Cedar wood blasting setup help

[EddieHollywood]

Hi and thanks for any help.

I am wanting to start making sandblasting small cedar signs in the size of 7 to 9 inch by 24 inch long.

I am looking at blast cabs, pots and so on for this but have many ?s on this i could use some help on.

If i am blasting a 7 inch by 24 inch cedar sign with two lines of text and a small dab of art work on it what would be the best grit size and psi to be blasting at to get it done fast but also looking good?

Also how long should it take to blast something this size a 1/4 inch in the wood for the larger letters and more of a surface etch for the art work that is fine or 1/4 for larger art work.?

Also i am thinking of using [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Aluminum Oxide or [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Silicon Carbide i have read they can be used over and over many times is that true for blasting cedar as well - i read this on a glass blasting site.

I am looking at a 50 to 100 pound pot to use with what ever blast cab i end up with and a good air filter system and dust cyclone to add in before the air filter system.
and a foot pedal control.

On glass carving sites they say i can use a smaller pen sized micro blaster to do the blasting and i have seen some good looking results but not many as they are glass sites also i am not sure how deep they are getting it.

Can i use a macro system for doing this? that would save a lot of blasting abrasive?
Or what would be the better choice to use and why?

Or should i use or can i use both large for the letters i want deeper and macro for the more small detailed stuff? can they both be hooked up to the same system and use the same grit?

I would like to knock them out fast for a tourist location doing custom signs up to 12 to 15 a day on the week ends and less on week days.
I have a 24 inch vinyl cutter all ready to cut quick one off designs and all the software.

Here is some of the things i am looking at for this. I would like to also get into the basic glass stuff to like names on beer mugs and any [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]tourist quick sell items[/FONT].
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
I am thinking about this Cab it is a sit down cab as i will be it it a lot.. what do you think about this cab?
http://www.dichroicimagery.com/prod...=7750&osCsid=7d14f05785e3aaa84382d5e31dd9ad4b
or this one
http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capacity-floor-blast-cabinet-93608.html

this added on before the air filter to help knock out the dust before it even gets to the filter.
http://www.oneida-air.com/category.asp?Id={CC6B6F2A-E3D7-4F18-A53C-B5C357DFE131}

this dust collector
http://www.etchmaster.com/Merchant2...de=ES&Product_Code=300187&Category_Code=EQ_DC

this 100 pound pot.
http://www.etchmaster.com/Merchant2...=ES&Product_Code=300105&Category_Code=EQ_2533

and still looking at compressors and other items.





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[TyrantDesigner]

Well, cedar signs and novelty items are 2 different things. When I make sand blasted signs I end up taking mine to a body shop that sand blasts cars, takes them 2 minutes to do what would take me about 30-45 minutes with any sort of setup I can get in my shop. It all comes down to output really. your average sandblaster setup in a cab was really meant for small things for surface treatments ... with wood you are blasting away atleast 1/4" of material ... you are right ... you will be sitting for a LONG time with that.

 

[signguy 55]

In my shop we used to do our own blasting on redwood, at that time we had to rent a compressor, buy our sand, etc.

It was a nasty, grimy job. I crunched the numbers and found vendors that could do it cheaper than me doing it myself, they will even do a completed painted sign, you don't have to touch it.

These guys are set up to do volume work, all you have to do is set up the file, let them worry about the finished product. Just mark up their cost.

Small signs like that what you are going for are going to be more expensive per sq. ft than bigger signs. You will need a minimum charge. The time and labor on
a 9" x 24" sign is not much different than a sign twice that size.

Even now I tell customers a turnaround of 3 - 4 weeks, get it done in two weeks and they'll love you forever. This type of work is custom, customers should realize they can't get a sign done like this next day.

 

[Mosh]

It was a nasty, grimy job.

+++++++even in a box!!!

 

[rjssigns]

On the rare occasion I need blasting done. I bring it to the monument(headstone) maker. They use a product called Stone Blast, plus they are very good at what they do. The stuff is made for granite so has no problem with wood. Knocks it out in a minute or so for small pieces.

 

[EddieHollywood]

Other places that do this same kind of sign i am wanting to make do this on location all day long for walk in customers with a few hours turn around time.
In my area i have searched and i can not find anyone in the area that dose any sandblasting except one guy that only blasts old cars and parts and large metal things outside.

(cedar signs and novelty items are 2 different things)
well not this kind of sign it is a novelty sign for home and RV owners and rooms for your home.

This would be all in cut lettering not much for raised letters with the wood blasted away around the letters making it much more easy.

Many tourist locations have places that do this many of them do it by hand with a hand router i am doing some of that now myself learning so i can make quick letters of pre-blasted designs. The newer better looking versions of this kind of sign are done by blasting the signs with much better designs and artwork on them that would be super hard to do with a hand router.

This seems to be a secret not talked about much business plan that is making the small few that do it a good living.
This is not full sign production for business signs it is for small one off home signs with names or address on them or things like - Bobs man cave - John and Mary home sweet home - Dave and Lisa EST. 2007 welcome The Morgans Destin Florida.
Small personal signs for the home or rv or some small business use.

Still looking for help we need to produce the signs in house fast like other places that do this.
Thanks

 

[Poconopete]

For these type of signs I use a

• Router
• Ink
• Sander
  nice nich yes, good living not so much.

 

[Pat Whatley]

The rule on compressors is to figure up the maximum CFM you think you'll need, buy a compressor three times that size and hope it's enough.

 

[EddieHollywood]

Just a update.
After a lot of learning and reading i now have a blast cab, Two stage dust system one is the dust deputy then feeding into the blast cab dust filter cyclone system, Have a 75 or more pound blast pressor pot and i have a guy that will be wiring my place for the compression to come next week. Also have a custom foot switch i am putting together for the cab to make working more easy.

I did end up talking with a few people that are making this find of signs and they are using low PSI in a blast cab in the rage of 25 to 50 PSI.

I also talked with some guys that do this with CNC router systems and i am ordering one of them to. I will have one that has a cutting area of 20x30 just right for the sign sizes we want to offer. I think the CNC will be a lot cleaner to work with and we can still blast glass and rock items and some wood if needed or larger wood signs out side when needed.

If this all works out i could see have two or three of the CNC routers running at the same time so we can knock out more signs faster. I can buy three of the smaller ones for what it would cost for one large shopbot Buddy and get more done for the small items we will be offering.

This is going to take many months to get all this working and learned so we are shooting for around Late Set or Oct to open up and start offering our goods.