Does anyone have a good wholesale source for sandblast resist for making wood signs? I used to buy what i needed at the monument maker place in town, but they burned down. Now that i have a few to do, i thought i’d just buy full rolls. I’ve found what i need netsurfing, just thought i’d check to see if someone has an inside scoop to share.
Second question is about thickness: can i go < 45 mil? I used 45 mil bec that’s what the gravestone folks used on granite, but i’m not sure i need that for mahogany or cedar. I read conflicting things on the Net about whether 25 mil material will work fine for blasting about 3/8″ deep. Any experts out there who can give me the definitive go-ahead to spend less money?
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Replies
id look in the phone book and search out the machine shops. They usually have sandblasters. They would have sources for their media. Or look for the places that have the machinery they sell to those shops.
Splintie as of right now you are the reining expert on blasting wood.
Sorry not to offer a source on the resist material, (what is it rubber?) I take it this is a sheet good that you cut and stick to the wood so the "sand" doesn't erode the surrounding surface.
A couple of questions:
What do you shoot out of the sand blast gun at the wood. I inherited a sandblast gun but it has remained a curiosity and I've only used it to shine up a few metal parts so far. The media I got from my dad was a white fine sand. Knowing pop it probably was an agressive media. What kind do you use?
What kinds of wood? I've seen mostly soft woods like cedar. WHat is your experience?
Do you do it indoors? I can't believe how pervasive the sand is. That stuff gets everywhere.
As for the resist media. why not use a sheet good like a rubber innertube and stick it with contact or rubber cement? I suspect you've got some production so dicking around like that will not be productive?
Thanks for the lead in. I'll never look at that pile of tubes & canister the same again.
Best thing it to try it yourself with a thinner resist. 45 mil is a bit thick. We used a similar thickness for some glass clockfaces. You had to be careful to position the gun right because the extra thickness would interfere and block the spray at an angle. Always keep looking because the best search engine only get 15% of what's out there. I also use the Thomas Register and networking for additional leads. Ever hear of http://www.photobrasive.com ? So many techniques and so little time and money to try them all!
Rick
Edited 12/11/2002 8:43:10 AM ET by rsl
Thanks, Bill. I got a commercial sandblaster lined up at a great price bec they aren't into "art", and the monument makers who do have such supplies charge a lot to resell them. Hence my search.
Booch "resist" is the material used to mask off anything one doesn't want affected by the blasting, or in some cases, acid etching. It can be as simple as a couple layers of Contact paper on a sheet of single strength glass or as industrial as 45 mil rubber adhered to granite. There are vinyl and rubber blankets, paper and plastic backed ones, high and low tack adhesives...it can get pretty specific, and the cost of a mistake is high: i'll be blasting mahogany. Innertube might work, i should give it a trial, but there is the curvature part to overcome and the other resists are made to knife easily. I'll be hand-cutting with an Exacto blade. Also, any place i have a seam, i bridge with another layer, just to be extra sure, and the tubes would surely need seaming.
On glass, i've shot alum-ox in different grits. I stage-blasted some screens with great detail (the Japanese woodblock artist's "Lovers on a Balcony"--lots of kimono patterns, a leg behind a veil that contained a pattern--tricky stuff) and changed the grit depending on if i were showing wispy hair or the outline of a railing. For wood, i used the ordinary mason's sand, about 30 grit is good, and <$5 a bag. I use siphon feed, BTW.
Redwood, cedar, mahogany are all good choices for exterior signs, but you can use balsa, even plywood, for interior application. I'm interested in trying it out on a sink-cutout of Corian i have lying about the shop.
I shoot outdoors with a t-shirt around my face covering my hair and a full-face mask over goggles. I get undressed in the shop before entering the house and no, i don't give lessons! <G>
rsl: I hadn't heard of the site you mentioned, but i'm looking for hand-cut stencil material not photosensitive. I used photoresist stencils when i was getting my IA degree; there's a meaty investment in the equipment for that.
I can find the resist i need; i was hoping to find a good, cheap source of it, is the deal. I thought i remembered someone from here who was a glassblaster by profession...? Thanks, all.
Sounds interesting. Don't know if the t shirt wrapped around the head is a uniform or just expedient. You'd better stay out of airports with the makshift turban. <G>
Yes I expect the innertube would be a stretch. There has to be some industrial rubber store in the area. One of the guys listed in the yellow pages might be a good start (I just looked there are probably 40 of them in the Milwaukee Yellows). EPDM roofing material? I'm sure there would be an industrial roofer who would part with his scraps for a good conversation and a thank you. That and spray on adhesive could make your masking material.
Thanks for the quick description. It gave me some ideas. I'll remember not to breath the stuff that flys off.
I've got loads of my own 45 mil EPDM scraps from doing decks last year around the house. I don't think it will be a breeze to cut, but i wonder i didn't think of it when you mentioned the inner tube--pretty similar stuff. Hmmm....i could buy a whole lot of X-acto blades for the cost of a roll of resist (~$80)
Thank-you, Sir Booch!
PS: I don't think the turban would make up for the blue eyes and blonde hair, but i did get pulled out of line when i flew to Canada. The Border guards told me they could check my drivers license and tell if i'd used drugs in the past month. I told them to knock themselves out. The amount i paid for that ticket, i thought i ought to at least get a strip search out of the deal!
The Canadiens are a pretty squirrely bunch. I tried sending my sister 60 golfballs to mark her 60th just before sept 11th . They made it to the border and returned 1 month later. Must have been 20 inspection stamps on the box with a sheaf of papers attached. They certainly have a different set of concerns. Norwegian terrorists! What, do they make the Canadiens eat lutefisk?
Back to the stranger topic of resist. If you really get over the edge and need to pursue more-stranger types of rubber here is a link from over at breaktime. http://www.rubberrollergroup.com/board.htm
Now this is an administrative group. If you go into the corporate sponsor tab you will get links to lots of rubber companies.
Final thought. The dippable handle stuff they put on pliers. It is in the hardware store as an air dried coating. I wonder if you can paint that on the surface as a resist.
Someone mentioned rubber?? You can buy all you want at HD or Lowe's. Look where their fish pond liners are kept.
PlaneWood by Mike_in_KatyPlaneWood
Booch: There is a paint-on resist, too, but i'm not sure the plastic stuff in the cans is the same. Seems like it would work, though. I wonder how well one could do calligraphy with it...hmmm...
I'll need new rubber on my Makita planer rollers one of these days, so i'll bookmark your rubberroller site. Not looking forward to paying for that!
Planewood: Yes, the pond liners are EPDM, too. The ones i've seen are about half the thickness of my leftovers from making decks. Good idea, though.
Rick: I saw that site. That is the PVC product, and i read that thinner PVC material is as good as the thicker rubber, but there were no comparisons given. I think i'll give my 45 mil EPDM scraps a trial--nothing much to lose except some contact cement.
Thanks, all, for the suggestions.
http://www.signsplusbanners.com/sandblasting/sandblast_masking.html#Anchor-Sandblast-35091
Guess I wasn't paying as close attention as I should of to what you were looking for. 22.5 mil seems to be recommended type for wood. I'd stay away from a lot of those other non signmaking posts. Probably cost more in the longrun to fudge it in my experience. Have you tried asking for samples to test. I've gotten a lot of free stuff to try that way. I do a lot of purchasing for the company I work for so I get to surf the web and read catalogs and trade journals quite a bit. Nice work on your small time post. Very impressive!
Rick
Rick
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