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Poor Man's Air Blaster


TOM BUCKLEY

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I hope some of you find this interesting.

Poverty is the mother of invention. Here's the poor man's abrasive blaster.

COMPONENTS:

Paasche Air Eraser Kit. ($84.00 from Micro-Mark)

Campbell-Hausfield compressor. (~$100.00 from Harbor Freight.)

Shop-Vac, 1.5 HP (~$25.00 from Home Depot)

Table (.50 at yard sale)

File Storage Box ($2.00 at Staples)

Glass, 8x10", from an old picture frame (.25 at yard sale)

Shopping bags (.04 at Shoprite....I believe that A&P's will also workbiggrin.gif) I may upgrade to a pair of socks sans toes in the future.

Light ($15.00 from Staples)

 

Link to photos:

https://picasaweb.go...JO1qsHurY6UqgE#

Tom

 

 

EDIT: Pictures Re-added

 

Poor mans air eraserORIG.jpg

 

 

Poor mans air eraser5.jpg    Poor mans air eraser4.jpg

 

 

Poor mans air eraser3.jpg     Poor mans air eraser2.jpg

 

 

Poor mans air eraser1.jpg

 

 

 

 

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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CURMUDGEON

"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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That's an extremely clever design, Tom. I'm new here. Do you have any images up of any items you've prepared with it?

Thanks, Gary

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That's just about the coolest thing I have ever seen, good job. Would like to see some before and after photo's of your work.--Tom

Grow Old Kicking And Screaming !!
"Don't Tread On Me"

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Yankee ingenuity!

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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Guest N.AL.hunter

I too would be interested in seeing how well this preps. Please keep us informed with some pictures. I am looking for something real cheap myself.

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I really appreciate all of the positive comments. I'll poke around for some photos of specimens which I've prepped.

I just wanted to make sure you understand a very important point.....a well prepared fossil is accomplished with 1% equipment and 99% skill and experience of the preparer. I put this system together to see if I could and to clean out the segments and eyes of a few trilobites. These are areas that you just can't get to with a brass brush and dental picks. Even with the air blaster i left some matrix because to get that last little bit would have softened some of the intricate details.

My system should be considered a starting point to be built on with experience. Type of abrasive, size of particle, air pressure, amount of abrasive introduced into the air stream, size of nozzle are all factors to be adjusted while prepping any specimen. So....I'll post some photos of my prepped specimens but they are not perfect and you will undoubtedly surpass my humble ability with practice.

So, my system shows that you don't need to break the bank for an air abrasive system. The rest is up to you.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

STROKE SURVIVOR

CANCER SURVIVOR

CURMUDGEON

"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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Tom,

Thanks for posting this.

I am in the midst of gathering my equiptment to create a similar setup. (Have a compressor,... now, ... just need everything else!) :D

Regards,

    Tim    -  VETERAN SHALE SPLITTER

   MOTM.png.61350469b02f439fd4d5d77c2c69da85.png      PaleoPartner.png.30c01982e09b0cc0b7d9d6a7a21f56c6.png.a600039856933851eeea617ca3f2d15f.png     Postmaster1.jpg.900efa599049929531fa81981f028e24.jpg    VFOTM.png.f1b09c78bf88298b009b0da14ef44cf0.png  VFOTM  --- APRIL - 2015  

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."

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Tom,

Thanks for posting this.

I am in the midst of gathering my equiptment to create a similar setup. (Have a compressor,... now, ... just need everything else!) :D

Regards,

Tim,

You're welcome.

I just wanted to show that the naysayers are not totally accurate and you needn't spend big $ to enjoy some air-blasting.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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I can certainly relate to being "budget sensitive". Out of curiosity, how long does one of those little abrasive canisters last? It seems like you'd be stopping every couple of minutes to refill. Is it correct that max. air pressure is 65 psi? Finally, what is the diameter of the opening at the tip?

There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else

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Instead of the bags on the openings, how about the flexible rubber things from a garbage disposal? just an idea.

http://www.lowes.com...ld|0%26page%3D2

Thanks for the idea. I'll go to Lowes and check them out.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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Outstanding set up. very well done.

Thank you.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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I can certainly relate to being "budget sensitive". Out of curiosity, how long does one of those little abrasive canisters last? It seems like you'd be stopping every couple of minutes to refill. Is it correct that max. air pressure is 65 psi? Finally, what is the diameter of the opening at the tip?

The canister will last only a couple of minutes if run at full abrasive flow, the abrasive is of a large particle size, run at higher pressures, and use the bigger orifice nozzle. If you use the smaller nozzle, run at lower pressure, run a particle size of about 50 micron, and use the smaller nozzle you will need to refill in about 5 minutes if run flat out. At this point I run it on and off so it lasts a fair amount of time. I kind of like the small canister as it makes changing abrasive easier.

The max air pressure, per a conversation with Paasche, is actually 80 psi. My unit comes with a nozzle that is .023 but you can purchase a nozzle that is .036.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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I can certainly relate to being "budget sensitive". Out of curiosity, how long does one of those little abrasive canisters last? It seems like you'd be stopping every couple of minutes to refill. Is it correct that max. air pressure is 65 psi? Finally, what is the diameter of the opening at the tip?

Brilliant set-up, and good questions by Northern Sharks. Also, I imagine that the shop vac is LOUD, so some ear protection might be a good idea. For those considering it, I also imagine that the shop vac is not really meant to be run for hours at a time, and that it might implode eventually. Keep us posted.

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Brilliant set-up, and good questions by Northern Sharks. Also, I imagine that the shop vac is LOUD, so some ear protection might be a good idea. For those considering it, I also imagine that the shop vac is not really meant to be run for hours at a time, and that it might implode eventually. Keep us posted.

The Shop - Vac IS loud. As far as it's longevity goes.....I only run it 1/2 hour or so at a time. My system probably won't satisfy the needs of a professional preparer. The primary thing demonstrated by my system is that you can obtain an air-blaster for < $100.00 and enjoy it's benefits without spending BIG $$$$.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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Yes. Recycle from the box, not the vacuum. Make sure it is sifted to the correct size. You can recycle several times, but the grains get rounder and hence do not have as strong cutting ability. Some people like this. It is better for finishing (dolomite and limestone). ALO would not recommend for finishing! But you can recycle it also.....

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  • 2 months later...

Yes. Recycle from the box, not the vacuum. Make sure it is sifted to the correct size. You can recycle several times, but the grains get rounder and hence do not have as strong cutting ability. Some people like this. It is better for finishing (dolomite and limestone). ALO would not recommend for finishing! But you can recycle it also.....

Interesting I had already ordered one before reading this thread. Should be here this week or next. I have a paashe air compressor already for an airbrush that I can run at 20 to 45 PSI which they say is perfect for this unit. I was thinking of using baking soda or dolomite as the blasting media in this unit as they are super cheap. I would think that Aluminum oxide might be too abrasive for fossil work and it seems fairly expensive if you order it from an airbrush supplier in smaller quanitiies.

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I noticed that no one has actually posted a photo of a specimen cleaned with this type of set up. Back in the days when I was a poor man I had an almost identical set up. I used it for years (probably about 10 years) before I could afford a better machine. Here is a specimen I cleaned many years ago and have never gone back to try and improve on it using my latest machine. It actually did a pretty good job. Yes, I had to refill the container a 1000+ times and it took many many many hours, but in the end it came out quite nice. It is Arkona Shale, so it is quite soft but I have used it on other much harder stuff. I would consider this set up, only if you cannot afford the same type of set up with the quart container. It may be a few buck more but not the thousands for a professional setup. When I used this setup, the quart container was not available.

I went for thePaasche Air Scribe, the one with the powder reservoir mounted on top, was that it had a flow control. The remote unit with the 1 quart container does not have a flow control, but has a couple of advantages. First of all the 1 quart container comes in handy once you've decided on the type of abrasive to be used on a particular specimen. Secondly, not having the powder reservoir mounted on top gives you an extra 3 inches of space before bumping against the viewing glass. In my case, I would then be able to use a higher magnification Opti-Visor and still be able to use the air scribe.

I think I might buy the remote air scribe and figure out a way to add a flow control valve to the line.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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A guy in indiana was selling these a few years ago. I copied the pics so sometime i could try an make one myself. Looks pretty simple to build and the most expensive thing on it is the abrasive nozzle handpiece. hes not on the web anymore.

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The remote scribe (aecr) with the 1 qt. container has an air pressure limit of only 50 psi. This may not be enough depending on what your doing

There's no limit to what you can accomplish when you're supposed to be doing something else

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The remote scribe (aecr) with the 1 qt. container has an air pressure limit of only 50 psi. This may not be enough depending on what your doing

That's another reason I went for the Air Eraser with the integral powder reservoir. I called Paasche and they said that unit could handle 80 lbs. I've subsequently learned that I only need 10 -50 lbs.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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A guy in indiana was selling these a few years ago. I copied the pics so sometime i could try an make one myself. Looks pretty simple to build and the most expensive thing on it is the abrasive nozzle handpiece. hes not on the web anymore.

This looks to be the abrasive unit developed and sold by Carl Cook, St.Louis Institute for Paleontology, of St. Charles, Missouri. I've used one for several years and works pretty good.

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The whole point of starting this thread was to show that an economical and effective air blaster can be had for$100. With my unit, which only has about an ounce container mounted on top, you can open the flow control all the way and it would still take 5 min. to empty it.

I can imagine that the 1 quart container would take a lot longer.

These Paasche units are not designed for use by a high-volume preparation lab but rather for the occasional user, such as myself, who preps a trilobite about every three weeks. Granted, other units on the market with price tags of $400-$4000 or more versatile and hold a lot more powder. But, like I said, for $100, the Paasche units serve the purpose for me and I imagine many other people as well.

Also, keep in mind that amateurs such as myself are constantly changing abrasive media in the quest for the right powder for the job. In light of this, having a small container to empty and refill is actually a benefit.

Tom

AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGIST

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"THERE IS A VERY FINE LINE BETWEEN AVOCATIONAL PALEONTOLOGY AND MENTAL ILLNESS"

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