12-01-2014, 11:23 AM
Hi,
Thanks Gary. A collapsible blasting cabinet would be ideal and could be made to accept larger items where space is limited for a dedicated fixed cabinet; something worth thinking about but I've also been giving this whole blasting job some thought because I've had lots of problems as follows below.
I'm fully with you Refugee in your suggestion regarding sorting out the second air/water. Please see the following which I've simply copied from from another forum I've just posted on so pointless writing it out twice.
I've now had time to do more blasting so can update on the blasters performance.
I've never used a soda/hard medium blaster before and my blaster was brand new as was my 3hp compressor. I was advised to use the hard blasting medium which I bought two bags of (50kg).
Both success and failure; the positive side is that using the blaster has left the two main bandsaw components perfectly clean and ready for re-finishing once dusted off so in this respect it proved a success and did what it was designed to do.
The negative side however far outweighs the positive side on a number of counts. Firstly there is the cost of the equipment which in my case amounted to around £400 which I add I was happy to pay this being for the compressor; soda blaster; second air/water separator and 50kg of hard blasting medium. In use the second air/water separator failed immediately not even coming up to pressure due to a massive air leak so this was disconnected and still remains unused. Lots of safety kit needs to be worn; ear defenders because the compressor is very noisy; eye protection goggles; dust mask and gloves. Yesterday I spent most of the day blasting on our driveway; I had donned a tee shirt; shirt; jumper; body warmer and top coat plus the trousers etc; even so well wrapped up I could only stand an hours blasting before feeling too cold to carry on; just kneeling or crouching on the drive didn't generate exercise to keep me warm so I was at the mercy of the icy breeze coming up the valley.
I did however spend the afternoon in more comfort; the sun was shining raising the temperature a couple of degrees so I settled down to a session. The on-board air/water separator proved virtually useless and as a consequence the nozzle kept emitting a jet of water spray which in turn had blocked the valves; I was constantly either operating the blow off valve to clear the blockages or tapping the valves with a spanner which I found most infuriating. The compressor was running constantly under load giving around 2 Bar at the blaster during blasting. Blasting under these circumstances was incredibly slow; when the blaster worked as it should it was acceptable but the water ingress was slowing the whole job down.
Blasting by it's nature is a very dusty operation and this was borne out by the driveway resembling a dirty beach after even only a short blasting session. The debris from blasting clings to a wet driveway and surrounding area. If soda blasting and the soda gets onto vegetation it needs washing off otherwise the soda turns the vegetation brown. I used a wooden stick as a dipstick to determine blasting medium level in the tank but only after releasing air pressure. The heavy hose and nozzles are prone to wear so are consumables.
The bandsaw isn't big but the two main components must have taken over five hours to fully blast using at least 1 bag of hard blasting medium (£17 bag). Whilst blasting the aluminum component I could smell the aluminium which was being removed; this wasn't a problem but for a job requiring aluminium to remain shiny then soda must be used.
Without doubt the water problem proved the biggest obstacle but given how bad our weather is I don't have time to play around or investing in air/water separation expecting this blaster to be virtually plug and play without incurring lots of additional expense.
I don't regret in the least buying this blaster (a Christmas present in fact from my lovely Bron). I've always fancied owning a blaster and now that I've got one and gained some experience in using it do I keep it and sort out the water problem or sell it on? I could of course construct a blasting cabinet in kit form allowing the cabinet to be stored when unused; this would cut down on the dust problem. The water problem could also be resolved but at a cost yet unknown?
I like to experiment and having seen YouTube videos of home made soda blasters costing $15 I wonder if I could take this a step further. I'm thinking on the lines of using my very cheap air blow gun which is trigger operated for delivering air but add an additional nozzle after the air nozzle this nozzle being ceramic; between the two introduce a gravity feed hose for the blasting medium. If this would work then it would eliminate the need for the pressurized tank together with its many valves and also the problem of water ingress? A simple valve and reducing jet could be added to the gravity feed and the whole set up would cost very little indeed; the idea is based on an egg timer; as I say it's just a thought at the moment and I'm thinking aloud.
I'm unable to carry on blasting because its white over with a deep frost this morning so I think I'll postpone this bandsaw restoration for a short while and investigate the air/water separator problem which I can do in the closed and heated garage.
So far the negatives far outweigh the positives for me in blasting but for anyone with premises large enough to blast in perhaps the water ingress won't be such a big issue; I'm not in any way complaining just trying to give an honest account of my first blasting venture and I certainly don't wish to deter anyone from giving blasting a go because in spite of the cold conditions and the blaster problems it was most satisfying watching paint be removed down to bare metal with so little effort.
Kind regards, Col.
Thanks Gary. A collapsible blasting cabinet would be ideal and could be made to accept larger items where space is limited for a dedicated fixed cabinet; something worth thinking about but I've also been giving this whole blasting job some thought because I've had lots of problems as follows below.
I'm fully with you Refugee in your suggestion regarding sorting out the second air/water. Please see the following which I've simply copied from from another forum I've just posted on so pointless writing it out twice.
I've now had time to do more blasting so can update on the blasters performance.
I've never used a soda/hard medium blaster before and my blaster was brand new as was my 3hp compressor. I was advised to use the hard blasting medium which I bought two bags of (50kg).
Both success and failure; the positive side is that using the blaster has left the two main bandsaw components perfectly clean and ready for re-finishing once dusted off so in this respect it proved a success and did what it was designed to do.
The negative side however far outweighs the positive side on a number of counts. Firstly there is the cost of the equipment which in my case amounted to around £400 which I add I was happy to pay this being for the compressor; soda blaster; second air/water separator and 50kg of hard blasting medium. In use the second air/water separator failed immediately not even coming up to pressure due to a massive air leak so this was disconnected and still remains unused. Lots of safety kit needs to be worn; ear defenders because the compressor is very noisy; eye protection goggles; dust mask and gloves. Yesterday I spent most of the day blasting on our driveway; I had donned a tee shirt; shirt; jumper; body warmer and top coat plus the trousers etc; even so well wrapped up I could only stand an hours blasting before feeling too cold to carry on; just kneeling or crouching on the drive didn't generate exercise to keep me warm so I was at the mercy of the icy breeze coming up the valley.
I did however spend the afternoon in more comfort; the sun was shining raising the temperature a couple of degrees so I settled down to a session. The on-board air/water separator proved virtually useless and as a consequence the nozzle kept emitting a jet of water spray which in turn had blocked the valves; I was constantly either operating the blow off valve to clear the blockages or tapping the valves with a spanner which I found most infuriating. The compressor was running constantly under load giving around 2 Bar at the blaster during blasting. Blasting under these circumstances was incredibly slow; when the blaster worked as it should it was acceptable but the water ingress was slowing the whole job down.
Blasting by it's nature is a very dusty operation and this was borne out by the driveway resembling a dirty beach after even only a short blasting session. The debris from blasting clings to a wet driveway and surrounding area. If soda blasting and the soda gets onto vegetation it needs washing off otherwise the soda turns the vegetation brown. I used a wooden stick as a dipstick to determine blasting medium level in the tank but only after releasing air pressure. The heavy hose and nozzles are prone to wear so are consumables.
The bandsaw isn't big but the two main components must have taken over five hours to fully blast using at least 1 bag of hard blasting medium (£17 bag). Whilst blasting the aluminum component I could smell the aluminium which was being removed; this wasn't a problem but for a job requiring aluminium to remain shiny then soda must be used.
Without doubt the water problem proved the biggest obstacle but given how bad our weather is I don't have time to play around or investing in air/water separation expecting this blaster to be virtually plug and play without incurring lots of additional expense.
I don't regret in the least buying this blaster (a Christmas present in fact from my lovely Bron). I've always fancied owning a blaster and now that I've got one and gained some experience in using it do I keep it and sort out the water problem or sell it on? I could of course construct a blasting cabinet in kit form allowing the cabinet to be stored when unused; this would cut down on the dust problem. The water problem could also be resolved but at a cost yet unknown?
I like to experiment and having seen YouTube videos of home made soda blasters costing $15 I wonder if I could take this a step further. I'm thinking on the lines of using my very cheap air blow gun which is trigger operated for delivering air but add an additional nozzle after the air nozzle this nozzle being ceramic; between the two introduce a gravity feed hose for the blasting medium. If this would work then it would eliminate the need for the pressurized tank together with its many valves and also the problem of water ingress? A simple valve and reducing jet could be added to the gravity feed and the whole set up would cost very little indeed; the idea is based on an egg timer; as I say it's just a thought at the moment and I'm thinking aloud.
I'm unable to carry on blasting because its white over with a deep frost this morning so I think I'll postpone this bandsaw restoration for a short while and investigate the air/water separator problem which I can do in the closed and heated garage.
So far the negatives far outweigh the positives for me in blasting but for anyone with premises large enough to blast in perhaps the water ingress won't be such a big issue; I'm not in any way complaining just trying to give an honest account of my first blasting venture and I certainly don't wish to deter anyone from giving blasting a go because in spite of the cold conditions and the blaster problems it was most satisfying watching paint be removed down to bare metal with so little effort.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
