I have a el cheapo sand blaster like the plastic ones Sears sells, as well as a pressure type that Horrible Fright sells and both work equally well. They do require a good supply of air for them to work s well as a good supply of sand. While regular sand may work in it, you will not get as good of cutting action with regular old sand as you will with an abrasive grit or special sand for sand blasting. You will go thorugh a heap of sand and air in a short order, so if you place a tarp around three sides and the bottom you cn easily reclaim sand by scooping it up and running it through a screen to get the junk out of it, and it will remain dry.
Long sleeves, eye protection (preferably a full mask and h ood) and gloves are necessary unless you enjoy getting stung ( I hear osme folks are into stuff like that ;-),
Sand blasting is a good quick (if you have a decent blaster unit and suitable air compressor) to remove rust and paint.
You have to watch on some metals as if they are thin it is possible to warp them. As the sand is used and recylced it will get broken down finer and finer and after awhile it will make a lot of dust. Thats when its time to pitch that sand and use new again.
I often bring back a heap of nice pure white beach sand from the Gulf when I make a trip and have a nice supply of this fine sugar granule sized sand. It lasts pretty long in a sand blaster and makes a beautiful finish. Takes a considerable amount of time to make sure its all dry, but its free and my friend on the gulf has a loader so getting a load in the truck is a piece of cake. Its basically a silica sand. YOu may want to consider a respirator as well as sandblasting can lead to lung problems and silicosis.