CraigM
Silver Member
I'm looking for a sandblaster. I've looked at a bunch of ads for them in Northern Tool and Grainger catalogs. I've seen them at the local farm store. Unfortunately, they were in boxes, so I couldn't play with them or I'd probably not need to post here. The answers I got there didn't all add up.
I read a bunch of old threads about them and I'm still looking, though maybe a little less entheustically. My primary use will be for cleaning rust and old paint off of farm implements, and maybe a tractor or two. Also used for cleaning welds and general scale off of metal projects prior to painting. It's not a full time job, so I don't need great equipment, and if they turn out to be as simple as they seem, I might just build something. They don't look like rocket science.
The things that I can't quite figure:
They all seem to have a nozzle, and some an airjet. Nozzles and jets come in different sizes to create different air flows. Sounds like the air/grit mixture goes through the nozzle. What does the jet do? The nozzle is just to direct the blast, sort of like a choke on a shotgun?
There are pressure and gravity/siphon feeds. The siphon would seem to be nothing more complicated than an airbrush that sprays sand rather than paint?
In a pressure unit, is there a seperate line and regulator to pressurize the sand and push it into the gun? If so, how much pressure in in the hopper tank?
The pressure unit is always stated to be faster and more efficient, and they use sand faster. Is the difference just that they are force fed sand and therefore throw more of it at a time to cut faster?
I read a bunch of old threads about them and I'm still looking, though maybe a little less entheustically. My primary use will be for cleaning rust and old paint off of farm implements, and maybe a tractor or two. Also used for cleaning welds and general scale off of metal projects prior to painting. It's not a full time job, so I don't need great equipment, and if they turn out to be as simple as they seem, I might just build something. They don't look like rocket science.
The things that I can't quite figure:
They all seem to have a nozzle, and some an airjet. Nozzles and jets come in different sizes to create different air flows. Sounds like the air/grit mixture goes through the nozzle. What does the jet do? The nozzle is just to direct the blast, sort of like a choke on a shotgun?
There are pressure and gravity/siphon feeds. The siphon would seem to be nothing more complicated than an airbrush that sprays sand rather than paint?
In a pressure unit, is there a seperate line and regulator to pressurize the sand and push it into the gun? If so, how much pressure in in the hopper tank?
The pressure unit is always stated to be faster and more efficient, and they use sand faster. Is the difference just that they are force fed sand and therefore throw more of it at a time to cut faster?