[Rockhounds] air abrasive units - sticker shock!!!?

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

Tim,

Micro-Mark has a mini sandblast gun for $48 that runs off a can of
compressed air or your own compressor at 30 lb. It is designed for
working on models and has a very fine stream using 220 grit.

Sears has a 50 lb sandblaster kit with 1/4 inch nozzle that lists for
$59.99.

Your local big box hardware store probably has professional sized
sandblasters for around $250.

Kreigh

P.S., my only connection to any of these businesses is as a customer. I
have used a borrowed Sears unit for cleaning paint off metal and had no
problems with it.




Tim Jokela Jr. wrote:
> 
> Living fifteen minutes away from a superb fossil locality, I've accumulated
> a modest collection and have begun looking into how to properly prep them.
> 
> Micro air abrasive tools look fabulous, and their versatility is intriguing,
> but the $2,000 bare minimum price tag kind of puzzles me. All this thing
> does, as far as I can see, is add powdered abrasives to the air stream. Why
> the huge price tag? Are there some expensive components in there, or some
> advanced technical wizardry? Do you really need to budget three grand
> minimum for a complete air abrasive system?
> 
> What are the options if one wants to get into air abrasive units without
> spending a small fortune? Are there cheap units that work as well as the
> Swam Blaster and the Comco units? Any DIY possibilities here, or is the
> system too complex? Are museums using these multi-thou units?
> 
> Any info would be most appreciated!
> 
> Tim Jokela Jr., tjokela at execulink.com
> Business: http://www.element51.com
> Pleasure: http://www.ontariominerals.com
> 
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