Benchtop bead blasters

I’m looking at purchasing the little bottle blaster (found on page
387, item #336-247, Rio Tools catalog). Does anyone have any
experience with this one or either of the pencil-style bead blasters
listed below the bottle one? I doubt that I’ll use it a lot so I
don’t want to spend much money for it.

Also, it uses 80-90psi compressed air 1.5cfm. (whatever that is) I
vaguely remember something about getting canned air. Is there such a
thing? I don’t want to invest in an air compressor. I do have a huge
air compressor that my husband used with his woodworking but it is
noisy enough to wake the dead 3 counties over so I hesitate to even
turn it on.

I welcome any suggestions along this line.

Thanks,
Jan McClellan
www.designjewel.com

Hi Jan, I’ve used both and ended up buying a larger one (like
336-249). You’re limited in the size of media you can use with the
smaller units (bead blasting, sand blasting). It’s worth the extra
money.

Good luck.
Scott Verson
Metal & Stone Design
metalandstonedesign.com

Also, it uses 80-90psi compressed air 1.5cfm. (whatever that is) I
vaguely remember something about getting canned air. Is there such
a thing? 

That means it requires 1.5 Cubic Feet per Minute of air at 80-90
Pounds per Square Inch. I’m afraid you are only going to get that
kind of pressure and air flow from the noisy compressor. Maybe you
can talk hubby into running an air line into your studio isolating
you from the noise. The compressor only kicks on when the air in the
tank goes down with use.

Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com

Jan,

I have two blasters, an air brushed sized one and a big one in a
cabinet. Neither quite like the rio ones mentioned but I suspect
their ones are in between in size. Larger one is more versatile in
terms of abrasive choice, both are REALLY messy (even with a box) and
do use a lot of air. 80-90psi compressed air at 1.5cfm really does
require a dead awakening compressor.

Sorry but a ‘can’ of air maybe will yield marginal results for a
minute or two on even the air brush sized one :frowning:

Jeff

PS: I do have a little quiet fridge compressor under my bench, I’d
never even think of blasting with it

Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand

http://tinyurl.com/5agugn

If I did that right you’ll see a cheap alternative to a compressor,
just replumb for your type fittings You’d need to refill at a gas
station(or hubby’s compressor now that I reread your post) but for
thirty something bucks its not bad. With a pencil type blaster I
would guess you’d have at least 10 minutes elapsed blasting time per
fill, which should be enough for several pieces of jewelry. Jeez, i
just knew my hotrod background would come in handy one day.

you'll see a cheap alternative to a compressor, just replumb for
your type fittings You'd need to refill at a gas station(or hubby's
compressor now that I reread your post) but for thirty something
bucks its not bad. 

Sorry Neil, That will not run a sand blaster for even 30 seconds.
Five gallons is only is only .66 cubic feet. The blasters that are
being discussed use 1.5 cfm at 90-100 psi.

James Binnion
@James_Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

360-756-6550

Since you have the monster compressor in the garage you might try a
portable air pressure tank. I see them on Harbor Freight, 5 gallon
@20.00 and 10 gallon @30.00. They will carry 125 psi which may give
you a few minutes of blasting, then it’s back to the garage to
refill it.

(Cfm is cubic feet per minute, a measure of the quantify of
compressed air the machine is able to produce. My monster compressor
produces 175 cfm; but it’s run by a three cylinder diesel engine and
is the kind you see out on the street where guys are working with
jack hammers!)

Dr. Mac

The blasters that are being discussed use 1.5 cfm at 90-100 psi. 

Duhhh, me! For some reason I thought of those pencil type blasters
that are quite similar to modelers’ airbrushes. I had a blaster like
that and used the ‘canned air’ with reasonable, if slow, results. I
have the 336-247 (and I’m not particularly thrilled with it) as
mentioned and it does indeed require a larger compressor (which, yes
I have a decent one but the tool really isn’t meant for production,
hence my lack of thrills).

On any compressor system though, a nice addition is an inline
water/oil separator. That tiny nozzle can get clogged if there is
any water vapor in the air supply.

I love this Orchid List. Thanks to all of you who replied to my call
for help. It really helped me to understand the whole process much
better.

I’m still making up my mind - I’m reconciled to using my monster air
compressor. Unfortunately my husband passed away 16 years ago so he
is not around to help me, and so often I don’t have a clue to
anything concerning his machines.

Thanks again, Orchid is the Best!

Jan
www.designjewel.com