WOW! I just tried sandblasting my forms for the first time. I did 7 forms in about 15 minutes. I will never go back to ruffing them up by hand.
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what is your setup for blasting? ty
nothing against blasting but i just cant see what the hasstle is
i use one of those wood handle scrathers from WASCO
i can do a whole deer in a couple of minutes
and i dont have to fool around with hoses and sand and such
just a little sweeping
i hade the chance to show another taxidermist recently how to hold the handle in a different way "like a paint brush"and drag it
he got this stupid look on his face
and said wow i was trying to scratch it brittles up
i guess if i was not already pessed for room i could fit some more crap in my area but im like a sardine in here
i just dont see the need or feel its that big a problem IMO
paul e
That was my reaction as well. WOW. I didn't feel that I needed to blast the forms either. After trying one I saw the differance - it opens up the foam for better adhesion without the loss of any detail.
Paule - it might not be any faster that hand roughing but the quality is superior in my opinion.
www.realisticmounts.com
I have read a lot of posts saying that they can ruff up a form in a matter of minutes. To ruff up a form and I mean really fuff up the form, not just scratching it up, it takes me about 15 minutes and then my arm is sore afterwards. I guess sandblasting is one of those things that some people will never say works or is worth it, kind of like fleshing with a wire wheel on a bench grinder, which by the way is how I flesh all my deer capes (Flesh not shave) although that will work to, but I prefer my fleshing machine for thinning.
you dont know what you dont know
so maybe ill give it a wirl one day
Stout Ruffer! I love this tool!
Paul e don't worry I know what we're doing when we ruff by hand those boys at the top of the page like to speed up the monting process but we take our time and put love into our mounts the simpless of ways. QUALITY NOT QUANITY, PS, I just started doing this stuff and ruffing by hand takes APPROX. 2-3 Mins.
I've been doing this shat for 30 years and there is no way you can properly rough a form in two or three minutes. YOu may put scratches all over it but thats it. I want it down to the foam with no skin.
Just lightly ruff the form and sand the detail areas (the muscle and depressions) real good with 60 grit sand paper and then prime the form with fin backing cream oh and don't forget to use a good hide paste. Remember that the waxy surface on the form goes pretty deep. So by the time you try to sand all the waxy surface away the form will most likely be the size of your little finger.
if we all had a blaster, we would use them, but I am not going to go out and buy one just because it does a better job. My customers dont care if I scratch or blast the form. If I had a garage, and if I had other uses for a blaster as a welder or auto body guy would have, I would get a blaster, but I wont buy one just to do forms. The sand is messy if you dont have a containment booth for it.
Hand sanding, stout roughing tryed them all. I am currently sand blasting 10 forms at a time. (And love it) Saves my wrist from getting cramped up. Mr.T is right though my drive way is starting to look like a beach.
And to all you doubters, the form scratcher from WASCO WILL do the job in 5 minutes. It sounds as if you guys haven't learned what the only purpose to scratching really is: give the glue a surface to purchase on. You don't have to grind the form down, just break that mold release polish on the form. The back of the neck and sides of the neck don'et need that much attention. Where's the hide going to go anyway. The facial detailing is OK, but the eyesockets and around the antler slot are really useless as you're covering that with clay and Bondo or papier mache. Why bother there.
Joseph, that Stout Ruffer is OK for some tough form alterations, but as a glue prep tool, it actually sucks canal water. It works better if you turn the pad around backwards than it does forward when you're prepping the manikin.
John Creager was the first person I heard of using the sand blaster though I know no idea is original most times. I'm sure it works well, but I enjoy the break and I like spending time with prep work. I like prep work one helluva lot better than I like finish work.
FIRST of all I'm not sand blasting an oil rig to be painted the next day I'm just easily ruffing up a piece of foam that wants a little glue on it. Look YA"LL just save some money and sand and buy sand paper at WALY WORLD.
I feel like a moron! Mine is backwards! That thing would dig a hole if it was on the right way! Truth is, I don't remove all the mold release or scratch the whole form. I do scratch most of the face and put some deep scratches around the eyes and lips. Then I hit the brisket and armpits real good. Finish off the front and sides of the neck. It only takes but a few minutes. Any place you scratch has to have glue. Where my seam is on a deer I like to keep clean, so I don't scratch it.