Sifting sand for sand blaster

[KMinAF]

I will be purchasing a sandblaster soon and have seen many references to sifting the sand before filling the canister. How and by what method is this done? Any other tips and advise would be appreciated.

 

[Hammer1963]

I use a large can with a piece of window screen in place of the bottom of the can. Pour the sand through the can/screen to break up any chunks from moisture and remove contaminants from the sand. Works well for me

 

[geologist]

I use a large can with a piece of window screen in place of the bottom of the can. Pour the sand through the can/screen to break up any chunks from moisture and remove contaminants from the sand. Works well for me

I use a similar method with a piece of window screen pulled over the top of a bucket. It works quite well.

 

[rsanter]

5 gal bucket with a piece of window screen over it held with a bungie cord

when sandblasting outside I just sweep up the sand and use a shovel to dump it on the screen and let the good stuff fall into the bucket

refill the blaster and go again

bob

 

[jasonreck71]

I grabbed an old colander from the local Goodwill. Works good for me and fits right in the 5 gal bucket. The handles on the colander also support it in the bucket. However I do like the window screen idea.

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[gsport]

if you have a gold mining store close by, they have pans with different size screens that fit perfectly on a 5 gallon bucket that'll work great for sifting the sand...

 

[ghnl]

I've got a sifter that fits on a 5 gallon bucket. Like this:



Maybe HF has copied it by now.

 

[geologist]

if you have a gold mining store close by, they have pans with different size screens that fit perfectly on a 5 gallon bucket that'll work great for sifting the sand...

We use these on the SoilTest ******** in my geology lab.

 

[Jim Stabe]

I strongly recommend you don't use sand as a blasting media because the dust can can cause silicosis with a result similar to breathing asbestos. There are many other media out there that don't have the silica content. Whatever you use be sure to use a really good respirator.

 

[rsanter]

I strongly recommend you don't use sand as a blasting media because the dust can can cause silicosis with a result similar to breathing asbestos. There are many other media out there that don't have the silica content. Whatever you use be sure to use a really good respirator.

sand is a great media for outside blasting but you are 100% right that you need a good respirator because you really sont want to breath that stuff.
sand is good for outside blasting because it cheap and you will lose lots of it and when done I just sweep in into the flower beds

for a blast cabinet it is better to use an artificial media as it will last longer, cut faster, and wont dust out as much.
alot of the dust cloud you see in a blast cabinet using sand is the sand particles that are breaking up when they hit the object

bob

 

[KMinAF]

sand is a great media for outside blasting but you are 100% right that you need a good respirator because you really sont want to breath that stuff.
sand is good for outside blasting because it cheap and you will lose lots of it and when done I just sweep in into the flower beds

for a blast cabinet it is better to use an artificial media as it will last longer, cut faster, and wont dust out as much.
alot of the dust cloud you see in a blast cabinet using sand is the sand particles that are breaking up when they hit the object

bob

Good information! I was planning to use the white kiln dried sand from HD, what are some of the prefered media used by GJ members?

 

[rsanter]

there is a silicone carbide and a black diamond blast media that is good
go to your local supply house and they can tell you what you need for the surface you are trying to blast

some of that stuff can be expensive so you really only want to use it in a cabinet because it is meant to have a long life verses the sand and glass beads which are throw away product

bob

 

[larry4406]

Take two 5 gallon drywall buckets. Cut bottoms out of both. Put window screen between, engage buckets.