Sandblasting Question

[Bob Kline]

I'm thinking of getting a small sandblasting setup because:
1 - It looks like fun and
2 - I don't have one
I have an Epilog Mini which has paid for itself over and over and I also have a sublimation setup which I got for the same reasons as 1 and 2 above. It hasn't earned back one cent.
Can someone recommend a turnkey, small, relatively inexpensive sandblasting setup which will probably be used primarily for wine bottles and glasses? Maybe someone wants to trade one for a "like new" sublimation setup :-)
Thanks

[Bill Cunningham]

I'm thinking of getting a small sandblasting setup because:
1 - It looks like fun and
2 - I don't have one

Well!!! That was the excuse for buying just about everything I have in my shop..ha..

We have a supplier up here called "Princess Auto" which is farm/surplus/industrial/whatever/everything..etc..etc.
The had a nice floor model sandblast cabinet on sale for $150.00 (assemble it yourself, made in China).. After putting it together, I found out pretty quick, that ALL the seams have to be siliconed to keep the 180 grit from ending up on the floor.. I've had it about a year now, and have never got the time to play around with it much.. Still waiting for 'that' job to come in the door..

[Nancy Laird]

Bob, we have a ProBlast, which you can see here: http://www.yahalusa.com/abrasive_blasting_systems.htm (first thing on the page). It's a tabletop model and works VERY well on glassware and wine bottles, etc. I have no clue as to the price of this thing, as we got it as part of the "package" when we bought our second laser two years ago. We really like it.

[Rodne Gold]

I think you will be trading one unproductive asset for another. We have a serious sandblast setup , huge compressor , filter cabinets and such..the real McCoy..we have 1000's of customers too....and wanna know something , the sandblaster gets used once a week or a max of a few hours a week....wanna know something else .....its used to clear the glues from the metal plates we etch and to make clear pex opaqued.....not for much anything decorative. Your mileage may vary of course.

[Darren Null]

I looked into getting kitted out with a sandblaster and -all things considered- you'd be better off with and would get more use from:
1) A vinyl cutter
2) Dye-sub printer and heat-press combo

But as Rodne says...your mileage may vary.

[Mike Null]

I'm going to join the dissenters. If you don't have a built in market you'll be spending money that could be spent on a more productive tool.

Sandblasters are a dirty noisy tool. I sold mine after a couple of years of making more mess than money.

They are the superior tool for certain jobs. Glass, stone and bricks can be marked much better with a blaster than with a laser. It can be used for certain other marking needs when the proper tool isn't available.

[Nancy Laird]

Bob, if you're looking for an add-on to your laser business, and you can position yourself to market things like wine glasses, etc., then by all means get a small blaster and blast away. I'd venture a guess that we don't use ours more than once a week either, but when we want to produce a set of 25th or 50th anniversary wine glasses, it's there. Our unit is NOT dirty or dirt-producing. It's completely sealed and in two years, I have yet to find one particle of blasting medium anywhere but in the bottom of the unit.

Mike and Rodne, I love both of you dearly and your expertise is invaluable. But YOUR business models and customer bases may not lend themselves to use of a sandblaster or the justification for purchasing one. Bob's might.

Bob, I say go for it, if you can find a reasonably priced one and have the market for it.

[Rodne Gold]

Anyway , if you can get a decent system for 500-1000 , I dont think it's a biggie if you can offer the added services. If it doesnt work , sell it on

[James Stokes]

As usuall I will go against every one here. Buy the sandblaster. If you do archetectural blasting you can make very good money with it. You can buy a cheap setup from Harbor Freight for a couple hundred dollars. Then get a PAB gun to add for about a 100 dollars and a good compressor.
Where I live I am the only one that does large glass projects. I stay very busy doing it. I have bid 2 jobs in the last 2 days totaling all most $8000. I expect to get them both. Plus I have several in the $200 range. I make more with the sandblasting than the lasers and have a whole lot less invested.

[Brian Robison]

Forgive my ignorance, what is architectural blasting?

[Gary Hair]

I am with James on this. I have done over 40k in sandblasting since I bought the equipment a year and a half ago. July of this year I did 3 large boulders, about 8,000lbs each, it took 3 days and I made $6,000. I do an average of about $1,800 per month. Not too bad for an investment of about $1,000 in equipment.

No matter what you buy, if you buy it first then find a market, you are more likely to fail. Every single piece of eqiupment I have purchased has had customers waiting for it to arrive. The laser was paid for in about 6 months, the dye sub in about 11, the sandblasting in less than a month and the cnc router I just built will be paid for with the first job - about 3 days.

Find your market then go for it!

Gary

[Mark Winlund]

When we had a retail store, we used ours all the time. We could get $25 for the engraving, plus the cost of the glasses (marked up 100%) doing wedding glasses and beer steins. Took maybe 20 minutes to do 2. Of course, it was a sideline, and not our main business. It didn't need a big compressor, because the blasting only took a few seconds. A good size air tank and a small compressor worked great. The stencils were made with the vinyl cutter out of scrap vinyl. The glass was put into a baggie, with a hole cut in it where the stencil was. A bit of electrical tape sealed the whole deal up. This was 5 years ago, so prices would be higher.

You have to be a "jack of all (engraving) trades" to be successful in this business. Just a laser machine won't do it.

Mark

[Richard Rumancik]

. . . You can buy a cheap setup from Harbor Freight for a couple hundred dollars. Then get a PAB gun to add for about a 100 dollars and a good compressor.

I agree with James' suggestion. Many of the cheap units are set up as suction type blasters. These will take far too large of a compressor. I bought a cheap suction unit and have converted it to work with a pressure pot. The pressure pot does not need such high flowrate, so you can get by with a smaller compressor (less cost, less space, less noise). Haven't bought my PAB gun yet but it is on my wish list. The heavy hose and nozzle (with ball valve) that come with the inexpensive pressure pots might be good to clean machinery but this hardware is not very suitable for artistic work. I have used it for experiments but it is definitely not suitable for small production etching. Unfortunately the guns are around $200 last time I looked, but most users are very satisfied with them.

[James Stokes]

artistic blasting on doors and windows, Shower doors. That type of thing.

Forgive my ignorance, what is architectural blasting?

[Janet Liddiard]

I'm also considering getting sandblasting equipment. Do you experts suggest a self contained system that has approx. 2-3 feet sandblasting capability, or one that you could use on bigger things? It seems the self contained system would be good for a beginner, but may limit what we can do. The main thing I'm interested in is sandblasting large rocks. Any suggestions or resources to point me to for the basics? Thanks in advance.