Sandblasting Wooden Minis

[Martin Dewgarita]

Let me start off by saying hello to the dyers of this forum, someday maybe I'll make the leap into disc dying but for now I'll leave that to the experts. This thread has nothing to do with dying but I come asking for your expert advice/opinions on this topic. I know very little about dying and the process, nor do I know anything about sandblasting. But from my understanding, I figure the two are somewhat similar.

So, I have my minis (examples in link in sig), I'd like to create some with a stenciled sand blasted engraving, from the research I've done articles such as:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4812420_engrave-wood-sandblasting.html
or
http://www.letterville.com/steps/jerry_stephens/index.html
detail similar things that I wish to accomplish, sounds very similar to what I understand about the dying process. I have access to a basic sandblaster but have not tried it out at all, so I'm looking for some feedback:
First off, am I way off base here or could this work?
Do you as dyers use similar vinyl or would it have to be something thicker than you typically use?
Is this something you could possibly do on a plotter?
How intricate could it get on a 3-4 inch surface?
Would anybody be willing to work with me to cut stencils? How much might you charge? Willing to barter, a mini for a stencil deal?
I don't have any specifics on stencils that I'd like right now, maybe some basic letters/numbers, basic DG related images, or simple logos.

Thanks guys, I appreciate any feedback you might have for me.

 

[Fishy]

strange I was at my vinyl guy's house the other day and we were discussing his plotter ( the $10k commercial version) and what it could do, he said it could cut about anything and he'd only have to change blades if he was going to do sandblasting vinyl. I guess it's thicker and probably requires a different blade type. Not sure if he had any as I wasn't that interested, of course a "frosted" cryztal would look fairly cool. Something I may have to look at down the road.

If you want I can talk with him next time I see him, should be sometime this week. I don't know what he has, I know the vinyl I use wouldn't hold up to much blasting, but there is vinyl out there that will.

For your mini's I'd suggest maybe laser engraving, I do know a disc golf place here in Colorado Springs that does the laser engraving of some of the course signs and custom bag tags. Let me know if you want and I can get you their information as well, might be a better solution

 

[LoPan12]

I've got two types of vinyl, and if you want, I can cut you a design on a few scrap (I have scraps easily the size you need...lol...failed cuts for whatever reasons) pieces of each, and you could try 'em on on some scrap wood and see if it's strong enough. They'd fit into a regular envelope, so I'm up for sending you a few just to play around with It'll have to wait a week or so as I'm in the middle of moving though. Just hit me up with a PM in you want to take me up on this :thmbup:

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

That'd be sweet, thanks dude, no problem on the time delay, I won't be able to do much with it for about 2 weeks anyway. It'll be fun to see if we can make anything work out. I'll get back at ya with an address.:thmbup:

I've got two types of vinyl, and if you want, I can cut you a design on a few scrap (I have scraps easily the size you need...lol...failed cuts for whatever reasons) pieces of each, and you could try 'em on on some scrap wood and see if it's strong enough. They'd fit into a regular envelope, so I'm up for sending you a few just to play around with It'll have to wait a week or so as I'm in the middle of moving though. Just hit me up with a PM in you want to take me up on this :thmbup:

And Fishy, I'll keep you in mind if I need something more heavy duty it might be worth looking into what is available, thanks for the info.