The Letterville BullBoard: Hey Sandblasters!

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Posted by John Deaton III (Member # 925) on :

This is the thing. When I have blasting done, I have to travel about 60 miles one way to get it done. No one here has a setup to blast like this. I'd like to do some of my own blasting, but take the bigger jobs like 4x8, etc. the the other guy that blasts for me. I've got room to build a blast booth in the back of my shop. Now my question. What kind of setup can I get that I can use for these smaller jobs. I can't afford a large trailer like compressor, but maybe something like a 6 or 7 hp type. I don't get a ton of work in this medium, but alot of my customers like the house type signs that are blasted, and it would be much better if I could blast those on my own. What are your opinions? All replies appreciated.

Posted by Arvil Shep' Shepherd (Member # 2030) on :

John,
Check your email...
Shep'

Posted by Karen Stein (Member # 241) on :

Hey John,

When ya get Shep's email,would you post it on the BB so I can see too I was really happy to see someone ask 'how to/with what' as we are in a similar situation with the nearest blaster to us being 100 rt from us.

Now, off the subject line a bit...a HUGE thank you for the great stuff you did for me. It was a big success and I think it might even lead to some more work (custom cartooning)for you down the road if you are interested I passed your web address along to a friend that restores classic cars & owns a Napa store..he is looking for some cartoon logo work & I told him 'you the man!'

I'll be watching this post for hopefully some more good blasting info.

Karen

Posted by Tony McDonald (Member # 1158) on :

Hey....I have an idea. Why doesn't someone invent a sandblaster that runs off of water? Either your garden hose or a pressure washer.

I have really good water pressure at my home. Some of the neighbors have had to put pressure reducers on their incoming waterlines to keep from blowing seals in their faucets.

I've thought about this a little bit. Just wonder if anyone had tried blasting hdu with a pressure washer. It may be a dumb question but if hdu is waterproof what could it hurt?

Posted by Wayne Webb (Member # 1124) on :

John,
Being in about the same boat, we can't afford one of those big screw compressors either. I believe that the most compressor you can get which will operate on single phase 230V power is a 7.5 HP. Ours is a Campbell Hausfeld 7.5 HP and delivers about 27CFM @ 90PSI. It does alright for those smaller jobs and big ones too: just a little slow on the big ones. They make 10, 15, 25, and even 150 horse outfits but they all run on 3 phase and cost some bucks as well.
My outfit cost about $1400 from harbor freight tools. We have another Campbell Hausfeld compressor (5 HP single stage) which we have used for over 12 years without any trouble. All I've had to do to it was to replace the drive belt once.

Posted by Henry Barker (Member # 174) on :

Hi John,

I know you mention taking the bigger stuff to the other guy, but here are a few houghts for your equation, having gone the "I'll start with the little TIP pot first road myself!" Price out a small unit and booth, and then check the used or ex-rental market. I have a small blast cupboard here too for small sample pieces....that's OK for what it is and came from a local hardware store.

I have said this a few times, and I remember Rick Sacks also saying similar. Its a waste of time blasting under a 1/4" nozzle, and as that requires a substantial amount of air pressure, its hard to make it all work from a small workshop compressor. I have been there and done it. I have a redundant TIP pressure pot in the corner of the shop here. I don't know how things are in the US, but there most be loads of places where you could pick up a cheap gas or diesel powered compressor, and then look into used blast equipment. A small workshop unit will never provide both the air needed for the blaster pot AND an air fed hood. My compressor cost me just under $1000 its a diesel trailer mounted unit. My equipment was new from Clemco Industries www.clemcoindustries.com I have the same air hood you see in the Anchor Stencil ads its also Clemco. Its great "proffessional" gear. You could call around and see if you could buy out a unit that was used in "rental" for a cheaper price often they change rental equipment regularly to maintain a good rental stock....just a thought.

If you ca afford it in the future or find second hand, I use a Clemco 1440 Pot, CPF 80/20 airfilter sysem, Clemco Appollo 60 airhood with control valve. I blast with a Clemco SMG 4 6.5mm nozzle, I fitted the system with an optional "deadman" cut off at the nozzle. My compressor delivers the correct air for that nozzle size leaving enough capacity for the hood. Unfortunately in metric but you get the picture 2000litres (70cfm) per minute for the nozzle and 500litres (17cfm) for the hood, continuous. What you find with smaller units and workshop units is that they are always playing catch up, yu may have a similar output but not sustained.

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