bead blast sand substitute
Guys: I thought I'd throw in MY two cents. I also opted for the cheap Harbor Freight pressurized sandblaster. I buy sandblast silica sand from a local rock and gravel supply house @ $4 per 50lb bag.
But HERE'S a trick that I'm very proud of! I went to the hardware store and bought a four feet long piece of 1/2 inch steel water (plumbing pipe) threaded on both ends.
I put the 4 foot pipe between the sandblast pressure valve and the nozzle, creating a tool very much like a car wash "wand". The sand (and therefore the dangerous silica) dust is much further from my face and you can clean a part while standing up!
I've noticed no difference in the blast pressure and it's much easier to use! Also the last time the porcelain nozzle wore out, I found a very reasonable Tungsten unit on Ebay which has lasted for over a year!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nozzle-sandblas...m&pt=Sanders_Sandblasters&hash=item5631e68c57
Guys: I thought I'd throw in MY two cents. I also opted for the cheap Harbor Freight pressurized sandblaster. I buy sandblast silica sand from a local rock and gravel supply house @ $4 per 50lb bag.
But HERE'S a trick that I'm very proud of! I went to the hardware store and bought a four feet long piece of 1/2 inch steel water (plumbing pipe) threaded on both ends.
I put the 4 foot pipe between the sandblast pressure valve and the nozzle, creating a tool very much like a car wash "wand". The sand (and therefore the dangerous silica) dust is much further from my face and you can clean a part while standing up!
I've noticed no difference in the blast pressure and it's much easier to use! Also the last time the porcelain nozzle wore out, I found a very reasonable Tungsten unit on Ebay which has lasted for over a year!
http://cgi.ebay.com/Nozzle-sandblas...m&pt=Sanders_Sandblasters&hash=item5631e68c57
