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Glass beads or Aluminium Oxide.......near Oxford?
Sacal - 17/12/07 at 08:29 PM

Does anyone know where i can buy blast media near Oxford? Closest place i can find is Machine mart in Swindon which is a good 50-60 mile round trip. Could buy online but delivery is a little excessive for small amounts. Could really do with getting these ali carbs cleaned up to give me some inspiration

Oh...sand wont do bec i want it to look like a proper job

Thanks a lot!


bonzoronnie - 17/12/07 at 09:10 PM

Hi,

I know you dont want to use sand. But

I go to my local pet warehouse & buy Bird cage sand. ( Large bags )

Very, Very fine & dry. Needs to be run through a sieve to remove tiny bits of shell.

It consists of tropical beach sand. Very sharp and at the same time, a soft & gentle blast medium.

I have used it to great effect on soft intricate alloy parts.

Probably a little softer than All/Oxide

Ronnie


wilkingj - 17/12/07 at 09:20 PM

I use Swimming Pool Filter sand.

MAJOR warning.

Make sure the "exhaust" on your cabinet is well filtered.
I extract through TWO sponge filters, into a Panasonic hoover with micro filters fitted.
I also use a decent dust mask with a rubber seal to the face. #
Dont use those cheap paper masks on this job.

The dust from the sand, is nasty and can cause sillicosis (Lung Disease that Miners get).
So if you use anything Dangerous, consider the hazard to your health before doing anything else.

OK I'm a skinflint, (Just broke really!)
I use sand as its cheap. BUT PLEASE CONSIDER THE HEALTH RISK FIRST.

Jut cos I do it, doesnt make it safe for anyone else.
Health and Safety would march you out of a factory if you did this at work.
Hence me using lots of filtering, and a decent facemask, and I think I still could be taking a risk. Do dont follow my example.

Oh... Glass beads for Ally, and Grit / Oxide for Steel.


bonzoronnie - 18/12/07 at 09:04 AM

quote:
Originally posted by wilkingj
I use Swimming Pool Filter sand.

MAJOR warning.

Make sure the "exhaust" on your cabinet is well filtered.
I extract through TWO sponge filters, into a Panasonic hoover with micro filters fitted.
I also use a decent dust mask with a rubber seal to the face. #
Dont use those cheap paper masks on this job.

The dust from the sand, is nasty and can cause sillicosis (Lung Disease that Miners get).
So if you use anything Dangerous, consider the hazard to your health before doing anything else.

OK I'm a skinflint, (Just broke really!)
I use sand as its cheap. BUT PLEASE CONSIDER THE HEALTH RISK FIRST.

Jut cos I do it, doesnt make it safe for anyone else.
Health and Safety would march you out of a factory if you did this at work.
Hence me using lots of filtering, and a decent facemask, and I think I still could be taking a risk. Do dont follow my example.

Oh... Glass beads for Ally, and Grit / Oxide for Steel.



Yes I could have mentioned the health & safety aspect. Of Blasting

I for one allways use my air-fed mask when blasting.

I think the above rules should apply to all blasting ops.

You never know what nasties are in the air,

Ronnie