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

I've currently done four razors in the tumbler. There'll be no pictures from me, so you'll have to go on my interpretation. I'm using an RCBS tumbler with Lyman Tuff Nut Walnut media, and Lyman green (Chromium Oxide?)treated Corn Cob media. I've done two razors at one time with no problem. By using nothing less than 400 grit for minor rust and stain removal, I got a mirror finish on two razors. One razor that needed major pre-cleaning had reflective lines in the mirror finish from the 220 grit. This was really only noticeable at certain light angles. The fourth razor had some major pitting and staining going on. It polished up nicely, but unless there was some pre-grinding on my part, which there wasn't, this razor may have been unsalvageable if not for the tumbler. At least now it has some nice scales and will find a new home as someone's shave ready straight. All razors get 48 hours in both walnut and then corn cob. As a yearling newbie, this is my take: The time spent while razors were being tumbler polished was used on complete scale manufacturing for these straights, which to me, means more. I can spend more time creating and practicing on wood scale ideas that I wouldn't have alloted to me otherwise due to the time constraints of major metal restoration. Some guys may like working with metal more. I guess that's why schools have both Metal Shop and Wood Shop.

Originally Posted by yul b. nekst

I've currently done four razors in the tumbler. There'll be no pictures from me, so you'll have to go on my interpretation. I'm using an RCBS tumbler with Lyman Tuff Nut Walnut media, and Lyman green (Chromium Oxide?)treated Corn Cob media. I've done two razors at one time with no problem. By using nothing less than 400 grit for minor rust and stain removal, I got a mirror finish on two razors. One razor that needed major pre-cleaning had reflective lines in the mirror finish from the 220 grit. This was really only noticeable at certain light angles. The fourth razor had some major pitting and staining going on. It polished up nicely, but unless there was some pre-grinding on my part, which there wasn't, this razor may have been unsalvageable if not for the tumbler. At least now it has some nice scales and will find a new home as someone's shave ready straight. All razors get 48 hours in both walnut and then corn cob. As a yearling newbie, this is my take: The time spent while razors were being tumbler polished was used on complete scale manufacturing for these straights, which to me, means more. I can spend more time creating and practicing on wood scale ideas that I wouldn't have alloted to me otherwise due to the time constraints of major metal restoration. Some guys may like working with metal more. I guess that's why schools have both Metal Shop and Wood Shop.

Thanks for the post!

I'm just getting in to this and, not being a reloader, I have been all over the Internet looking at both brass polishers and rock polishers. Prices ranged from $50.00 to $750.00.

Anyway, my big question was, "would a Vibratory Tumbler work better for carbon steel than the regular tumblers used for the softer brass"? You answered my question and I just ordered the RCBS Vibratory Tumbler from Cabela's.

I have some of the Walnut shells and corn cob media coming from a vendor on Ebay. I have not decided what kind of polish I am going to add to my corn cob media. I'm still in the research stage of this program.

Here are my thoughts: Everything out there is geared toward the polishing of either brass, jewelery, or rocks, not hard carbon steel. My thoughts are to start the walnut shells out at a relatively coarse grit, such as 08-12(I haven't figured out what those numbers represent. I just know it is coarser then 12-20, 20-30, or 30-100). I would want the first stages of polishing to be aggressive. The shells will become a finer grit during usage anyway, therefore, it seems logical to start with coarser shells.

I think I will call a few vendors that are in this business of polishing and see what they can recommend as a polishing media for carbon steel.

Thanks again for turning me on to the Vibratory Tumbler. This is a good start!

Steve

Just a heads up - I just paid $39.99 for the tumbler pictured below at Harbor Freight...it was marked at $49.99 but rang up $10 cheaper. It is "chicago" branded, item #93252. They also had 25lb boxes of walnut media for $25, or a replacement bowl that came with ~4lbs of walnut for $12.99.

Oh and a big thanks to gssixgun and everyone else that contributed to this thread...fantastic idea

I thought I'd update you guys on Midway where gssixgun suggested we could buy these tumblers.
My tumbler had a couple of problems from the constant usage I put it through.
A couple of loose connections which I fixed with no problems. But it recently died so I e-mailed Midway an hour ago asking for a diagram of the bottom so I could see if the weight was not attached properly and here is their immediate response.

Dear Mr. Weidner,

Thank you for your recent email. We apologize for the trouble you are having with your tumbler. The tumbler has a one-year warrenty, so we have reshipping another to you at no additional charge. You can use the defective tumbler as parts for the new one, if you like or just toss it.

If you have additional questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-243-3220. Our hours of operation are 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday through Friday and 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM on Saturday and Sunday (CT). You may also email us at [email protected]

Thanks for your business,

Christina G.
MidwayUSA Customer Service Associate


That my friends is customer service the like of which we don't ever see anymore. These people are wonderful and I would strongly urge everyone with a need to use these guys.

Ted

Ted that's good to know and thanks for your feedback on this.

I skimmed through 4 pages again and hope I'm not repeating any ideas here. Why not bolt two or three blades together and fan them out slightly, maybe add a few washers as spacers in between each blade. Should add efficiency to your experiment. Great work so far!

Hi guy’s thanks for a great thread I have only one question does anyone know where you can get the tubs and media in the UK as the cost of postage is working out more than the cost of the things themselves

Yippiee I have found a Midway dealer about 10m from where I live in the UK

Originally Posted by Sancho

I skimmed through 4 pages again and hope I'm not repeating any ideas here. Why not bolt two or three blades together and fan them out slightly, maybe add a few washers as spacers in between each blade. Should add efficiency to your experiment. Great work so far!

as a successful proponent of the multi-blade concept ... you really want a free flow of media and blades 3 works very well and i just place them around the bowl and let the machine work them over. I have tried as many as 7 but found that that resulted in blade edge damage.