John,
THAT’S AH BIG STUFF… WHEN U ARE USE TO HANDLING RINGS!
Jim
At 10:52 PM 11/7/96 +0200, you wrote:
Greetings orchidites-
I don’t exactly recall who originally started the thread about
sandblasting, but here goes my 2 cents on this subject. In the
aforementioned trade magazine, Awards and Engraving, this
month’s issue is about glass etching techniques. They have
several ads for blastung set-ups and past issues have had
articles comparing the various units available. One good one that
I recall is from: Vaniman Manufacturing Co. 1-800-826-4626
located @ PO Box 74 Fallbrook, Calif. 92088. They have several
models and sizes and are reasonably priced. A&E has a web site @
NBM - Business-to-Business Media & Events. If finances are an issue, take
Frank Goss’ advice and try the air eraser and a cardboard box
to catch the media as it goes everywhere! There doesn’t seem
to be a tip for a regular airbrush that is large enough to
allow the abrasive to pass through- if you find one, please
let us know.
Ricky Low
Jeweler and Engraver
Houston
Hi,
As far as the grit that went everywhere…
A few years ago a friend and I rigged up a box to catch the grit
from a similar jury rigged set-up. Cheesey but O.K.
plastic storage tub w/lid $8 or so
two holes for your forearms w/playtex gloves attached inside to
seal them off $2
viewhole cut in the top and piece of scrap window glass laid on
top of hole and duct taped down free
Yes, it gets dusty and hard to see…but not being electrically
minded we wouldn’t do anything like rig exhaust.
Karen
Hello- Are there health risks with these homemade or put
together sand blasters? I remember reading or hearing something
about the grit being unhealthy to breathe .Does anyone know for
sure?
Are there health risks with these homemade or put together sand blasters?
That all depends on the quality of construction used in building
the sandblasting cabinet. If all the joints are tight & the unit
confines the dust & blast media to the inside, there shouldn’t be
a problem.
If however, you’re exposed to airborne dust & blast media,
that’s a different story. Any time you inhale something, some of
it has a good chance of staying in your lungs. Inhale too much &
your breathing capacit y is reduced. If your cabinet leaks, wear
a respirator, not one of those paper, throw away masks.
Coal miners died from Black Lung Disease, their lungs retained
too much coal dust. Workers in other quarrying & mining
operations died from silicosis, too much silica dust.
If you’re going to be doing occassional sandblasting, there are
bench top
cabinets available for about $125-150. Check with any industrial
supply house, they’ll have several sizes & models.
Dave
Hello- Are there health risks with these homemade or put together sand blasters? I remember reading or hearing something about the grit being unhealthy to breathe .Does anyone know for sure?
jennifer!! silica is VERY VERY VERY BAD TO BREATHE!!! most silica
is crystalline quartz… once in your lungs it can not get out,
and it can’t be absorbed by your body. so… it stays in your
lungs and your body grows scar tissue around it! (aka
nodules…which can actually be seen on chest x-rays! yoikes!)
the nodules-scar tissue can’t process oxygen so your ability to
take in oxygen is impaired…not a good thing. it’s officially
called silicosis. so use a REALLY REALLY REALLY good respirator
if you are unsure leaks and/or the possibility of breathing in
any silica dust. wsh
Hello- Are there health risks with these homemade or put together sand blasters? I remember reading or hearing something about the grit being unhealthy to breathe .Does anyone know for sure?
G’day - yet again; Jennifer, any and all particulate matter
flying around and being breathed brings on the nasties to people,
from blue asbestos to desert sand to jeweller’s rouge and tripoli
-
it even includes sanding dust from wood, - any wood, not just
the poisonous woods like yew and holly. It even includes the
particles in cigarette smoke. (I used to smoke 60 per day!!) I
don’t now smoke and use a respirator when doing the things likely
to make dust. Cheers, and live long, won’t you?/\ / / John Burgess, / / / //\ @John_Burgess2 / / \ \ / (___) \ (_________)
Thanks John-maybe I’m a bit paranoid but better safe than sorry.I
am reading the quenching in hot pickle e-mails with dismay-This
causes the acid to be released into the air! After years of this
you will have emphasyma! Never quench a hot piece in pickle as
far as I’m concerned.
hello!!
i just began using my new sandblasting cabinet this afternoon.
(!!!) and i have noticed that i am getting “shocked” through the
rubber gloves, and also around my shirt where i am leaning against
the cabinet. i am using extra fine glass beads to sandblast. does
anyone have any info on the phenomena?
also, the blasting media does not automatically slide back into the
"sucker" and i have to jostle the whole cabinet to get it back in the
sucking area. any suggestions on this?
thanks!
(thanks also for all the advice on rusting mild steel…i currently have 2
pieces in the works!!)
joanna gollberg
Joanna, thank you for bringing up this subject! I, too, have
questions about beadblasters!
I have all the components,to put one together, but as they
say…“now what?” I have no idea of how the beads circulate. The box is
a large table model from Harbor Freight, and the compressor has a 5
gallon tank,
If any of you have a good sketch or photo of a beadblaster and it’s
functioning system, would you PLEASE send it to me off-list?
I’m sure glad that making jewelry has not been this difficult!
Thanks in advance!
Frif,
Joanna, You need to ground your nozzle. The sand and air that is
passing through the nozzle builds up a charge that needs to be
dissipated. Just like walking across the carpet, electroncs are
scraped off one medium and deposited on the other until it finds a
discharge path. Electro-static discharge is a concern in the
electronics industry too. Even vacuum cleaner nozzles are grounded
in some fashion. let me know if you have an other questions. Good
luck, Tom
It sounds like you are not grounded. You could put a rubber mat on
the floor and stand on that to cancel it out, or you could wear
rubber soled shoes. Best yet, and safest, is to use a 3 prong outlet
to plug the thing into so you are grounded through your building. Did
you use an extension cord and leave the big prong hanging out in the
air? Does this thing have a 3 prong plug?
Try blocking your cabinet up on one side so it sits a little unlevel
and the media will go into the sucker thing. It probably wont take
much. It’s like letting water shed from a roof. It will pool if it’s
too level. So give it some angle to fall.
i just began using my new sandblasting cabinet this afternoon. (!!!) and i have noticed that i am getting "shocked" through the rubber gloves,
G’day Joanna et al; I must assume that your cabinet is made of some
electrically non-conducting material. Some of the energy of the beads
striking the cabinet is converted to a static electric charge, which
soon builds up to a surprisingly high voltage, such as several
thousand volts. But when this discharges, the total current passing
is so low that it cannot be dangerous - (unless you happen to have a
very, very weak heart.) No real worries, eh? Danger is only
reached when about 8 milliamps passes across the heart, and you are
not at all likely to get anything like this from your set up.
I have personally taken the sort of electric charge that creates a 4
inch long spark, from a static electricity generator, many thousands
of volts - roughly 20,000v per inch! (a Van der Graaf machine) Yes,
it gave me a good ‘bang’ but I recovered in a second or so and
removed myself a bit further away from the terminal. (quickly!) So,
like I said, no real worries from a sand or bead blasting cabinet.
However, the cure for electrical charge build up in such a case is
to cover the inside with metal - even kitchen aluminium foil will do,
and attach a wire from it to an earth (ground) such as a water tap.
No more worries, eh?
also, the blasting media does not automatically slide back into the "sucker" and i have to jostle the whole cabinet to get it back in the sucking area. any suggestions on this?
This because the media is charged appositely with respect to the
cabinet floor and so is attracted to it (like a magnet). Earthed
metal, especially if made to slope towards the exit should cure this.
A gentle tap now and again will also help.
When room and machine ventilating systems are made with plastic
ducting, a bare, earthed copper wire must always go through the
system - especially with machines like wood saws - there is actual
danger of a dust explosion being started by a static electrical
discharge.
Cheers for now, John Burgess; @John_Burgess2 of Mapua, Nelson NZ
Hi Joanna,
I’d bet you’re getting ‘static electricity’ shocks.
The electronics industry solves this problem by using a conductive
wrist band that you wear. The wrist band should be connected by a
flexible, insulated wire to the sandblasting cabinet. Before you
begin sandblasting, put the wrist band on & then the gloves.
Another solution is a conductive floor mat that is connecte by wire
to the sandblasting cabinet.
You might try Radio Shack or any electronic parts store for the
wrist straps.
Dave
The shocks are from static electricity generated by the moving blast
media. The shocks can get pretty nasty in a large cabinet,
especially in the winter, when the dry air makes us more prone to
static shocks.
I have several suggestions that are mostly based on the idea that
you need to give the electricity someplace else to go other than
you. The first thing I would do is make sure I was using a grounded
plug and outlet. The next is to clamp a wire to the cabinet and run
it to a ground. The next is to get more solid rubber gloves and
avoid holding the object you’re blasting in your hands. This
connects the circuit and makes you the easiest target for the
electricity. I often mount pieces on wood with double stick tape and
hold the wood, which is not conductive. As a last resort, run the
ground wire to the gun itself and attach it with a hose clamp. The
wire can get in the way, so I only do this if things get bad.
The media not feeding in properly is a common problem. I would first
add more media and second make sure the media intake hose is as far
down as it can be in the hopper. They tend to slide up over time.
Cabinets vary so it is a little hard to give advice without knowing
which brand or model you have. Personally I don’t like most of the
small bench models and find them awkward to use, with thin gloves
and bad windows. They are fine for occasional use in most studios
where texture is the main objective. For only a little more money
than the little ones, I bought a large refrigerator sized Econoline
blaster that I use for textures and also for carving glass and stone
with a different media. It can accommodate much larger work if I
want to expand the scale of what I make (one of these days).
Don Friedlich
Hi Joanna , I can’t help you with the shocking , but I know the
blaster I use at work often has trouble with the beads clumping
together in damp weather and wondered if that was your problem ? The
beads just wont flow properly . I wonder if a dehumidifier in the
room with your blaster would help your problem - by drying the air ?
Best of luck , Philip wellsie@xtra.co.nz
You don’t want to just ground yourself better!! That will just lead
to more shocks. You want to ground the nozzle to a ground strap in
the box and ground the this to a metal water line. The comments
on what is going on in the box with static electricity are true.
wrist straps in the semiconductor industry are use with other static
control items ( humidity control, conductive floors , lots of
grounding, conductive shoes, static free clothing etc etc.) to avoid
damaging the product not to prevent static l shocks to personnel.
With the precautions static shocks to people don’t happen but it is
not the reason they are prevented.
Jesse
Hi everyone, I just wanted to ask your advise on sandblasting. I
just purchased a sandblaster and am playing around with it but I was
wondering what other techniques some of you may use other than taping
off areas. Are there any suggested liquids ect. that you can paint on
and remove later to keep some areas high shine? I am currently using
crushed quartz as a medium. Thanks a lot and keep the creative juices
flowing!! Tara Blokzyl
Are there any suggested liquids ect. that you can paint on and remove later to keep some areas high shine?
Hi Tara, Nail polish works great and is easily removed with acetone
(or nail polish remover which is acetone with additives).
Beth
Are there any suggested liquids ect. that you can paint on and remove later to keep some areas high shine
Hi Tara, My favorite resist to use is Buttercut. I get it at a local
stained glass supply store. It is rubber sheet with a strong
adhesive backing. I am able to get great detail in design and it
stays on well so that I can get a deep sandblast on the piece. Be
sure to rinse your piece, dry it, then look at your blasted area (if
glass, in the sunlight if possible) to make sure you don’t have any
areas left out and that you have a smooth consistent finish (of
course checking before you take off your resist)
If you are blasting glass, “flash glass” is fun to work with. It has
a layer of color on top of clear, so when you blast you end up with
the color surrounding the blasted design.
A great book is “Etched Glass, Techniques & Designs” by Norm and
Ruth Dobbins ISBN 0-9658248-1-0
And of course wear a mask and eye protection…
Have fun!
Marta in Sacramento