Todays Project - What did you do today?

[f350ca]

Nice work Darren, but I'd have cut the bolt shorter.
If you ask an engineer if the glass is half full or half empty he'll say its twice as big as it needs to be.

[Mayhem]

Hi aRM,

It is a store purchased tumbler from Eastwood in the U.S., which I picked up several years ago whilst over there. It came with both bowls and I'm not sure what the capacity they are (I'll check if I remember). Included were 7.5lbs of cleaning media and a similar volume of ground corn cob. The cleaning media is great for small parts (probably up to 6" long) and I always throw in a teaspoon of Eastwoods metal wash in with them (offers some rust protection). The corn cob will polish up most metals nicely as well as plastics and glass parts. I put two glass lamp bezels in (one at a time) and they came out like new.

Most gun shops will sell them, as reloaders use them to polish their brass cases. They generally only come with one bowl but you can generally order a second.

I've had it about seven years and I have put a lot of parts though it. Just about every nut, bolt, washer, spring and screw off of my mill and my old lathe have been in there. I love it. Chuck the parts in, lock down the lid and walk away and do something else. No standing at the bench grinder with a wire wheel that removes your fingerprints and rips the small part out of your hand, flinging it into the deep, dark depth of the shop!

[Mayhem]

(12-13-2016, 09:18 AM)f350ca Wrote: Nice work Darren, but I'd have cut the bolt shorter.
If you ask an engineer if the glass is half full or half empty he'll say its twice as big as it needs to be.

Thanks Greg. I cannot cut the bolt, as you need to screw the lid down. With the lid off the media only moves in one direction (from the bottom of the bowl up to the top, where it cascades down). With the lid on you also get a clockwise rotation of the media, which cleans better. One of the lids is vented, so you can see what is going on inside.

Also, the lid adds some rigidity to the bowl.

[aRM]

(12-13-2016, 09:37 AM)Mayhem Wrote: Hi aRM,

It is a store purchased tumbler from Eastwood in the U.S., which I picked up several years ago whilst over there.  It came with both bowls and I'm not sure what the capacity they are (I'll check if I remember).  Included were 7.5lbs of cleaning media and a similar volume of ground corn cob.  The cleaning media is great for small parts (probably up to 6" long) and I always throw in a teaspoon of Eastwoods metal wash in with them  (offers some rust protection).  The corn cob will polish up most metals nicely as well as plastics and glass parts.  I put two glass lamp bezels in (one at a time) and they came out like new.

Most gun shops will sell them, as reloaders use them to polish their brass cases.  They generally only come with one bowl but you can generally order a second.  

I've had it about seven years and I have put a lot of parts though it.  Just about every nut, bolt, washer, spring and screw off of my mill and my old lathe have been in there.  I love it.  Chuck the parts in, lock down the lid and walk away and do something else.  No standing at the bench grinder with a wire wheel that removes your fingerprints and rips the small part out of your hand, flinging it into the deep, dark depth of the shop!

Thanks for this, Darren
We also have one by RCBS for polishing Brass as well - much smaller though.
Son needed one to de-Burr his Knives as well as polish bulk quantity of Brass. Had been looking around China/India for a larger Vibratory Polisher which they have in various Sizes and capacities. But the Prices had been prohibitive unfortunately. Eventually saw a top-notch American shooter use a small Cement Mixer, of all things, with the right media - surprisingly, does the job though. Got one of those, but the bloody thing with ceramic Media is noisy as hell and dusty. He did shut out the dust by covering the opening with Plastic sheeting tied around the mouth.
Ideally, Your larger Tumbler will be perfect for a shop environment.
Will try some parts in the Mixer and guage the results.
Much appreciate the info.
aRM

[f350ca]

Was just chain yanking Darren, have thought about one, how quick will they clean up a batch or rust nuts and bolts? Seams most of my raw material is rusty.

[EdK]

(12-13-2016, 07:12 AM)Mayhem Wrote: this is why I don't like plastic knobs Ed

You've got to quit buying the cheap, plastic knobs.

Ed

[Mayhem]

(12-13-2016, 12:56 PM)f350ca Wrote: Was just chain yanking Darren, have thought about one, how quick will they clean up a batch or rust nuts and bolts? Seams most of my raw material is rusty.

With the green pyramids (there are heavier duty grey pyramids available) and metal wash added, I generally get good results after about 6 hours. Obviously this varies and can be 2 or 12. I generally throw a batch in first thing in the morning and I may check on it periodically. Otherwise, I throw a batch on just before calling it a day and leave it running overnight. The key is not putting too much water in, as it dampens the action. I simply rinse them in a colander to clean off the gunk and then put them back in their bucket whilst they are still wet. You need a bucket with a lid that seals.

(12-13-2016, 04:50 PM)EdK Wrote:

(12-13-2016, 07:12 AM)Mayhem Wrote: this is why I don't like plastic knobs Ed

You've got to quit buying the cheap, plastic knobs.

Ed

It came with the saw Ed...

[EdK]

(12-13-2016, 06:39 PM)Mayhem Wrote: It came with the saw Ed...

But I have the feeling this isn't your first bad incident with plastic knobs since you seem to hate them so much. Maybe I'm wrong and if so I apologize.

Ed

[Mayhem]

No need to apologise Ed. They have their places but I just thought that you did such a nice job on the stop that some Brass knobs would have finished it off rather nicely.

Of course, we have to way up the time taken to do that versus spending that time on the next project. It is functional as is and I probably shouldn't have given you such a hard time. However, it does say 'Whipping Boy' beneath you name and we all know what it say beneath mine

[EdK]

(12-13-2016, 08:22 PM)Mayhem Wrote: No need to apologize Ed.  They have their places but I just thought that you did such a nice job on the stop that some Brass knobs would have finished it off rather nicely.

Of course, we have to way up the time taken to do that versus spending that time on the next project.  It is functional as is and I probably shouldn't have given you such a hard time.  However, it does say 'Whipping Boy' beneath you name and we all know what it say beneath mine

Fair enough Darren. In reality, I will probably end up making some brass knobs for the clamps eventually. After-all, I do like my projects to look good as well as function nicely. But I have a number of projects that have higher priority.

• Proper control box for the mill.
  
• X power feed for the mill.
  
• DRO for the mill.
  
• Get the old mill fixed up and passed on to a worthy recipient.
  
• Etc, etc., etc.,
  

Ed