I've been thinking about getting a vibratory tumbler for some time, but i've not been able to convince myself that I really needed to purchase yet another tool that would be seldom used. However, they are clearly a great way of cleaning up small parts and can be left to do their thing whilst focusing on other tasks. I attempted to make a rudimentary one myself following some plans I found online. It was not successful as it was too underpowered and so lacked the vibratory action require to gently abrade parts. I shelved the idea and thought no more about it.
Months later I happened to stumble accross an entry level rock tumbler in a charity shop for a mere £5! At that price it was worth a punt so I snapped it up:
Figured it would do more or less the same job as a vibratory tumbler. For something that is essentially a toy it works pretty well and because it is quiet it can be left to run overnight. Here are some before and after shots of rusty VW fastenings and knick-knacks:
For the media I opted to use blasting grit for the initial pass. This was after around 3 days in the tumbler:
I then followed up by switching to crushed walnut shells for finer cleaning:
No comments:
Post a Comment