Thread: New Idea??? Experimentation....

I'm using walnut that I bought at Harbor Freight straight out of the box...
RB

Originally Posted by Razorburn

I'm using walnut that I bought at Harbor Freight straight out of the box...
RB

try adding some rubbing compound, Turtle wax works great. The media needs to be slightly moist to work better.

You will definately get better results by adding about a bottle of Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound to your walnut media.

Reviving this old thread....Lord it does my heart good to see a well-stocked, obviously loved and used reloading bench. I have quit casting my own lead bullets, but still reload 'cause I like to shoot LOTS.

Plan to try my tumbler on razors too.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

First let me welcome you guys into the shop, or as the wife calls it "The Glen House"
Yep it's a mess just like any good working shop should be
(Plus it keeps her away)
Attachment 7691
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Just to make sure all the non-gun nutz know what we are using for this experiment, these are brass tumblers, they are usually 2 different sizes, for the experiment, I am using the smaller one, because I feel the the higher speed of media rotation will keep the blade suspended better...
Attachment 7693

Thanks to the original poster and all who contributed!!
FWW, I hand sand through 1000 grit after scraping the shiny rust from a blade. After that, I am using the "Dupont #7" liquid "Clearcoat Polishing Compound" on the fine size walnut shells and getting a nice finish. I have three bowls for my HF small vibrating bowl tumbler. 1 uses coarse green plastic media for really bad non-razor stuff, 1 with fine walnut shell and #7 liquid polish.. to which I added some Barbercide as it did get some fine mold in it, and 1 with the steel shot for another non-razor process.
I have not used the corn cob as the walnut+#7 works for me prior to a final hand buff polish.
I think that each person will find what works best for them and the level f finish they expect.
~Richard
PS A nice way to mellow out is hand sanding while I ignore the TV ..I would be using all mechanical if I had to make a living at it!!

Does anyone have a synopsis of this whole thread? I am thinking of adding this to my blade restores, but not sure I want to read all 33 pages.

Originally Posted by souschefdude

Does anyone have a synopsis of this whole thread? I am thinking of adding this to my blade restores, but not sure I want to read all 33 pages.

-get a tumbler (2 is better)
- get walnut and corncob untreated media
-get rubbing compound and polishing compound.
-Add the rubbing compound to the walnut media, and the polishing compound to the corncob media.
-Use walnut first, corn cob second.

I would advise to read the thread because there are some very nice ideas mentioned in there.

I was reading the SRP Wiki and found a link to a link to a link to a link that landed me here. 3 hours of reading at work later and I finished all 9 pages.

GREAT STUFF!

Thank you to everyone that's posted before me for being so generous with their experiences.

I spent a few hours last night with Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish on two razors that started with some minor rust and a fair bit of black tarnish.

I tried turtle wax rubbing compound by hand, nil results.

I tried green polishing compound by hand, this actually deepened the existing shiny parts but didn't do anything to remove tarnish.

I shopped around locally in search of Maas and Flitz and failing to find either, I tried some Brasso, nil results.

I started thinking about something that I could hold like a dremel, but with less rotational speed, or adjustable rotational speed. In nail salons, they have such a device where the speed is controlled via a foot actuated peddle... DING DING DING. I thought I was on to something, until I found this thread.

The nail drill does accept 3/32 size attachments, like small buffing wheels, which I could use for final polishing. But, the results I'm seeing in this tumbler thread are more than acceptable to me.

I'm thinking of going with 1 tumbler and buying a second bowl, as I don't have a dedicated space for this project. I'm also thinking walnut shells plus the rest of the turtle wax rubbing compound plus some Flitz for my first stage. Walnut shells plus ground green polishing compound for my second stage - I may add some turtle wax polishing compound if the green compound isn't adequate.

Thanks again to everyone for contributing.

Excellent work!

I am quite the avid chain mailler, and using lots of different types of metals to make my jumprings from, I decided to invest in a rotary tumber, and it cost me an arm and a leg, because everything in ZA is expensive. So my question is, can I use a rotary tumbler? I'm not sure if it would work because it has a rotating drum that may cause the blade to fall around(that the main idea of a rotary tumbler, because it has faceted walls on the inside that prevent the medium from just sliding around(as you may imagine smooth S/S Shot/Pins just gliding against smooth plastic) and I am afraid that this falling around might crack the edge, or something similar.

I don't know if a rotational tumbler would work or not for a razor as the vibratory type are quite gentle cleaning & polishing. I have run my tumbler for three days for a couple razors the other day with just walnut. I haven't run them with the corn cob yet. Keep in mind that I haven't used a rotational tumbler for anything other than my wife's little tumbler for rocks...I just "think" it may be a bit aggressive. On the other hand, if you had a larger tub and did one razor at a time you may have good success if the tub was 2/3-3/4 full of media. It would defiantly work quicker. It's probably one of those things that would work great or just the opposite.