Compressor

[cmueller]

Will this work for blasting or do you guys have another brand/model that would be better for the same price. Thanks.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professi ... ockType=G4

[e Markle]

Ideally, you would want a two stage compressor, and the cfm rating on that one is a bit low. To answer your question though: yes, it would work, but it would mean more frequent stops in your blasting. When I first started blasting I used a 30 gallon compressor, and I *could* blast with it. It meant I could only go for about 45 seconds, and then I would have to wait about 7 minutes for it to refill.

This wouldn't be that bad, but it's not an ideal setup.

[PremalChheda]

For just a little more you can get a much better compressor like this:

http://www.maxtool.com/product/search.a ... _ITEM=218V

I think Ingersol also has a similar model around the same price.

[KurtHuhn]

Short answer - yes. Long answer - it depends...

It depends on your gun, nozzle and jet combo, media, technique, etc. My compressor it "less capable" than the one you and Premal linked to, but I have never had a problem blasting. Part of that is my media, and that I custom make my nozzles and jets.

[andrew]

You can blast with that compressor. Use a smaller cabinet, small/med flow gun, you should be fine. Just a few hundred dollars more and you have a monumentally better setup. It would be better to have a higher pressure tank and a higher pressure/volume pump. Both of those can be had for a small increase in price. If you're brave, Craig's list is your friend.

andrew

[cmueller]

I was going to use it with the cyclone e500 since it would exceed the SCFM for that blast box but if I have to make frequent stops the. That would get annoying. I will keep looking.

[RadDavis]

Blasting is all about horsepower and CFM. The bigger the better.

Spend the money now, and blast away very happily. Get a "more affordable" setup, and be frustrated until you decide to sell that one and buy the setup you should have bought in the first place.

Rad

[PremalChheda]

Blasting is all about horsepower and CFM. The bigger the better.

Spend the money now, and blast away very happily. Get a "more affordable" setup, and be frustrated until you decide to sell that one and buy the setup you should have bought in the first place.

Rad

IAWR

If it is the money holding you back, you can always contract your blast work to another pipe maker. I did for about a couple handfuls to Rad before he became a superstar. Or you can find a local workshop that will rent blasting time to you for a low cost. Usually they run about $25+ an hour which is actually lower than operating costs of a your own blasting setup.

[caskwith]

Buy the biggest you can basically. I was lucky to heed this advice when I set myself up. Being in the UK made things slightly more difficult since we are much more restricted on space and availability of machine tools but I bought the biggest compressor I could physically fit in the space I had and the biggest that our electricity panel would allow (still had to get an electrician friend to do the wiring though). Even with all this I would say the compressor is still a little undersized but it sure makes me glad I didn't go smaller!

[Sasquatch]

I'd buy that compressor, run it till it blows up, and then you have a motor and an 80 gal tank, and you just buy a better pump. Compressors are simple as hell. Motor, pump, tank, pressure switch. All replaceable components.

[RadDavis]

I'd buy that compressor, run it till it blows up, and then you have a motor and an 80 gal tank, and you just buy a better pump. Compressors are simple as hell. Motor, pump, tank, pressure switch. All replaceable components.

You could do that, but you'd still be stuck with the same horsepower motor, so then you'd have to buy a motor and a pump. Unless of course you're just buying a better low capacity pump, which sort of defeats the purpose.

Might as well buy a compressor that's up to the job in the first place.

Rad

[wisemanpipes]

I obviously don't even know a fraction of what the other guys on this thread have told you, but all things considering, that is not a bad pump at all. I have a smaller tank than that one and I can blast at 100-105PSI all day long. the thing is about your compressor pump. its not 2 stage, like Ernie pointed out. That's going to make a big difference in your cfms. that all being said, it gives 14cfm at 90 psi which is more than enough to blast and blast well. A lot of people blast with a 30 gallon 2.5HP compressor an are well off.

my comment or interjection would be that if your looking to buy new, go and save 200-400 more and buy that bellair compressor or something with a little more balls. And if you don't need to buy new, look on craiglist or similar sites for a good deal. you can easily find a comparable compressor for half of that price tag.

blasting is not the be all, end all and if I had to do it again, I would have saved my money and outsourced for another year or so. I use my unit about once for 45 minutes every 3weeks. its just not always logical or fiscally feasible to get one.

And if you do outsource your blasting, im sure you'll easily find someone (myself included) that would be willing to blast for you.

Evan

[RadDavis]

I obviously don't even know a fraction of what the other guys on this thread have told you, but all things considering, that is not a bad pump at all. I have a smaller tank than that one and I can blast at 100-105PSI all day long. the thing is about your compressor pump. its not 2 stage, like Ernie pointed out. That's going to make a big difference in your cfms. that all being said, it gives 14cfm at 90 psi which is more than enough to blast and blast well. A lot of people blast with a 30 gallon 2.5HP compressor an are well off.

my comment or interjection would be that if your looking to buy new, go and save 200-400 more and buy that bellair compressor or something with a little more balls. And if you don't need to buy new, look on craiglist or similar sites for a good deal. you can easily find a comparable compressor for half of that price tag.

blasting is not the be all, end all and if I had to do it again, I would have saved my money and outsourced for another year or so. I use my unit about once for 45 minutes every 3weeks. its just not always logical or fiscally feasible to get one.

And if you do outsource your blasting, im sure you'll easily find someone (myself included) that would be willing to blast for you.

Evan

It all depends on what your goals are. If you're willing to spend an hour or two (Or longer? I have no idea) blasting a pipe, a 2.5 hp compressor will do the job, obviously, but the results will be less than spectacular. If you spend 45 minutes every three weeks using your compressor, then you really don't need a compressor, although it's nice to have one, so you don't have to outsource your blasting.

I do know that when I bought my compressor(25 CFM@100psi), I bought two guns: a large one and a small one. I was thinking that the small gun ( much lower CFM) would be good for detail work. Maybe it would have been, but it took forever to see any progress at all with the blast, so I never used it again and use only the large gun.

The more air you can get through a gun, the faster you can blast a pipe. This is why 2 stage is essential.

Psi and tank size are not the keys in blasting. It's all about the CFM at 90-100psi, which is how they usually rate them in the catalogs. The higher the CFM, the better and quicker the blast. Think of CFM like a marker you use trying to color an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of white paper, making it solid black. If you use a Magic Marker with a 1/2 inch wide tip(High CFM), you can do it in about 10 minutes or less. If you use a black ball point(Low CFM), how long will it take?

At say, 25CFM@90psi, the blast media is hitting the wood at a much, much higher rate than it is at the same pressure, but with a compressor or gun delivering only 8-14 CFM, so the blasting goes much, much faster with much better results.

And blasting is the be all, end all.

I use my blaster every day.

Rad

[LatakiaLover]

I use my blaster every day.

[wisemanpipes]

It all depends on what your goals are. If you're willing to spend an hour or two (Or longer? I have no idea) blasting a pipe, a 2.5 hp compressor will do the job, obviously, but the results will be less than spectacular. If you spend 45 minutes every three weeks using your compressor, then you really don't need a compressor, although it's nice to have one, so you don't have to outsource your blasting.

I do know that when I bought my compressor(25 CFM@100psi), I bought two guns: a large one and a small one. I was thinking that the small gun ( much lower CFM) would be good for detail work. Maybe it would have been, but it took forever to see any progress at all with the blast, so I never used it again and use only the large gun.

The more air you can get through a gun, the faster you can blast a pipe. This is why 2 stage is essential.

Psi and tank size are not the keys in blasting. It's all about the CFM at 90-100psi, which is how they usually rate them in the catalogs. The higher the CFM, the better and quicker the blast. Think of CFM like a marker you use trying to color an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of white paper, making it solid black. If you use a Magic Marker with a 1/2 inch wide tip(High CFM), you can do it in about 10 minutes or less. If you use a black ball point(Low CFM), how long will it take?

At say, 25CFM@90psi, the blast media is hitting the wood at a much, much higher rate than it is at the same pressure, but with a compressor or gun delivering only 8-14 CFM, so the blasting goes much, much faster with much better results.

And blasting is the be all, end all.

I use my blaster every day.

Rad

ahah well, like I said I know a fraction of what you guys do. Especially someone who uses their rig daily ie Rad. None the less, im satisfied with my setup and can blast a pipe in about 20 minutes. You have to remember Rad, we aren't all producing several pipes a week and don't need to be as efficient as a fulltimer. Im just saying that @ 14cfm he'll be able to blast just fine.

and as much as I love blasting and the look of blasted pipes, sometimes its not the be all, end all (because of the start up cost). This, however, is just my opinion, which aint worth too damn much. This has been a very good thread though, and lots of info has been said (even if it had been said before). thanks guys

Evan

[RadDavis]

ahah well, like I said I know a fraction of what you guys do. Especially someone who uses their rig daily ie Rad. None the less, im satisfied with my setup and can blast a pipe in about 20 minutes. You have to remember Rad, we aren't all producing several pipes a week and don't need to be as efficient as a fulltimer. Im just saying that @ 14cfm he'll be able to blast just fine.

and as much as I love blasting and the look of blasted pipes, sometimes its not the be all, end all (because of the start up cost). This, however, is just my opinion, which aint worth too damn much. This has been a very good thread though, and lots of info has been said (even if it had been said before). thanks guys

Evan

I only speak from my experience, which is as a full time pipe maker actually making a living at it. Although I was already somewhat "established" as a pipe maker, when I got my setup, the pipes produced and sold paid for the setup in about a month.

Efficiency is key for me (see above), so I can only speak to that. I don't understand a lack of need for efficiency. Wouldn't you rather make $100/hr than $25 or $50? even if you're just working weekends? Unless you're just trying to get out of the house for as long as possible, this makes no sense to me.

Rad

[wisemanpipes]

Obviously, the question is rhetorical. I would much rather make $100/hour, but if I have to pay 1200 more to do so, then I would have to take into account how many pipes I make a year.

If It take me a long time to pay off the difference, im fine making $50/hour.

but that's enough from me, im a nobody and have already given my useless 2 cents.

[Sasquatch]

Everything in this thread is true.

You can blast with that compressor, probably for a long time. It's not a great compressor and if you are making 5-10 pipes a week then it shouldn't be bothered with.

IF you have a cabinet that will take a lot of air, the 2-stage pump is best, 2-stage compressors give a LOT more air at high pressures. They generally do not give a LOT more air at low pressures (their efficiency is lower below 100 PSI than a single stage compressor) so if you are blasting at 120 PSI with a gun that will take 10 cfm, a single stage pump is fine - ie blasting in a pretty small cabinet.

Like Rad says though, air and lots of it is the key here, and if you want to make money (= save time) you must invest in proper tooling. By and large I do this for my carpentry business and NOT for my pipes hobby. So take all of what I've said with a grain of salt.

I paid under 700 for a rebuilt compressor, it's good enough to run my crappy cabinet. If I buy a huge cabinet, I'd need to buy a better compressor too.

[e Markle]

Everything in this thread is true.

Everything Sas says is untrue. All Cretans are liars, right?

[andrew]

Everything in this thread is true.

Everything Sas says is untrue. All Cretans are liars, right?

You forgot evil beast and lazy glutton

andrew