information on buying sand blaster and wet belt sander
Moderators: Brad Walker, Tony Smith
information on buying sand blaster and wet belt sander
I read the dialogue on the wet belt sander, and appreciated all that advise, and now want to know what you all suggest in buying a sand blaster. I have a smallish studio, so space is an issue, but I want to buy a good sand blaster that will give me as many options as possible. I fuse plates that are at their biggest (now) at 20" diameter. Can you suggest what brands to look into. I just finished the Brock and Avery course in Framingham, MA and am all pumped up to explore all the new techniques. Thanks Barbara Kirwin in Connectitut
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Tony Smith
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 5:59 pm
- Location: Massachusetts, USA
- Contact:
Hi Barbara,
Sorry I missed you at the B&A class, but I had to be in San Francisco at the same time as the class.
Look into TP Tools at http://www.tptools.com. They have a model 780TL blasting cabinet which is a great design and doesn't require open space alongside the unit. It has an integral siphon blaster which will get you started. A pressure pot will be the next step up and can be added to any cabinet. The standard is the Glastar 100S which is what you used at Dave's. They are pricey and run about $750. You will also need a compressor that will handle it (look into the Sears 30 gallon upright at about $279 on sale) as well as a dust collector such as the TPTools VAC-36 (about $350). You can get away with a Shop Vac for a time, but will eventually need to move up to a dust collector. Others will argue that you need a 60 gallon 7 HP compressor, and if you start to do more and more, you might. But this will get you started.
Add on 50 lbs of abrasive, air hose and miscellaneous odds and ends like replacement nozzles and washers to round up your purchase.
You can do with less depending on how handy you are and how much convenience you want to give up. But that is another discussion.
Tony
Sorry I missed you at the B&A class, but I had to be in San Francisco at the same time as the class.
Look into TP Tools at http://www.tptools.com. They have a model 780TL blasting cabinet which is a great design and doesn't require open space alongside the unit. It has an integral siphon blaster which will get you started. A pressure pot will be the next step up and can be added to any cabinet. The standard is the Glastar 100S which is what you used at Dave's. They are pricey and run about $750. You will also need a compressor that will handle it (look into the Sears 30 gallon upright at about $279 on sale) as well as a dust collector such as the TPTools VAC-36 (about $350). You can get away with a Shop Vac for a time, but will eventually need to move up to a dust collector. Others will argue that you need a 60 gallon 7 HP compressor, and if you start to do more and more, you might. But this will get you started.
Add on 50 lbs of abrasive, air hose and miscellaneous odds and ends like replacement nozzles and washers to round up your purchase.
You can do with less depending on how handy you are and how much convenience you want to give up. But that is another discussion.
Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun
thanks, tony
thanks Tony, I will look into all this. I am sorry I missed meeting you as well. It was a great workshop, and I can't wait to get all this equipment. Barbara If you know of anyone who is selling used equipment, I would love to know about it. barbara
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sadiesjewels
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2003 2:02 pm
- Location: N. CA
- Contact:
Tony,
My apologies in advance for what may be dumb questions ...
Let me see if I've got this right (for a reasonably sized sandblasting start) ... you need the cabinet the one you describe has a siphon blaster (is this a pen or a gun?), a compressor, a shopvac for dust removal, and abrasive + resist ...
Will that do the job to get me going?
I'm thinking of getting an airbrush too, but definitely want to be able to sandblast smallish items (I have a small kiln) but hope to be getting a bigger kiln when the opportunity arises. From what I understand I can arrange to have the compressor run the airbrush and the sandblaster?
Sadie - who seems to have trouble understanding how all this operates and really needs to see it in action!
My apologies in advance for what may be dumb questions ...
Let me see if I've got this right (for a reasonably sized sandblasting start) ... you need the cabinet the one you describe has a siphon blaster (is this a pen or a gun?), a compressor, a shopvac for dust removal, and abrasive + resist ...
Will that do the job to get me going?
I'm thinking of getting an airbrush too, but definitely want to be able to sandblast smallish items (I have a small kiln) but hope to be getting a bigger kiln when the opportunity arises. From what I understand I can arrange to have the compressor run the airbrush and the sandblaster?
Sadie - who seems to have trouble understanding how all this operates and really needs to see it in action!
what medium???
Tony, the age old question.... would you purchase silicone carbide or aluminum oxide medium ( I'm not even sure those are the correct names..) when purchasing a new sandblaster?? I looked at the 780 TL model and it looks good...... thanks for the lead. barbara
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Tony Smith
- Posts: 1037
- Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2003 5:59 pm
- Location: Massachusetts, USA
- Contact:
Hi Sadie,
The minimum amount of equipment is: a compressor to provide the high pressure air; dust collector or shop vac to collect the dust; abrasive; a box or cabinet to contain the abrasive; and a siphon blaster or pressure pot which mixes the abrasive with the air and sprays it in some controllable way. Since most of the cabinets available have built-in siphon blasters, you can start there and add abrasive, a compressor and a vacuum.
The TPTools Siphon Blasters are all gun type blasters as are the larger Harbor Freight blasters. The pen type blasters are really not worth the money. I bought one when I started, became frustrated with it because it never worked quite right, and I quickly found I needed a cabinet that would handle larger pieces and could etch larger areas faster.
Yes the air hose that feeds the sandblaster can be connected to an airbrush, or a number of other air powered tools.
Where are you located in CA? Rayzist, one of the photoresist sandblasting companies is in Vista, CA. You might be able to see all of this demonstrated there. Also, Norm Dobbins, one of the Gurus of sandblasting glass, often teaches in California. You can check his schedule at http://www.etchmaster.com.
I hope this helps
Tony
The minimum amount of equipment is: a compressor to provide the high pressure air; dust collector or shop vac to collect the dust; abrasive; a box or cabinet to contain the abrasive; and a siphon blaster or pressure pot which mixes the abrasive with the air and sprays it in some controllable way. Since most of the cabinets available have built-in siphon blasters, you can start there and add abrasive, a compressor and a vacuum.
The TPTools Siphon Blasters are all gun type blasters as are the larger Harbor Freight blasters. The pen type blasters are really not worth the money. I bought one when I started, became frustrated with it because it never worked quite right, and I quickly found I needed a cabinet that would handle larger pieces and could etch larger areas faster.
Yes the air hose that feeds the sandblaster can be connected to an airbrush, or a number of other air powered tools.
Where are you located in CA? Rayzist, one of the photoresist sandblasting companies is in Vista, CA. You might be able to see all of this demonstrated there. Also, Norm Dobbins, one of the Gurus of sandblasting glass, often teaches in California. You can check his schedule at http://www.etchmaster.com.
I hope this helps
Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun