Crosby Sandblast

[ArtGuy]

hey all, I have another sandblast to show. The inlay is White Holly. It is an almost pure white wood that has a very subtle grain to it. I thought it was pretty cool. I guess they use it often in custom pool cues.

Here are the stats:

Height: 2 1/2"

Length: 5 5/8"

Tobacco Chamber: 3/4" dia. by 1 3/8" deep

Weight: 1.4oz (39.68 gr)

[geigerpipes]

thats a nice one john good blast and the white holly looks marveuolus

you can join my circus any time

Love

[achduliebe]

Beautiful pipe John...I see that I am going to have to find me some white holly. That is outstanding. Awesome shape and wonderful sandblasting.

[Tano]

Lovely,

Everytime I see one of your pipes they emit to me a certain subtle classy elegance, that almost personifies them. They look proud and they are never disapointing to the eye, but definetly portray a strong sophistication. Always enjoyable and always looking forward to the next one. Your background and talent definetly shows in your work. Thats why you are the ARTGUY.
Best to you
Tano

[sethile]

Wow, beautiful pipe John! I really like the white holly, and it's a beautiful shape, and a very nice blast. Nice ring grain, and a very nice finish... I'm amazed at how great your first two blasts look!

If you get a chance I'd be very interested in your procedure on these, especially how you finished them after the blast, the media used, nozle size, preasure, and how long the blasting took.

I'm chomping at the bit to start blasting, but still have some re-wiring to do, and I still need to find some money to buy the blaster and media.... My wife's brithday and our aniversary are coming up. Maybe she'd like a new blasting rig :dunno:

[ArtGuy]

Thanks guys I really appreciate the comments especially the comments about them being proud and elegant. That is exactly what I strive for. I want them all to have a certain confident look.

I wish I could go more detail about the blasting however I am simply using whatever the setup is at the Purdue design studio. I know that the media is grey and I have been told it is "fine grit". I have no clue what the nozzle size is and the compressor is a huge gas powered jobber that I think is located on the roof.

I do know I tried blasting at first with 60 pounds of pressure and got virtually nowhere. Then I was told about the dial on the side of the cabinet and boosted it to 85 (which is where I blasted my last two). I then lowered the pressure back to 60 and gave it a quick dusting because I figured it might polish things up a bit. I am not certain it mattered but that was my thinking. It may have actually served to flatten it a bit.

Other than that I cannot really see what is going on in the cabinet so most of it is done by feeling the pressure of the blaster on the stummel. That is mostly how I judge the angle and direction. I spend a lot of time stopping and peeking in the cabinet and blasting some more.

I tried to figure out a formula for the direction to blast and such but found that each of these pipes behaved differently. The first one I blasted up toward the rim and then down again. This last one I more or less dusted evenly all over and then put emphasis in one direction. I expect they will get better as I fiddle with different media and pressures but I don't think there is a specific recipe you can follow to every time. Right now I am just playing and experimenting.

Right now I am still taking things slowly and not worrying about getting a Ruthenburg / Davis type blast right away. I will worry about that once I feel confident in producing a competent and saleable surface. I tend to work a while on the fundamental techniques of doing things before trying anything too outlandish. That being said, I am also always mindful not to be afraid to ruin a pipe by trying new things.

The finishing I do just like a rusticated pipe only blasts seem to be easier to wax and polish. There is still some cleanup that needs to be done with a nylon brush to get wax out of the crevasses but not as much with a rusticated finish. Staining and such is the same. I don't touch it with tripoli or white at all. Just stain, wipe and wax.

This inspiration on this pipe actually came from looking at faucet designs some product design students did while interning at Delta faucet. Faucets are very elegant with clean lines much like a pipe. I am surprised by how much stuff other than pipes I look to for ideas for proportions and such.

The name of the pipe, "Ganzo" means Goose in Portuguese. Not that, that has anything to do with faucets but my daughter thought the pipe looked like a bird’s neck and head. :dunno: .

[sethile]

I wish I could go more detail about the blasting however I am simply using whatever the setup is at the Purdue design studio. I know that the media is grey and I have been told it is "fine grit".

Thanks John! Actually that helps a bunch, along with the rest of your description. I'm trying to find out if we have a blasting set up on campus here (Murray State University) where I work. Thought that might be fun to play with until I can get one set up in my shop at home. No luck so far...

The grey media might be Silicon Carbide. It's supposed to be the hardest and longest lasting of the medias. Apparently it cuts faster than most other options. Comes in lots of grits. Your blasts look great, so that much is good!. One thing though, make sure you wear a good resperator. I'd be nerviuos about it. I've heard it's bad stuff to be breathing. I bet the set up there at Perdue is top knotch and likely minizes the health risks. Sounds like Aluminum Oxide and Walnut shell might also be good options. Tons of different options out there....

I'd love to here more about the variuos options if any of you other blasters have some experineces to share.

[RadDavis]

Hi Scott,

Don't waste time or money on walnut shells.

Rad

[KurtHuhn]

Or corn cob. Leave that stuff for polishing shell casings.