Dry Sand

[alsinaj]

It's rust removing time again, and once again, no sand for my blaster. Curiously, although I live within spitting distance of the Ausable River ("Sandy River"), it's impossible to find clean, dry sand here. The play sand at the hardware store is wet and has to be sifted. Anyone have a method for quickly drying and cleaning sand say, 100 lbs at a crack?

[kendall]

I used to keep a light bulb in the bottom of my sand bucket to keep it dry. If it's already wet it may cake up.
When I collected sand from behind my house, I'd use three screens to sift, chicken wire, hardware cloth then window screen, all set in frames that stacked on a rocker like the old prospectors used.

Careful collecting from a beach, many places it can mean jail time. If you mean the Michigan Ausable River, it is definitely illegal, I've seen some heavy fines for people collecting rocks there. No idea about the one in New York.

[Willy]

Anyone have a method for quickly drying and cleaning sand say, 100 lbs at a crack?

A clean smooth concrete surface and the sun. Spread it out and sweep it up a few hours later.
I've tried this before and it does dry the sand quickly.
The only problem I had vs. store bought sand meant for sand blasters was that my particular source contained too many fines. Lots of dust, and due to the grain size being too small and rounded in shape, the cleaning ability of the sand was compromised. Ideally the sand particles should have a sharp fractured shape.
Under a magnifying glass it was like comparing crushed rock to rocks from a stream where the rocks have been rounded off due to the water.
Run a small batch first to ascertain if it will meet your expectations.

[mike4]

I have found that for rust removal , crusher dust works well is cheap and readily available , just need to sieve the fine dust out first.

For those who dont know what crusher dust is , it is the leftovers from blue metal crushing after the desired sizes are removed by screening .

Any quarry company will supply it by the truckload, good for driveways, under slabs of concrete etc.

Michael

[brian Rupnow]

Beach sand and alluvial sand (as found in the bottom of river beds) all have the corners rounded off of the grains from the action imposed on it by the movement of the water. Good sandblasting sand is made by crushing and grinding stone. All of the grains have really sharp cutting edges, and will do the job in about 1/3 of the time it takes using beach or river sand.

[Black_Moons]

Not to mention death by silicosis.

Have you tried looking for crushed glass? Its low dust, the grains don't cut you like you would expect glass to (Just feels like annoying sand if they get into your sock/whatever), and its cheap since its just recycled random glass. Low dust and low health hazard AFAIK. (Still use a mask)

Being glass, its likely inert enough to sweep into the lawn too.

Other alternatives: Knotted wire wheel on angle grinder (radial works MUCH better then cup), electrolysis.

[brian Rupnow]

Black_moons---I could be wrong on this---but--Glass is made from silica sand. I'm pretty sure you can get silicosis from crushed or powdered glass same as you can from sand.

[JRouche]

Beach sand and alluvial sand (as found in the bottom of river beds) all have the corners rounded off of the grains from the action imposed on it by the movement of the water. Good sandblasting sand is made by crushing and grinding stone. All of the grains have really sharp cutting edges, and will do the job in about 1/3 of the time it takes using beach or river sand.

Agree!! I live right next to a dry river bed. Its ALL sand, all year. But its "rolled" sand. Meaning its round. I might grab a hand of it and some quarry sand to do an under the microscope pics.

And then the biological "stuff" in river or beach sand! WoW. Ya think silicosis (problem with ALL sand) is a problem. Think about some other issues also. Really makes you strap on the mask JR

[Black Forest]

Where are you located?

[boslab]

Builders merchants sell bags of sand that is sieved and dry for jointing up concrete paviours and paving.
Watch your lungs though!, as BF said glass is good, grit is my stuff till i run out, most of the structural steel blasters i know were more concerned about lead paints common on steelwork than silicosis
Mark

[Black_Moons]

Black_moons---I could be wrong on this---but--Glass is made from silica sand. I'm pretty sure you can get silicosis from crushed or powdered glass same as you can from sand.

"Materials that don’t expose workers to crystalline silica include the following: ... Glass Beads ..."

http://www.cbs.state.or.us/osha/pdf/pubs/3301.pdf

" What can employers do to protect workers from silica dust? Change the material - Substitute crushed glass, olivine, or other material for silica sand in abrasive blasting."

http://www2.worksafebc.com/i/posters/2009/WS%2009_04.html

"Recycled crushed glass eliminates the Silicosis hazard because it is a completely inert media that contains no free silica (less than 1%) or heavy metals and produces less dust than OSHA limits. Recycled glass dust is classified by OSHA/NIOSH as a “nuisance” dust. "

http://www.turtleclanglobal.com/turtleglass.html

Seems that glass is safe, I assume because its silica is in a different state.
Glass manufacture may expose you to silica however.

[alsinaj]

Thanks for the tips concerning safety, etc., but I do have respirators. What I don't have is dry sand. Willy made a practical suggestion: spread the sand out on a clean concrete surface and sun dry it. I live in a temperate rain forest (Adirondack mountains in northern New York State, not far from Canada. Think coastal Oregon.) We have sunny days here from time to time, but not often. Any other suggestions?

[LKeithR]

This may seem redundant but I'm curious why you don't just find a supplier and buy a few bags of proper blasting sand? As others have said, river sand is the last thing you want; it's edges are dull and rounded which makes any job very slow and the results are not as good. Around here another product that's very popular is black nickel slag--it's very sharp and works really well...

[cameron]

Thanks for the tips concerning safety, etc., but I do have respirators. What I don't have is dry sand. Willy made a practical suggestion: spread the sand out on a clean concrete surface and sun dry it. I live in a temperate rain forest (Adirondack mountains in northern New York State, not far from Canada. Think coastal Oregon.) We have sunny days here from time to time, but not often. Any other suggestions?

Prop a steel plate up on rocks, build a wood fire underneath.

[wierdscience]

I live and work in an area where sand blast sand is mined and processed by train loads daily,a lot of my customers at work are in the processing business and I have designed,built and serviced a lot of their equipment.It's all river sand and it does an excellent job of blasting,most sand in NA is a mixture of silica and quartz.Blasting with sand is a spalling process,meaning the sand shatters and reduces in size upon contact with the metal.

Silicosis is a concern,but no more than any other dust.Bottom line is nothing is supposed to be in your lungs other than air period,so mask up.

Now that we have that out of the way,since your in a humid area your going to have to dry it.The way my customers do that is in a rotary kiln,picture a large diameter steel drum revolving on some rollers and a flame directed down the center.Wet sand goes in one end,dry comes out the other.

If you have a small concrete mixer available that has a metal drum,just dump the sand in,turn the mixer on and direct the heat from a heat gun or propane weed burner into the drum while it's turning.It won't take much to do a 100lbs at a time.You could do 15lbs at a time in a metal pot on your cook stove assuming the wife is out shopping.