I bought a sandblaster; now what?

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Valerie Adams
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I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Valerie Adams »

I took the plunge and bought this Rayzist unit:
http://www.rayzist.com/Equipment/2034.php

Any suggestions for resources to teach myself to use it?
I'm shopping for a compressor now. Rayzist told me Grainger's would be the best place but I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks!
Buttercup
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Buttercup »

Valerie, here's a link to a comprehensive article on buying a compressor:

http://www.kmstools.com/forum/content.p ... compressor.

Congrats. I'm sure you'll enjoy having it right there. Jen
Tony Smith
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Tony Smith »

You might want to read this thread.
http://www.warmglass.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... or#p350368

Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun
Ralph
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Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2003 8:12 pm
Location: Australia

Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Ralph »

Valerie Adams wrote: Any suggestions for resources to teach myself to use it?
Check out Cutting Edge Sandcarving and Arizona Glass Classes, especially the forums. Decide on what type of abrasive blasting to work on first - probably either photo resist (mostly for shallower blasting and half-tones) or vinyl film mask (for deeper relief). Rayzist will have everything for photo resist. Vinyl (sign or masking) works better for heavier blasting.

I do deepish relief - Oracal vinyls perform really well. I use Oramask 810, a slightly thicker film, very easy to strip after blasting, but it will blow off under higher pressures until you build up skills. For higher adhesion try Oracal 551 - sticks very firmly but can be a bother to strip.

You can hand cut designs or take your design files to a signcutting shop. I use a Mimaki cutter driven direct from Adobe Illustrator with Mimaki software. Tried another machine and software, but the Mimaki is best by far.

Decide on your blast medium, probably aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. I use 100 mesh carbide often around 50-60lb pressure, so wear on the blast nozzle is severe. A normal carbide nozzle only lasted around 6 hours total usage. Changed to a Kennametal RocTec 500 - no visible wear after similar usage. The cost of a RocTec will stop you in your tracks but Arizona Glass Classes online store has a good deal - ultimately RocTecs are the most economical.

Abrasive blasting is amazing. I'd previously 3D printed shallow relief in refractory to form open face casting molds. Resolution was quite good but resist blasting techniques have opened up additional possibilities.

Edits: clarify blast nozzle material. Couple very basic videos here.
Buttercup
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Buttercup »

Valerie, when I was in the frozen north I used 3M’s .001 x 27” X 50 yds White Flex Vinyl R-38 ADH 90# liner
resist. Don’t, whatever you do, buy Destructible vinyl. That’s what retailers use for price labels as they disintegrate when picked at so won’t pull off cleanly, making stage carving impossible.

It comes in rolls and sheets about 27 x 30 (?) can’t remember as I haven’t bought sheets for ages.

I use 150 Aluminum Oxide. It gradually breaks down to dust. I’ve used silicon carbide but the health risks are too great. It does have a neat feature, however: at high pressure a little glow appears at the nozzle tip, like a tiny flashlight.

A siphon system is more than adequate for a cabinet. It's much easier to control, unless you have a fancy foot control for on and off. If it's small enough to fit in the cabinet you can etch and carve it with a siphon system. I have both but only use the pressure system in the walk-in booth.

I’ve always hand-drawn and cut my own art-work so can’t comment on photo resist or plotter-cut images. The only times I've used plotter-cut vinyl, provided to specs. by a sign company, is for signage-type art-work, corporate logos, signage for entry doors etc.

If you have any questions, just ask. Jen
Stephen Richard
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Stephen Richard »

It has been reported here thar silicon carbide leads toward less clean results upon fire polishing
Steve Richard
You can view my Blog at: http://verrier-glass.blogspot.com/
peter cummings
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by peter cummings »

Books from Ruth and Norm (dec) Dobbins are full of tech. info and pic's that make you bust to get going. Tony Smith and his site are full of good info. It's an incredibly versatile tool once you get adventurous, and lots of uncovered territory out there.
Peter.
Tony Smith
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Tony Smith »

Just to dispel a couple of myths: there is no free silica in silicon carbide, so there is no greater danger using silicon carbide than aluminum oxide for sandblasting; while some people have seen a haze in fused pieces when sandblasting with silicon carbide, I have never seen this in the hundreds of pieces that I've fused after sandblasting... I have seen it when students have forgotten to wash off the dust after blasting with aluminum oxide. You just have to do a good job cleaning before fusing.

Tony
The tightrope between being strange and being creative is too narrow to walk without occasionally landing on both sides..." Scott Berkun
Stephen Richard
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Stephen Richard »

Thanks Tony
Steve Richard
You can view my Blog at: http://verrier-glass.blogspot.com/
Buttercup
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Re: I bought a sandblaster; now what?

Post by Buttercup »

Thanks for clarifying that, Tony. I was told that years ago when I bought it, against the advice of the supplier, so accepted it. Jen
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