sand blaster

[Guest]

i was in halfords today, while browsing teh paint section i came across a `badger` miniature sand blaster. looks like an airbrush, but is a sandblaster .

anyone have one of these or used one of these ?

just wondered as it looks like one of those `handy` tools .

cheers

adz..

[wonwinglo]

Adz,they are supposed to be very useful although I have never even seen one myself,what sort of price are they ? wouyld be good for renovating small parts and restoring metal model cars etc prior to repainting.

The best abrasive that does the least damage apparently is made from walnut shells finely ground,do they sell packs of abrasive as well ?

[Guest]

That type of abrasive medium is called prunus grit (as in the plum tree genus) Next up the scale is glass beads which have the consistancy and feel of talcum powder. Bad news on the lungs! We used to use it a lot at work on aircraft parts, you'd need some sort of dust extraction system.

[wonwinglo]

Yes Neville like all of these finely diffused products they need care in use,whilst I use an airbrush when feasible only outside in a sort of lean-to affair that was made up for small spraying operations,spraying in a domestic environment places dangerous particles in the atmosphere,a lot of people think that just opening a window is sufficent,not so ! the latest Badger products warn you about this.

We have touched before on some of the hazardous materials we use in modelling and it is good to remind newcomers of the inherant dangers to your health,having breathed in copious amounts of cellulose dope over the years both in modelling and on full size aircraft it makes you wonder ?

There is the appeal of a miniature sand blaster but obviously it needs care in use with all of that abrasive dust flying around,does anyone know how to make a simple extraction system for say shed use ?

[Guest]

Adz,they are supposed to be very useful although I have never even seen one myself,what sort of price are they ? wouyld be good for renovating small parts and restoring metal model cars etc prior to repainting.The best abrasive that does the least damage apparently is made from walnut shells finely ground,do they sell packs of abrasive as well ?

they only had one on the shelf, and if i remember rightly it was about £35 , looked like it had been there a while. i didnt have a look for more abrasive. maybe a lok online would help that one .

Adz..

[wonwinglo]

Many thanks Adz.

[Guest]

Re dust extractor for shotblasting.

Try a cardboard box big enough to do the job inside with a sheet of clear plastic or glass on the top. Holes for hands to get in with some sort of gauntlet and couple this lot to a vacuum cleaner or workshop dust extractor if available.

I've used this sort of system for sanding small parts and it worked for me.

Malcolm

[wonwinglo]

Here is a tip for people who live in small flats or like to sand indoors in the winter months,obtain a large clear deep plastic bag ( the sort mail order houses use to send out goods ) do your sanding inside the bag,once you get used to this sysytem it is easy,there is no dangerous dust flying around the house and you just empty the bag when you wish.

[Guest]

The dangers of modeling were shown on a TV program from England, this man's job was to make models of all sorts of subjects for TV advertising, his main material was balsa wood, and not using a dust mask the particals of dust were breathed in and some lodged in his sinuse passages and later in his life he suffered cancer and had his nose and all the bone under the eye sockets removed. WEAR A dust mask at all times, dust becomes accumlative in this case.

I made a dust extractor for my garage from a 60ltr drum with an explanding ring clamp on the lid. I cut two hole in the lid one I sat a dometic vacumm cleaner over it (mine was one where the motor and the dust bag section separated into two pieces) the other hole I dropped a pipe six to eight inches inside with a wire frame over it the size of volly ball, over this I pulled an old tee shirt as a filter and the vacumm hose fitted into this pipe, when operating the drum was a low pressure and the dust entered and swirled inside the big bits fell to the bottom and smaller bits swirlled until it was turned off, occassionally I would give the top a banging with my hand and the dust would drop from the filter. In place of the tee shirt you have plenty of choice with vacumm cleaner bags from the supermarket. This arrangment worked better as an extractor on individual machines laying the pipe along side the tool you are using If you make a booth (lean Too) you require more air too move so a 12v automotive electric radiator fan drawing the air into a big diameter pipe and from there the vacum hose can draw it to the drum. Bit heath robinson but it kept my work bench clear of dust. I put my unit outside the gargage as the other killer is noise, I don't want to model with ear muffs on. OH what a dangerous job modeling is!