Etching Project

[Jay2703 704]

My daughter wanted a gift etched for a friend and I don't have a blast cabinet. I have the Air Eraser from Harbor Freight but it always such a mess so I wanted a cabinet to use it in. I found an old aquarium in the garage and re-purposed it. I cut a piece of cardboard to fit the top and put holes in it for a shop vac and my hands. It worked pretty well.

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Nice like the idea. If you want you can get the gloves on ebay, I had to buy new ones for my hf cabinet

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

Put some static cling on the inside of where you look thru to protect it

[Jay2703 704]

I was going to make a pair out of household rubber gloves but it worked OK without them. I think with the shop vac it was pulling air through the hand holes into the aquarium and all the dust was sucked into the vac.

[Jay2703 704]

Thanks for the tip. I covered all the sides except the top with cardboard to protect the glass. I have some clear static cling vinyl. I will put that in before I use it again.

[smendlik 113]

Nice!  I love creative solutions.  What are you using for a compressor & blast medium?  I'm just about to get setup so I'm in the research phase!

[Jay2703 704]

I have a 30 Gal 165 PSI compressor (overkill for the air eraser). My 2 Gal Craftsman compressor that I usually use isn't working for some reason. I'm using 220 grit Aluminum Oxide from Harbor Freight.

[smendlik 113]

Thanks for the info.  Flask looks great BTW.

[TT57 135]

flask looks great. working on getting my TS cabinet set up. will still use my eraser probably but am anxious to get started with the cabinet

[rlvied 292]

Jay nice job on the flask. Great way to repurpose the aquarium.

Bob

[Cal 393]

Good job all around Jay!

Cal

[joker 618]

That is an ingenius idea.. Cannot say enough about Jay and all the help he has lend to people with his signblazer videos

[Dakotagrafx 7,297]

for those that buy the bigger cabinets that need assembly - a tip - make sure to coat all seams in silicone when assembling.  the sand will still find a way out but it will slow it down a bit.

[TT57 135]

Jay, or anyone using the cabinet and needs a large amount. -

found a supplier for AO- Fastenal 50# bucket for $79-

[Cal 393]

I have been using plain old sand in my cabinet.  How long or how much use can the AO provide before it needs to be changed out?

I have a small bucket of AO that I used to clean up some electrical and plastic parts when I was restoring my cars but I didn't "use it up".

Sand is cheap, unless the AO will last a long time.

Cal

[Monkey 252]

Problem Im having with my cabinet is 75% of the time the valve in the gun stays slightly open. Enough my bad hearing doesnt always hear so when I open the cabinet to swap out what Im working on sometimes I get a mess if I bump the gun and shoots up dust from the bottom of the box. Using extra fine black diamond. Im guessing just a cheap gun deal but can be annoying when you forget to put your goggles on and you wear contacts

[jaybyrd 3,770]

Problem Im having with my cabinet is 75% of the time the valve in the gun stays slightly open. Enough my bad hearing doesnt always hear so when I open the cabinet to swap out what Im working on sometimes I get a mess if I bump the gun and shoots up dust from the bottom of the box. Using extra fine black diamond. Im guessing just a cheap gun deal but can be annoying when you forget to put your goggles on and you wear contacts

You may want to put a shutoff valve on the air intake to the cabinet and make a habit of turning it off before opening. I used to blast machinery with black beauty years ago and if that handle touched something while I was moving stuff around it would make for a very bad day. 

[Monkey 252]

Yeah that is a good idea. Would save a headache....or eye injury for sure. Think I just figured out what im going to spend a gift card I got for Christmas on....air supply items. More hoses and a couple shut offs. Maybe another air dryer.

[Wildgoose 4,200]

I have been using plain old sand in my cabinet.  How long or how much use can the AO provide before it needs to be changed out?

I have a small bucket of AO that I used to clean up some electrical and plastic parts when I was restoring my cars but I didn't "use it up".

Sand is cheap, unless the AO will last a long time.

Cal

Be careful with sand. There is a real risk of silicosis from regular sand unless you get the "Garnet" sand that is silicon free. If you use regular sand you should go through a bunch of safety procedures so you don't end up killing yourself or dragging it in the house and effecting your wife or kids. Very tempting because sand is dirt cheap but the risk is proven. 

[rlvied 292]

Hello, for those looking to get into blasting here is a link to a cheap home made cabinet.

http://letterville.com/steps/hines/

Bob

[darcshadow 1,626]

I have been using plain old sand in my cabinet.  How long or how much use can the AO provide before it needs to be changed out?

I have a small bucket of AO that I used to clean up some electrical and plastic parts when I was restoring my cars but I didn't "use it up".

Sand is cheap, unless the AO will last a long time.

Cal

I am new to all this but from what I've been reading, AO is harder so it will etch faster and you can therefor use less of it per etch. It also can be reused several times and is generally considered safer than sand.

[Monkey 252]

When I bought my set up I had read somewhere that Black diamond was best for most surfaces. Thats why I went with that. Ive etched glass and metal with it, with no problems once I figured out the pressure. Been awhile but had something to do with the jaggedness of it. I dont really remember exactly, except I know it works. At first I was eating the vinyl stencil as fast as the glass but once turning it down, Im having no issues with any material.