use for sandblasting. Sand can cause SILICOSIS. So, if you do use it or Aluminum Oxide etc. be sure you wear a good mask and have plenty of ventilation etc.