Still trying to figure out this blasted sandblasting thing... I checked out a link Brad suggested for pencil blasters (when I was asking about bead blasters) -- http://www.cdvkiln.com/mensusand.htm -- and right off noticed that they won't ship sandblasters to Canada.
Anyway, my big question is this: with a pencil blaster, is there any other equipment you need other than an air compressor? I've got one, so that's no problem. But I noticed some machines have a dust collector included and some don't, so I assume you need that. And don't you also need a cabinet? How do pencil blasters work, anyway? I think I saw something posted about wearing gloves and sticking your hands in there, but can't find that post now.
abrasive recovery: it's expensive to use just once if you can't recover it in any way
the ability to use some sort of dust control: the dust causes silicosis, a particularly nasty way to die.
if you blast outside in an open box, you can recover some of the grit. you'll have to wear a mask, but that's cheaper than getting a box and a shopvac.
