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

[gene at fossilnut.com]

Typical air abrasive units have nozzle diameters much smaller than any of 
the cheaper units that have been mentioned. I have 2 old SS White units. The 
first one came with a blast cabinet and a Torrit dust collector for under 
$1000, The second cost me about $600. I bought 2 more and resold these. Both 
needed a little work and cost me in the range of $250.

The micro blasters deliver controlled grit and controlled pressure through 
nozzles that range from 17 thousandths of an inch up to a whopping 60 
thousandths. The fine nozzle is what is needed for delicate fossil work. In 
additon I can control pressures down to about 15 PSI which is sometimes 
needed for fine and delicate work. If you are trying to clean corrosion off 
a steel plate, by all means use one of the cheaper sandblasters. If you are 
trying to prep fossils or delicate minerals, you need the better units. If 
you live ina humid climate you will also need an air dryer. I made mine out 
of a copper coil in an ice bucket, with a separator downstream. Works fine.
Gene


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kreigh Tomaszewski" <Kreigh at tomaszewski.net>
To: "Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors" 
<rockhounds at lists.drizzle.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 20, 2008 8:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] air abrasive units - sticker shock!!!?


> 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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