Willy Nelson
1st January 2017, 09:45 PM
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen
For years I have relied upon the generosity of mates to use their high pressurewater blaster within their yards for blasting burls. When I built my vast new workshoplast year, I decided I needed to design and build a purpose built blastingarea to remove the bark and detritus from burls prior to turning or carving them.This is what I came up with from my previous experiences.
I found theaction of using high pressure water to remove the bark etc a dirty and messyactivity and cold activity. Inevitably, I would end up covered in water andpieces of bark from splash back. Whilst this cannot be avoided, I decided thata good design would reduce the occurrence of this happening.
Previously, Ihave used old pallets to rest the burls on, old boards etc when blasting. So Ineeded something that was strong, yet would allow the debris to pass throughokay, and also prevent the burls from shifting whilst being blasted. I had somegalvanized mesh (with 100 x 100 spaces) from a previous build (wine rack fromhell), so thought that the mesh would work well. I was half right. The weightof the burls and the force of the jet caused the burls to bounce on the mesh,so I braced it up with a steel cross member. Perfect!!!!
The location ofthe blasting area has a natural drop due to an embankment, so any material andwater would drain away from me and at the same time, water the trees and shrubsin the area, who may also benefit from the bark as a mulch. I have lined thedrain area with large 600 x 600mm pavers as a spillway.
You will noticethat I have laid the bricks to raise the mesh at the back, thus presenting theburls to me for ease of access. I screwed the mesh and the steel brace totimber boards.
This has workedbrilliantly for me, and also a few of my wood turning mates. The concept hasproved extremely beneficial for me, so when I get some time, I will cement thepavers in place, and then mount the boards to the top of the pavers to make itmore permanent.
I have noticedthat I do not get as wet or dirty with this configuration, but it is stillconsidered a summer occupation.
By way of PPE,I wear crocs (safety ones of course), a raincoat, eye and ear protection.
The highpressure water blaster is approximately 2000 psi and a flow rate of 21 litresper minute, IIRC.
The photoincludes burls from Peppermint and Jarrah trees. It shows the side and front view of the blasting area
Cheers
Willy
Jarrahland
For years I have relied upon the generosity of mates to use their high pressurewater blaster within their yards for blasting burls. When I built my vast new workshoplast year, I decided I needed to design and build a purpose built blastingarea to remove the bark and detritus from burls prior to turning or carving them.This is what I came up with from my previous experiences.
I found theaction of using high pressure water to remove the bark etc a dirty and messyactivity and cold activity. Inevitably, I would end up covered in water andpieces of bark from splash back. Whilst this cannot be avoided, I decided thata good design would reduce the occurrence of this happening.
Previously, Ihave used old pallets to rest the burls on, old boards etc when blasting. So Ineeded something that was strong, yet would allow the debris to pass throughokay, and also prevent the burls from shifting whilst being blasted. I had somegalvanized mesh (with 100 x 100 spaces) from a previous build (wine rack fromhell), so thought that the mesh would work well. I was half right. The weightof the burls and the force of the jet caused the burls to bounce on the mesh,so I braced it up with a steel cross member. Perfect!!!!
The location ofthe blasting area has a natural drop due to an embankment, so any material andwater would drain away from me and at the same time, water the trees and shrubsin the area, who may also benefit from the bark as a mulch. I have lined thedrain area with large 600 x 600mm pavers as a spillway.
You will noticethat I have laid the bricks to raise the mesh at the back, thus presenting theburls to me for ease of access. I screwed the mesh and the steel brace totimber boards.
This has workedbrilliantly for me, and also a few of my wood turning mates. The concept hasproved extremely beneficial for me, so when I get some time, I will cement thepavers in place, and then mount the boards to the top of the pavers to make itmore permanent.
I have noticedthat I do not get as wet or dirty with this configuration, but it is stillconsidered a summer occupation.
By way of PPE,I wear crocs (safety ones of course), a raincoat, eye and ear protection.
The highpressure water blaster is approximately 2000 psi and a flow rate of 21 litresper minute, IIRC.
The photoincludes burls from Peppermint and Jarrah trees. It shows the side and front view of the blasting area
Cheers
Willy
Jarrahland