Vibratory Tumbler

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Rice Nuker

Let the Coal Roll!
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Well, I just picked up this vibratory tumbler from Eastwood. My initial plan was to eliminate holding parts in front of my sand blaster for hours to get them ready for zinc, nickel or blackening.

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-hd-vibratory-tumbler-w-media-pushbutton.html

The price is not right thats for sure. But everything is frigging over priced these days.

The unit seems like it will last a few years, it is better than the harbor freight units but it is still mostly plastic.

The unit is moderately loud like about as annoying as a small washing machine on spin cycle cause all the parts are rattling around. So I put it behind the house to run.

First test I tossed in some bolts from my duster that I had already half *** sand blasted and after 24 hours they were the same. First media batch was green pyramids, red polishing media (both from eastwood) and some busted up porcelain dining plates.

The bolts and parts came out about the same as they went in basically. Issues observed was the red polishing media tended to pack inside small holes preventing the holes from getting any action (smaller sharper media needed). Second issue is the threads in the low points were not touched. So narrow small low spots or holes were not getting action.


Next test I stepped up the juice.

I had two hand fulls of lag bolts, regular bolts, nuts and large washers which were rusted to heck on one side or all over and or had about 4 thick layers of household paint gummed on from this big wooden box I build 3 years back and was sitting in the rain for like 3 years. So parts were gummed with layers of paint and also rusted to shi%.

I put in green pyramids, crushed up porcelain dinner plates (smashed up with a hammer) 2 cups of sand, quarter cup of generic draino, 4 teaspoons of generic diswashing liquid and 2 cups of water. Then let it run.

If a person could get their hands on caustic soda :rock: or oven cleaner and mix it with water this would remove paint as well.

18 hours later everything is close to spotless.

Attached is a picture of the after 18 hours washer that previously had one side rusted to hell and the other side with 4 layers of household paint. The friggin zinc coating is almost gone, the paint is gone, the rust is 97% gone.

After the batch is done (i am doing 24 hours) I chuck the stuff in a medium holes strainer and dip it in a bucket of water to remove the sand and detergents, then a garden hose wash, then i dump the media across a table and easily sort the parts out the media and re-use the remaining media. The sand and detergents waste I send to Al Gore on a pallet. I immediately submerge the parts in a bucket half full of denatured alcohol with a lid to prevent air from contacting them until i am ready to plate or coat them.

So now my plan is to prep parts for the sand blaster using the tumbler since the drain-o and detergent will obliterate paint and grease and the tumbling medias will remove majority of rust, the final sand blasting of little parts will go super quick. This means less ruined gloves and standing in front of the blasting cabinet. Then I will be using http://www.caswellplating.com/ electroless nickel and metal blackening. I will add more pictures soon.

If a person did not have a sand blaster I believe my second process followed by 8 hours with the media and 2 cups of vinegar followed by a good fresh water rinse would yield a part that could be plated or painted and would last

I prefer sand blasting as the final as the surface is roughened and the deep threads get more action.





So below is the second test batch result after 18 hours in the tumbler. I will post more pictures soon.
 

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I use corn husk media. Add something like brasso to it and bango! Your parts will look brand new.
 
So corn husk media and brasso will remove 4 layers of gummed up paint and thick rust, remove years of grease as well as get the threads clean / ready to paint or plate? I just find that hard to believe.

I suppose it is possible. I kind-of think more powerful media and detergent / bases may be needed to get me where I am going from where I am coming from.
 
Well, it appears the base, alkali or caustic / water mix (draino n detergent w/ water) tumbled for 2 days did very well at removing 99 % paint, 95% rust and after the caustic tumble, several rinses submerged and sloshed in clean water.

But after that I decided to remove the little grey pits still present that appeared to have black rust in them and the deep fine threads on the bolts had the same black tarnish.

I found some ph down for pools in the pool shed and figured that was decent for eating rust since it was some variation of half *** acid and it was all I had around. Dumped a little in there w/ my media combo and water and let it rip for 24 hours. I checked it after 18 hours and it was looking great, the black pits and threads were like 99% gone, but the water acid liquid had to a red gel. So, I turned it off and did some errands. Came back later and all my shi% had kind of rusted on the surface. I fired the tumbler back up for a couple hours and proceeded to do several rinses and submerge in alcohol. The parts still had a little rust stain on them from the mistake of leaving the stuff in the tumbler off and sitting. Since this is just lags and bolts I use to build temp projects I dont care.

Dried the crap off, heated it all with a butane torch mildly to remove all moisture and tossed it into the blackening solution. Rinsed it off twice, dried it again and tossed it in the "sealer oil". Attached are the results of that tumbler experiment and one washer that did not get in the batch so you can see what it started out like. The lower pics show the parts after blackening and the still wet with "sealing oil" which is probably light machine or drilling oil.

My next experiment will involve pure lye mixed with water, sand, tumbling media and some rocks or smashed porcelain plates and a couple water rinses, followed by a short tumble in "Evapo-Rust" from Caswell Inc.

As of now, I think this tumbler can kiss my a$$. Mainly because it cost 250 and it is made with 40 dollars of parts most of which are plastic. I am sure it has purpose like polishing something, but tumbling cleaning nuts bolts and parts for coating or plating, there is no substitute for sand or media blasting.

I still think 1 day with lye / water may prove to be a prep for blasting as it will be grease and paint free (we will see next).

Blasting gets all threads and crevices and pits completely spotless (reckon everyone knows that).



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Well previous to the tumbler, I had some parts from under my car that I sand blasted, they were a mildly rusty and lightly greasy. I spent some time in the blast cabinet to perfectly clean them followed by submersion in a bucket of denatured alcohol. Then I set them in the sun to evap the alcohol, followed by the blackening procedure. They have been sitting in the sun for a couple days and the "sealing oil" had dried to a matte sheen.

Here are the after pics. Dang, no before pics.

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good post. i have been wondering how well the caswell blackening kit worked. been considering it myself.

Thanks! I am hoping to give a best practices based on experiments for folks who are in smaller or city operations where they cannot sand blast small parts to restore them. I have my doubts about the cold blackening with the oil sealer regarding 10 - 15 years of longevity / protection from corrosion. I have no current clue what could be better at longevity than cold blackening on steel (at home) for replicating the factory blackened appearance. I am looking for alternatives. Any input would be appreciated.
 
Awesome posts!

Just a tidbit about your blast cabinet and small parts. Pick up a plastic mesh silverware basket from an old dishwasher at a yard sale or thrift store and put your nuts and bolts in it. You can blast through the mesh without damaging the basket too much or dropping the hardware into the hopper. I also keep pairs of dedicated needle nose and slip joint pliers in the cabinet at all times ... it saves you a lot of money on gloves when handling small parts.

Keep up those experiments and this cool thread. :-D
 
I wondered about the longevity of it also. I've also looked at their cad and zinc coating as well. Im thinking for cars that aren't driven often and garaged it would hold up well, but on those that aren't fair weather cars only it may not last long.
 
Great work. One word of advice though. Be very careful mixing random chemicals. Gaseous by products can irritate eyes and skin.
 
When I worked at a diesel shop they had a industrial tumbler, they used a type of cutting fluid and small grey triangular stone, it cleaned the snot out of the metal thrown in. We used it to refurbish antique diesel injectors, we also had a blackening process......
 
Great work. One word of advice though. Be very careful mixing random chemicals. Gaseous by products can irritate eyes and skin.

Thank you.

I probably should put this down since someone may kill, injure or blind them selves if they go mixing chemicals too enthusiastically and then make a nice barley stew or eye wash with the concoction.

There aren't any random mixes here. Lye can burn a hole in the skin. It will most definitely blind you (maybe permanently). Rust dissolver or similar acids can blind, maybe. There will be considerable gaseous discharge over time (that time could be instant or 48 hours). Some of the gases will be dangerous if inhaled and or explosive if confined in a unventilated area and then ignited by the pilot light of your hot water heater. Hydrogen, co2, NH3, oxygen offhand.

If someone mixed a tumbler batch with a base such as lye or drain opener, then did not rinse the batch very thoroughly, then added the acid such as rust dissolver, there may be a mild to violent reaction that could foam up and overflow, release poisonous or explosive gases, create a large amount of heat and melt your containers, mysteriously dump it self on your head and laugh in your face. Gotta be very careful with powerful chemicals.

I guess I assumed everyone on here is familiar with handling standard house hold chemicals such as lye, bleach, draino, baking powder, muriatic acid, pool chemicals, iced tea, dishwashing liquid, fuels, gunpowder. This is what I have use in my kitchen since I was 5 years old (had dish-wash duty all the dang time) so I figured most people used these as well.
 
When I worked at a diesel shop they had a industrial tumbler, they used a type of cutting fluid and small grey triangular stone, it cleaned the snot out of the metal thrown in. We used it to refurbish antique diesel injectors, we also had a blackening process......

Like a heavy solvent? Kerosene type oil? :)
I gotta look up cutting oil.
Those industrial tumblers are sooo expensive. I reckon a big haus tumbler would work way better than this little vibrating turd I have.

One of my tests will use denatured alcohol since it wont harm the vibrators plastic bowl I dont think, and it is not made of bases or acids so it may be more easy to work with and disposal of waste products wont require as much work.
 
So corn husk media and brasso will remove 4 layers of gummed up paint and thick rust, remove years of grease as well as get the threads clean / ready to paint or plate? I just find that hard to believe.

I suppose it is possible. I kind-of think more powerful media and detergent / bases may be needed to get me where I am going from where I am coming from.

Well that's weird.I replied but the post is gone..? Not the first time for that..

Anyways I use corn husk as a final step . The first step is either evaporust or sandblasting. The second is wire wheeling at my bench grinder. Then it goes to the tumbler for final polish. My tumbler is one I use for my gun brass as well.

Anyways,the last step using corn husk will remove some stuff,but mostly it just gives a jewel like finish. Corn husk does seem to last a good long time!
 
Well that's weird.I replied but the post is gone..? Not the first time for that..

Anyways I use corn husk as a final step . The first step is either evaporust or sandblasting. The second is wire wheeling at my bench grinder. Then it goes to the tumbler for final polish. My tumbler is one I use for my gun brass as well.

Anyways,the last step using corn husk will remove some stuff,but mostly it just gives a jewel like finish. Corn husk does seem to last a good long time!



Oh, roger.. I have been thinking about the multi-stage process to get a polished surface for plating of more aesthetic items. :)
 
Well, I tried another batch. Pulled the last few screws and clips off my car from under the hood. Before and after pics. The mix I used this time was green pyramids, 2 cups sand chunks of ceramic plate and a cup of denatured alcohol.

Ran it for 48 hours. You can see some stuff came out nearly spotless. Others a little of the undercoat and seam sealer outside or inside couple clips did not come off. The metal bracket still had some rust. Also the stupid green pyramids blocked some cleaning action as they stuffed theirselves inside the clips. I pulled the worst parts aside for another experiment and blackened the rest.
 

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More pictures.

Shows the results, also the rejects at the bottom of the post.

Most the black on the parts after cleaning was the original metal blackening that did not get stripped off. Nice thing is with the alcohol it is pretty much oil free when it comes out of the tumbler. Excluding the few pieces with undercoat still on them..

Shows the side profile of using this ceramic or what ever porcelain dinner plate busted up into pieces for media. The coating surface is harder than the center which results in there always being an edge on the chunk or "media" . That makes it great for tumbling as it will have an ever present edge to beat stuff up with .

Dang 1/4" pyramids round off, loose their edge, turn to worthless beads in my opinion. Then they insist on cloging into my threads. I am going to be running sand, and larger maybe 1/2" ceramic media soon so either the sand or small grit media will get inside the threads and do some action or simply stay the F out and beat up the outside of the part.
 

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Okay, after tumbling a couple batches of bolts and nuts, I have decided that this vibratory tumbler is just not for prepping bolts and nuts for plating or coating. I called Eastwood and they agreed to allow me to return it (store credit). They even credited my shipping (one way).

So, Eastwood is quite a customer satisfaction oriented operation. I will buy lots more mumbo jumbo from them.

Next I am debating on a fairly large rock tumbler. Also, I am buying a blast cabinet from HF since there is obviously no substitute for sand blasting and my big blaster is just too powerful, noisy, cumbersome and burns thru too much sand to do little nuts and bolts.
 
I bought one from a sports supplier and tried different media. I was disappointed in the results so I sold it to a customer of mine that reloads ammo. I'm sure it does a great job on brass shell casings but not with grungy small car parts. Leanna gave me a tip: load the sandblast cabinet full including your small parts in a basket. As you blast the larger parts the smaller parts will get blasted with the sand flying around inside the cabinet. It sure helps. toolman
 
:-D ... glad that tip's working on for you Mike.

Nuker, the baskets I've got used to be silverware containers inside of dishwashers. Find them at used appliance stores, thrift shops (or maybe your wife has an old one stashed somewhere ... you know we keep that "useless weird chit" apparently for no reason whatsoever LOL). The plastic mesh is fine enough to let the media come through but the holes aren't so large that your hardware falls out.

Nuts and washers are easiest/fastest to blast when strung on a piece of wire shaped into a hoop; pick a starting point, blast it, and then flip it over to the back of the wire hoop until you're done with the hardware, and then turn the whole hoop around and blast the other sides of each nut/washer.

I also keep a dedicated pair of cheesy needlenose pliers and a pair of slip joint pliers inside the cabinet at all times to hold small parts. A $2 set of pliers is a lot cheaper to replace than a $25 pair of blasting gloves!!

And as far as Eastwood's customer service goes, I was a happy Eastwood customer for over 19 years and bought thousands of dollars' worth of equipment and consumables from them over the years. They were always good to work with.

Until I bought one of their so-called "Pro 1100" powder guns ... and returned FIVE of the P.O.S. in less than a year. When I encountered the same old problems with the latest of the guns, I was prompted to return it like I had the previous four. The office manager, Kathy, telephoned me upon its arrival and indicated they would no longer honor the warranty and would not accept any further orders from me. What's really strange is that the guy I had been dealing with for years, Don Bechtel who ran their entire Powder Coating Division, was no longer working there either.

So basically they fired me as a customer because I kept having problems with their crappy powder coating guns. They left me in an unexpected lurch with jobs here and no gun to shoot them with. "Pro" 1100 my azz ... that thing was a joke even for the occasional hobbyist let alone full-time use.

I went with a different manufacturer and now enjoy working with a Cadillac instead of the Pinto they were selling, and I never looked back. The funny thing is, Eastwood quit selling the Pro 1100 powder guns a couple years ago. Guess I wasn't the only one who thought they were pieces of crap! After that fiasco I'd never take another thing from Eastwood if they sent it to me for free.

They may be treating you nicely now Nuker ... but that attitude may not last forever if you have other warranty issues in the future. :-D
 
"They may be treating you nicely now Nuker ... but that attitude may not last forever if you have other warranty issues in the future."

Interesting. That sucks about the quality of the product. Yea, Eastwood just like most businesses probably have to draw the line where the profit vs the cost starts getting close to the line, and divorce themselves from a customer.

My tumbler said "heavy duty" but was made of 95% plastic and cost 250 + shipping. The next time I buy something and it appears of construction less than expected, I will be returning it immediately rather than jibber jabber around with it for days.

But also after researching more I am finding a good vib tumbler is 1k on up. Reckon I cannot expect industrial results from a plastic bowl with a little fan motor bolted to the bottom which is more for polishing rocks and ammo casings. What I need is :

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjlBvo-g2iU"]YouTube - ‪5VE Tumble Right rock tumbler from Rightmfg.sys.com‬‏[/ame]


Thanks Cuda Chick for the recommendations on the blasting cabinet. Tricks to keep from blasting your gloves to oblivion and expedite the process are much appreciated.
 
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