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Mister Towed's Tai Chi build

17 Feb 2012, 12:16pm
So, I'm currently idling away the last half hour before the taxi arrives to take us to Tenerife South airport for the flight home from our half-term holiday. Then it's back to work first thing in the a.m. for me I''m afraid.

Once I've unpacked and settled back into the routine then we may see some progress on my Spyder...
20 Feb 2012, 1:26pm
Mister T, what size air compressor?
20 Feb 2012, 11:25pm
garyh wrote:
Mister T, what size air compressor?


I bought a 50 litre, 2hp oiled compressor. It has something like 8cu ft/min flow rate which was enough to power my sand blasting rig well enough, which needed at least 7 if memory serves.

Now I'm done with the chassis prep I'll be listing my compressor, blasting pot and grit on ebay shortly if anyone's interested...

I'll be using an identical new compressor for the paint as I don't want to risk getting any residual blasting grit in the mirror finish I'm expecting to achieve on my first go at spray painting. :wacko:
21 Feb 2012, 8:26am
Hi Could be interested in your sand blaster, ant rough idea how much, also, where are you?
21 Feb 2012, 8:44am
Hi Madmark, I'm in Downham Market, Norfolk, which is just off the A10 between Cambridge and King's Lynn.

I'll be listing the compressor, coiled airline, blasting pot, face protection hood and about 40kg of used blasting grit on e-bay later today for a buy-it-now price of £160 buyer to collect.

I'll put full details in the listing as to the condition of the equipment, user tips etc, and put an update on here once it's listed.
21 Feb 2012, 9:12am
Air compressor

Thanks T, just bought 3hp 50ltr which should do the trick? My other compressors are ok for nail guns etc... but the sand just poured out with no pressure behind it.:whistle: Cheers, Gary.


http://garyssammiospyderbuild.blogspot.com/
21 Feb 2012, 9:39am
Yep, 3hp should do the trick.

As for the sand just pouring out, that could be the flow regulator being opened up too far.

Mine did the same until I worked out that you need to open the air valve first, then the flow valve no more than half way before opening the nozzle. That will give you a fine stream of grit travelling at high velocity rather than loads being pushed out slowly.

Hope that helps. :biggrin:
21 Feb 2012, 9:59am
No pressure

T, i remembered ready your earlier post, so i tried that in varying positions. :ranger: Have we seen any pics of tour chassis sandblasted?
21 Feb 2012, 10:54am
garyh wrote:
T, i remembered ready your earlier post, so i tried that in varying positions. :ranger: Have we seen any pics of tour chassis sandblasted?


Going back through my pics it looks like I didn't do any deliberate before'n'after shots of the chassis.

The best I can do is this shot of the underside before blasting:



And this one of the fully refurbished chassis as it stands today:



My blaster did an excellent job of removing the rust and accumulated cow crap and only really struggled with the bitumen underseal that had been liberally applied to hide holes in the chassis from the MOT guy. And once that was warmed up with a wire brush on the old electric drill even that could easily be shifted with the blaster.

It was a very satisfying if dirty and time consuming process revealing bare metal from under all the crud, I'd recommend it to anyone!
21 Feb 2012, 2:45pm
Ebay letdown...

Hi T, could i get away with a 25 litre:ranger: capacity compressor?
21 Feb 2012, 5:42pm
garyh wrote:
Hi T, could i get away with a 25 litre:ranger: capacity compressor?


I'd saty not. It's the flow rate that's critical though. Anything less than 7cfm won't work.
22 Feb 2012, 9:28am
Me again T.

i ended up getting a new one 2hp 8.3cfm 50 ltr. £107 inc. post.:laser: So if it arrives this week will start shotblasting...:eusa_clap: Thanks for advice.
22 Feb 2012, 10:53am
That sounds like a good deal! Where did you source it?
22 Feb 2012, 12:13pm
air compressor

Here you go Andy. Its on ebay.

Item number: 180810460730
2HP 8.3 CFM 50LTR 50 LITRE AIR COMPRESSOR BRAND NEW
24 Feb 2012, 9:33am
Will possibly be re-listing my sand blasting rig on ebay next week as my buyer is turning out to be somewhat nebulous... :puke:
24 Feb 2012, 12:28pm
Mister Towed wrote:
Will possibly be re-listing my sand blasting rig on ebay next week as my buyer is turning out to be somewhat nebulous... :puke:


Time to eat humble pie now and apologise to the buyer who just drove 100 miles and paid cash in hand this morning. :tape:
26 Feb 2012, 9:45am
Spent the day clearing out the garage yesterday in preparation for the next stage of the build now the weather's warmer.

Had to pack up early though as we went to the theatre last night to see 'Fascinating Aida' - absolutely the best show I've seen in years.

Well worth going to see, they're on a UK tour at the moment, taster below if you've never heard of them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc
26 Feb 2012, 4:21pm
When you get back, T.

What and where did you get the sandblasting media? I already used the 20kg tub from Machine Mart... £37:icon_exclaim:
26 Feb 2012, 6:14pm
garyh wrote:
What and where did you get the sandblasting media? I already used the 20kg tub from Machine Mart... £37:icon_exclaim:


Ouch, that's expensive.

Try this instead:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/B-25KG-SEALEY-SHOT-BLAST-BLASTING-GRIT-25KG-BAG-/260850399015?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cbbe53727#ht_3996wt_907

I also used a 'tent' and had a tarpaulin on the floor so I was able to sweep up, sieve and re-use the grit. It loses a bit of its sharpness once it's been through the blaster a few times but it'll still do the job.
1 Mar 2012, 9:12am
I've spent the last week buying in bits 'n' bobs for the next stage of my build. These have mainly been things I need to plumb the Honda radiator in: flexible coolant hose; pipe clips; elbow joints; in-line filler; etc.

I've also bought the sheet materials for the floor and internal walls, going for a sheet of 12mm resin impregnated non-slip ply for the floor (as recommended by Psycho Pops in his build thread, although he used 18mm) and I've got to say it looks and feels perfect for the job. I also picked up a couple of sheets of 9mm shuttering ply for the internal structure, with the whole lot coming in at just over £50. Bargain.

http://www.economytimber.co.uk/products

I appreciate Syderstone may as well be on the moon as far as many of you South Westerners are concerned but it's really handy for us over here in the Mystic East - the road from King's Lynn to Fakenham is one of the emptiest in the country as there's nowt out that way but a tiny timber yard and a two horse race course. :sleep:

Will post pics next week once I've cut the floor panels.
1 Mar 2012, 9:48am
For those of us 'Up North', I've just done a bit of research :ranger: and Preston Plywood (01772 561656) have lots of stock of 12mm Resin Impregnated ply at a cost of £32.95 + VAT :eusa_dance: