Sandblasting
I have a sandblasting cabinet, Mike. It has it's advantages, and is a useful tool for surface enhancements.
Here's my take: you can purchase a lower end set-up, i.e., the kind that you must use outside, and the material will go all over the place. Wearing protective clothing is a must. The downside to this set up is that the material will get expensive, because it won't recycle easily, and you'll be limited to using it during good weather. If you opt for a sandblasting cabinet, you're looking at more money, plus you'll need a place to set it up. Some workshops need to share the space with the family van, the washer/dryer. Cabinets take up a lot of room.
Some woods take to sandblasting better than others. Oak, ash, elm are woods that come to mind -- anything with open grain. The sandblasting materials will etch away in between the grain. You'll want to stay away from material that is colored, like Black Beauty, or Black Diamond. Although it's aggressive, the colored material will stay in the wood, and it's impossble to remove, unless you want the color. I use silica, and have also used glass bead. Either one is fine, doesn't color your wood, but it takes awhile to work.
In addition to the sandblaster, you'll need an adequate air compressor. I started out with a small Porter Cable, and after just a few seconds, the compressor kicked on, and I had to stop and wait for the tank to fill. I replaced the PC with a 60 gal. Husqvarna. It will still kick on within a few minutes of running, but doesn't bog down, and keeps up with the blasting.
I guess evaluate what you really want to do. If space and money are no problem, then go for a cabinet. I wouldn't have paid the $$ for a cabinet, but it was given to me by a family member. I use it occasionally, but not enough to make it worth the several hundred dollars that it would have cost to buy one.