vinyl and sandblasting

Di-lite

Hi Peeps,
I bought my self a small cabinet and sand blasting equipment and have been playing with it.  Need to upgrade the compressor and learn a few more things before I can say I've got it under control.  Still I've enjoyed cutting decals for the blasting.  Here's a couple of examples.
I will be putting up the patterns and the svg decals shortly into my bazaar - probably next week.  Need to check more of them out before I feel they are up to scratch.  I want to test out some tiles and see what happens.  I've got hooked on this glass blasting so we will see what we see  LOL

Gabe

Hooray for you, Di-lite!  Great first projects.  You'll find sandblasting very satisfying as you will be making glass decorated with your designs.  Soon you'll be making vases, baking dishes, cutting boards, mirrored wall art, decorative mirrored trays and much more.  BTW, did you use the MTC conical warp feature when making your designs for the tapered glass?  

Penny

Very pretty.

Di-lite

@Gabe  I sure did - it worked a treat!  Just needs a little adjustment and it will be perfect.  Thanks for your support - I hate to say it but I'm hooked and need to upgrade my equipment after only a week!!  LOL

Liz_A

Awesome @Di-Lite - there won't be a piece of glass that is safe anywhere in Britain, LOL! Get people to save glass bottles, you can cut the necks off and they make lovely vases when sanded and then sandblasted!

Di-lite

@Liz_A  Only problem with cutting the tops of the bottles I would want to scallop them and that is open to a lot of cut fingers and blood everywhere - me and sharp edges don't got together - but I am sure tempted!!  Might get my friend who has a kiln to do something for me tho.

Gabe

Hey @Di-lite, check out this Pin from Pinterest.com.

tuicarlos

You guys are speaking Greek with me on this issue. This is very interesting and I’ll stay tuned to learn something about it. Some place to get more information about it?

Di-lite

Hi @tuicarlos - sandblasting glass with special sand - you need a compressor, an air gun and a cabinet to contain the sand.  Very addictive - I bought a cheap set up and am now looking to get more advance equipment - haven't even got round to carving - just etching.  Look up sandblasting glass and be impressed.  It's not difficult as it is just vinyl stencils stuck onto the glass and then blast away until it looks good.  Remove wrapping and there it is.  A bit of technique to ensure that you cover everything for simple etching - carving is something far more advance then I've got to.

Gabe

@Di-lite, you can etch the hummingbird, it doesn't have to be carved.  Basically I wanted to show you that you can reuse empty wine bottles by etching them.

Di-lite

@Gabe LOL I think you think I should start drinking wine and add being drunk for real instead of just looking like I've had one over the eight!!  Can't walk in a straight line and I'm alcohol free!!  I think it would look better just etched actually - that looks a bit over the top for that pattern to me.  But I still at the bottom of the rung and will see what else I can do over the coming weeks.

Gabe

Nothing could be further from my mind, Di!  I wasn't saying you should drink wine, only that you could etch on empty wine bottles.  And in the States we can get empty wine bottles or other empty liquor bottles from restaurants and bars that sell those spirits.  If they sell a lot, they will dispose of a lot of empty bottles.  Some will box them up and save them for an enterprising crafter. After all, they're just going to throw them out.  I don't know if the same would hold true in the UK.

Di-lite

Chuckling here Gabe - this village has six or seven eating houses and all probably have empties.  Will investigate - could be a source of interest!!

tuicarlos

@Di-lite - Okay... now I'm very very very interested on this. I'll start today buying some "materials" first. After that I'll search for some equipaments if I'm sober by then. LOL!

Di-lite

@tuicarlos  Be warned it's very addictive - but a lot of fun - also you could sell and make a little money to fund your hobby.  A win win situation.  Let others get drunk to supply you with your bottles and just enjoy a sip whilst you work!  LOL

Gabe

@Di-lite, here is a neat idea for empty wine bottles.  This one isn't etched, but you could add patterns or creatures.  

Hanging wine bottle lamp.

And to be thorough, click to see a large number of wine bottle lighting ideas.  

The big challenge is cutting the bottom off the wine bottle.  Some people use glass cutting jigs and some prefer a tile saw. 

Here's some ideas on cutting wine bottles and things to do with wine bottles that have been cut.
 
Wine bottle cutting ideas.

Di-lite

@Gabe - those are great - I love the two bird feeders on this first section.  WOW anyone wanting to use up their old wine bottles or those from a local store are spoilt for good ideas.  Love them.

pixelpusherpat

Have lots of fun @Di-lite !!  The large cabinet (40'' ) with my hubby's 5Hspwr com- pressor, a foot control for my grit pot feed with medium sized moisture catcher,
a couple of good ceramic nozzles,  a fine point nozzle from PABlaster here in the US.  Oh, and don't forget to have really! good dust vacuum (at least 5micron bag!)  That's my set-up for now anyway.  And you are right on the money about how fun and addicting this is!!!!!  I have some pretty detailed stencils of wildlife , if you would like to use them.  HaaHaaa!  Away we go!!

Di-lite

@pixelpusherpat  You kind thoughts are great - will have to wait a couple of weeks until my new set up is as it needs to be. Got to get it yet.  Still trying to see what is on the british market and worth buying for value/size.  People have advised as large as I can afford; well I might buy what I want as I go along but this is a major outlay so has to carefully controlled.  Thank you for the offer of stencil files.  I've found dozens of them in my own back yard LOL - oh boy am I champing at the bit - the little pen gun is erratic in blowing sand so I've put it down in frustration - hopefully I will soon have a set up that will perform.  I'm truly hooked.  

Gabe

@Di-lite, a couple of things.  First, do you have a moisture trap, aka a "water" trap, on your air line between the compressor and the air eraser?  If not, that could be part of the problem with the poor performance of the gun.  Compressors create moisture from air.  H2O, as you know, is pure water and when air is compressed some of it becomes H2O.  Usually it appears as a fine mist in the air line.  If that mist gets into your grit, the gun will clog or sputter on the damp grit.  So a water trap is essential for good grit spraying.  Also, it is worth noting that the water trap should be at the end of a long-ish air line, just before that air line connects to the air line attached to the air eraser.  The reason for that is to give the mist some time to cool and collect in the length of the air line so the water trap will work more efficiently.  If the water trap is too close to the compressor, the mist that gets by it will still condense in the air line and play havoc with your grit.

Second, Pat mentioned that she is using a pressure pot with her blasting cabinet.  Pressure pots mix the grit and the air in one container, unlike a siphon system that uses a venturi vacuum to pick up grit that is lying in the bottom of the cabinet with a siphon tube in it.  Pressure pots operate at a lower PSI than the siphon guns that come with the blasting cabinets.  This gives you more control over the grit spray.  She also uses different sized nozzles with her pressure pot, so she controls the size of the spray that is coming out of the gun.  However, pressure pots aren't generally designed to work in blasting cabinets, so some mods to the cabinet have to be made.  Such as adding a foot pedal to replace the gun/trigger design on most guns that come with the cabinet.

Finally she mentions using a "really good dust vacuum" with a 5 micron filter in it.  That will protect your lungs from very fine grit dust.  Which is very important.  Some people use a cyclonic dust collector such as a "Dust Deputy" and a really good respirator mask.  The dust collector will catch any grit that escapes the cabinet and collect it in a catch pot.  That happens before the grit gets to your vac and therefore you don't have to worry so much about very fine grit being exhausted into the work area's air by the vacuum.  And since the collector catches all the grit that doesn't fall back into the cabinet while you're blasting, you can easily sift the captured grit to remove any impurities and then reuse it.  This has a lot of benefits.  It saves your lungs, saves you money, and reduces wear and tear on your vac's motor and filter.

lonestar

I haven't done much blasting lately but really enjoy it when I do. 

Di-lite

@lonestar  Love that simple but so effective.  You need to get fired up again - that's really good.

Di-lite

@Gabe Thanks - I think I now understand why my pen gun clogged up - the unit for water straining is right by the engine so it is also warm and condensation will not occur.  Need to get a second unit that runs between the compressor and the gun.  The original unit is part of the compressor.  I've got a second cable so I can position it between the two.  It's all so complicated - but I'll get the hang of it and then hold on to your socks  LOL.

Crazy_Mr_Zing

You should also drain your compressor daily as condensation can from inside the tank which will cause corrosion and also get pushed up to the gun
I think most compressor have a valve below the tank when you done for the day crack it open and let the air pressure out just don't forget to close it again

Di-lite

Missed that part of it - will find the plug and do that - so many little things when you venture into new realms.  ~I'll get there tho.

pixelpusherpat

Right on all.  It's a ''blast''.  @Gabe is correct about my pot being pressured.  I have H2O traps for my air brush, my cabinet (which has enough room for a cabinet insert glass length-wise), and on the line after my foot control.  That is only to control the on/off flow.  I have pressure controls within the cabinet and also extra lights, so I can get good views from different angles on different things.  I learned a lot from the AZGC forum.  That's the Arizona Glass Class.  Sue Burne on your side of the pond is great.  She and Lesley Pyke are members of the Glass Guild and have good info.  The beginning stuff is mostly from AZGC.  Good people - like here!  Have tons of fun!  Pat in Kent

Di-lite

Thanks @pixelpusherpat Will seek out that forum and see what I can glean from there.  My man has started clearing out my potting shed so that I can have an independent area to work in.  Wish I could be more help but the wobbles make me less then useless!!  Still it's happening so I am excited about it and want to get on with ordering the upgrade compressor and the other bits required.  I checked out my little compressor - no water, soaked the nozzle in booze and now air flows through it again.  Can't motivate myself to use it.  So I am just continuing to design whilst I am waiting and then I can find all the pitfalls and fall into them.  LOL

Gabe

@Di-lite, I advise opening that valve on the bottom of the tank when the tank is not pressurized.  I recommend releasing most of the compressed air by using an air gun.  Not a blasting gun, but one that just shoots air. You should have quick connect/disconnect hardware on your airline so you can remove the blasting gun quickly and easily without losing a lot of air from the compressor tank.  So when done blasting you'd just pop the blast gun off, pop the air gun on, shoot out air until the pressure in the tank drops, then open the valve on the bottom of the tank to let the water drain out.  Obviously, if you are using your compressor in the house, you'll want some type of catch basin below that valve so you won't have a wet mess. And also, of course, you probably do not want to be sandblasting in the house if you can help it.    

Gabe

@pixelpusherpat, If you are an AZGC forum member, you likely are acquainted with Bernie.  She does some very nice work with rocks of all sizes.  Very nice lady.