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New Sandblasting Setup

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My first shot at this blasting was a pretty much unsuccessful using 80grit Black Diamond ( some sort of coal slag) but it was very coarse and blown most of my vinyl mask. I went to (don't remember store name now) and got me 50lbs of 220grit Aluminum Oxide, is expensive at almost $100 but you can reuse it LOTS of times. Great for glass if you don't need a real DEEP carving, if you want a surface etching or 1/16 depth is ideal because it cuts really fast. Midwaste is right on the money, Silicon Carbide has an excellent cutting capabilities and can be reused even longer than AO, once again, you get what you pay for.

Also I had a lot of flow issues with the coarser stuff, with the 220 AO I kick the pot every now and then and works great and fast.  ;D

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The blasting supply place I went too recommended the aluminum oxide as well, his exact words were "Its what the professionals use".  I bought an 8 dollar bag of "White Lightening" and blasted it at 40 PSI and it permanently etched the beer mug in about 15 seconds flat using a cheapo pressure pot.

I would also like to caution you on that shopvac setup, if you are going to be using silicon carbide and or regular sand, wear a respirator. That shopvac will collect most of the big stuff but will actually spit out MORE bad stuff than it collects and kill you. If at all possible put the shopvac outside while you blast to vent the particles away from you.

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Thanks for the advice everyone!  My shop vac has a nice 2.5" exhaust.  It will be pretty easy to hook up an outside vent.  Small project for the sake of my lungs.  >:D

What is the best route for mask material?  I've read that Oracal 651 works pretty good.  Or, should I be looking at sandblast mask?

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651 owrks for glass work and some tile but for tile and rock get some resist

Agreed.  I use Shinerite I had left over for glass, I tried it with some tiles and it got hard and flaked off.  I have yet to try the resist, too expensive for as much etching as I do.

As far as exhausting the Shopvac dust, the comments before are correct, as a Shopvac has a TON of suction and will suck up some media as well as the fine stuff, which, more than likely, will either clog your Shopvac VERY quickly, or will not filter at all.  You can vent it outside, or you can try the water filtration or a similar method. 

I made a post here: http://www.cuttingedgesandcarving.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11570 about how I made mine, you will have to register to see the photos though, unfortunately.  It works pretty well, only sucks up the very small floating particles and no useable media.  The risks aren't as great with AO or SC as they are with Si sand, but without proper filtration the fine dust will still land on EVERYTHING and is a bitch to clean up.

As far as pressure, I don't see noticeable results when changing from 45-100Psi, except my compressor runs a lot more.  I have read most pros use between 50-75Psi, and that is with deep carving etc.  One thing you will find with a siphon feed (that I also have) is that you have to move the suction tube around a bit to stir it up to get even media flow, which is a pain in the ass.  If you are going to do quite a bit of etching, take the others advice, buy a pressure pot and plumb it into your existing cabinet.

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The best sandmask to use is Hartco 20-25mil. It will allow you to cut deep and will not peel off up to 95psi. This is what I use to do all of my work. It you keep your cabinet about half full with abrasive, you do not have to be moving your siphon tube around. I personally use Garnet as my media...it doesn't have a lot of dust, cuts smoother, and faster as AO or SC for less the cost. Aluminium Oxide causes static electricity and sticks on your work, very dirty to blast with. You spend a lot of time swiping your work to see. 

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All great information.  I appreciate it.  Hopefully tomorrow I can locate some better blast media and have a couple pics to share.  >:D

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Picked up a 50# tub of Black Beauty 80 grit garnet at a local farm store for $29 after much discussion with a brother employed by a water jet mfg and familiar with abrasives; in spite of his recommendation to use at least 120 grit for a smoother finish. Blasting @ 80 psi with the gun positioned @ 90

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Phew!  What a busy day.  I only had about 1 hour to mess around with the blasting project.  But, I did get results.  I had to clean the walnut shells out of the cabinet - they didn't work AT ALL (thanks Harbor Freight for more poor advice).  I couldn't find the aluminum oxide that I was looking for.  The only local supplier I could find told me to use Silica Sand.  It's the only thing they sell.  $8 for a 100# bag, so I figured I would give it a try. 

I quickly cut my daughter's names out of some scrap vinyl an put them on cheapo mugs that I picked up from Wal-Mart for $2 a piece.  Covered the rest of the mug with the app tape used to apply the vinyl.  It only took a few moments to blast each one.  They turned out good.  I could tell immediately that it was working.  First mug was perfect.  The second one I had some blow threw - I think this was from a couple of bubbles in the vinyl when I applied it.  I was in a hurry, so I was only testing if it would work at all.  I didn't even bother aligning them straight.  Now I wish I took more time - cause they turned out good, and could have easily been perfect.

Anyway, there will be plenty of time to get practice.  I'm thinking Christmas presents!

Thanks everyone for your advice and input.

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great job, thats what im using all my crappy bgs vinyl for.  If you have a dollar store close they often have mugs, and a good tip to remove the vinyl after blasting is to fill the sink with hot water and let them sit in it for a few minutes.

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Pretty good  :thumbsup:

Remember to keep your pressure low and please avoid using any blasting material containing silica, you already have enough with what you're blasting from the glass. Spend the money and keep your lungs working a little longer.

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I'm having a little trouble "dialing it in".  Trying to find the correct pressure to use?  Maybe another problem?  I dunno.  I'm having trouble with the vinyl blowing apart at 100psi.  At 50psi I have to make several passes, and the vinyl lifts before I complete an etch.  At 40psi it takes a long time to etch something. 

Any advice?

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Again, pressure should be around 20-40 PSI for glass, you want to kick up your pressure if you're working with harder materials, like rocks.

If you're going to be doing mostly glass do yourself a favor and spend the $80-100 bucks on Aluminum Oxide, 220 grit and you'll be able to carve fast, with using gloves and more importantly, without blowing your mask.

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looks great preston...

one question, what happens to the stones when your done? do you get to reuse them or they done?

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The abrasive is reused until it no longer produces the results you want.  It will eventually break down into  smaller pieces making a finer grit.  It will also eventually have more "glass" or whatever product mixed in with it.  So, you do have to replace the abrasive from time to time.

A blast cabinet collects the abrasive in a bottom hopper (shaped like a funnel), and is picked up through a tube at the bottom. 

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Ordered some Aluminum Oxide 220 grit today.  It's being shipped from Fort Worth, Texas.  Man, I can't believe nobody in town has this stuff. 

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Ordered some Aluminum Oxide 220 grit today.  It's being shipped from Fort Worth, Texas.   Man, I can't believe nobody in town has this stuff. 

did you check your local industrial supply stores?

bb

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FINALLY!  Results!  Today I used Aluminum Oxide, 220 grit, for the first time.  Beautiful! 

Thanks wwpro for the great advice.  :D :D

Set the air pressure to 40 and it etches quickly and easily.  No blow out of the vinyl. 

I quickly etched this candy jar today for a friend.  Looks nice.  I'm very pleased and anxious to start making Christmas presents.

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