The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Lets take a tumble?

First time I’ve used the vibratory/tumbler that I bought at Harbor Freight last year.
They didn’t have many choices for media so I got me a bottle of the little sharp
green triangles about a ¼” and I’ve got some smooth gray abrasive triangles about
½” that one of the machine shops was using in their tumbler. Now both of these
are just fine for REAL BIG stuff but when you get down to the nuts and bolts of
the restoration, something small enough to get in to the threads or small cracks
and crevices is called for, but it still has to be aggressive enough to get the rust
out.
Any suggestions for this and or sources?
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I use corn cob media in my turbo tumbler (similar to harbor freight) it does a good job on nuts and bolts but havent tried it on any realy rusty stuff. takes a few hours of shakin. eastwood sells media for their tumbler it may be better.

Denny,Just soak the little parts for 2 or 3 days in WHITE vinegar--if they aren't completely clean, soak longer OR brush with an old toothbrush. Make sure they are completely submerged and a sealed contained will reduce the vinegar smell. Rinse in water and dry when finished.
Glenn

...sounds good GrandpaGlennO. I've heard about it but never tried it. WHITE vinegar...just have to ask, how about Yellow?

Denny, a friend of mine that runs a resto shop uses a fine grade of sand in his BIG tumbler and does a nice job. He pitches it in and lets it tumble overnight. Not saying it'll work for you but just info. Maybe we need to give the vinegar a try?

My thinking is if the bolts are pitted the pits wills till show unless its tumbled to smooth up the SMALL pits? But then Denny, your not wanting a show piece. Hey worth a shot!!

What about walnut shells or Evapo-Rust from HF (I recently bought this at 50% off). Maybe I'll soon try it on a load of clutch-head hardware that was kindly sent to me by Stovebolter oldbluetruck (Dennis).

What about the medias for polishing the brass on bullet casings,will it work ?
tumbler medias


Tim

Crushed walnut shells will be abrasive enough to take the rust off without damaging the threads.

Denny, I think I emailed you pictures some time ago of my Kwik Way tumbler. I use nuts, old bearings and any junk metal of 1/2" diameter or less and let them go for a ride in Varsol.

Corn cobs or walnut shells, not aggressive enough, good for polishing though. I had a
friend over today and he says that’s what he uses to clean his shooting brass, but brass
tarnish is a lot different than steel rust.
Vinegar----is just a real mild acid.
Evaporust----NG, way over rated, very slow, about the same strength as vinegar, a waste
of your money.
I did some comparison testing a few months ago using similarly rusted fasteners.
Evaporust in one container, Phosphoric acid in another vinegar had it’s own and Kano
(Kroil) Exrust in the forth. A couple of years ago I got stiffed for a gallon of concentrate
that was supposed to make 10 gallons of deruster. Paid a lot for that gallon and it worked
pretty good, that is, for the first few pieces then the bath quit working.
My phosphoric acid bath is 80% concentration and it out performs the other stuff ten
times over. it works great, it’s fast, leaves an nice thin paintable conversion coating on the
parts will keep on working till it all evaporates and will even strip paint if left over night or longer.
The object of the vibrator was to throw the parts into the bowl after they came out of the
chemical soak to finish off the cleaning rather than stand over the sink with a scrub
brush and scrub the scum off each and every little clip, washer, nut or bolt.
I was thinking of using Black Max which is coal ash and very aggressive as a sandblast
media. Think I might give that a try in the morning and let it Shake-A Shake for a few
hours. The end product is going to be blackened so I’m looking for that nice satin finish.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Well here’s the report for those that don’t have one of these vibrators yet, those that do
know all about their capability.
I ran the batch for a few hours in the Black Max and it did a pretty nice job on the parts.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/138613148
I had a couple of really rusty 1/2 bolts that I hadn’t pre-cleaned and was gonna throw out
(still am) so as a test I thru them in with the pre-cleaned fasteners. The rusty bolts came
out with a real nice polished rusty finish. So that tells me that the Black Max alone will
do the job on the fine details as long as the parts have been pre-cleaned of any major rust,
in something such as soaking in a chemical bath.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/138613150
And they looked pretty decent after they were blackened and oiled.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/138613152
Next batch I think I'll try some sort of liquid like water, kerosene or mineral spirits along
with the Black Max in the final polish.
That could be a problem to clean up so I'm also gonna see if I can order a couple extry
bowls from HF so I don't have to change out the media every time.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Thanks Denny I have learned a lot watching your posts the last couple years.
Give you a ride in the '49 when it is done.............just be prepared to wait a year or so.
Dale

Those vibrator/tumblers go on sale every so often and I don’t know why I waited so long to ad one to the shop. Beats the el out of standing in front of the wire wheel for hours on end and then picking wires out of your hair and clothes for a day. I just get the bulk off in a chemical dip and throw them in the bowl to finish them, sure saves time.


If I ever get out to Tucson to visit my cousin I'll look ya up for that ride.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny,

Would you post a link to the Black Max product (or, what is the grit size)?

Thanks,

Sorry Tim, been away from the confuser all evening. The Black Max is actually Black Diamond, same thing it's all coal slag.
comes in a lot of different sizes. What I've got I got at a Home Depot and it's cornfusing but I think it's like 40-60 grit.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/sandbl...mond-20-40-blasting-media-50-lb--3905403

DG

Denny, what did you end up with for your chemical bath...80% phosphoric acid to 20% water?

Thanks, Denny. I have the same thing by a different name.

After you have finished cleaning the pieces, do you then "anti-rust" treat them with something?

Denny,
I'm on my second HF tumbler. The first walked across the floor, snagged the cord on a sharp edge, chafed through the cord and shorted. After I fixed that, it worked for a few weeks and the motor smoked. The replacement has been good, but if I need to use it unattended I put it in the driveway surrounded by a few bricks.
Dave Evans
Wheaton, IL

No mix Allan, I'm using Kleen Strip Phosphoric Prep & Etch from the Home Depot.
I think I got the strength from the MSDS and if I remember correctly it was a
premixed solution, 80 or 85% concentration.
DG