Vib. Tumbler mod. To clean parts

[sevenhills]

Maybe this will help someone. I had tools and parts that were rusty so I bought a vibratory tumbler from Harbor Freight for $55. They have a larger one for about $100 more but I modified the small one and it works great. All it is basically is an a.c. motor that the shaft has a weight attached offset so it vibrates. Motor is spring and bolt mounted to a plate which has a drum. Problem is nothing very large fits in it. I replaced the holding drum with a 15"x6"x9" Sterilite box (Walmart $2.97) that has a locking lid. I used original hardware then put a piece of cardboard in bottom to cover screws. I put the abrasive, shells or resin pellets in a large plastic pickle jar. Now the rusty tools and parts in jar, lid screwed on and there's no dust. As it runs the jar slowly turns! It works so great just thought I'd mention it. You could probably even use a larger box within reason, make sure it's mounted evenly for balance.

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[JoeLee]

Show us what the parts look like when you take them out.


JL.................

[loose nut]

How well does it clean up parts.

I was thinking about getting a vib. tumbler for cleaning up small parts since I no longer have access to a sand blaster.

[sevenhills]

I should have taken "before" pictures. These are a few things that were really rusted and corroded. A few things like offset box wrenches where plating was missing I sprayed a little Rustolium metallic finish. I tried just using the box which was a dusty mess. The jar was the solution, you can see inside and it turns when running. I'll probably redo it sometime instead of box bolted to vibratory base I'll use an aluminum plate, about 12"x6"x1/2". Then mount box to it, bungee cords, still jar inside.
The walnut shells are probably least abrasive.

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[Rex]

Buy the walnut shell media at the pet store.

[Puckdropper]

Buy the walnut shell media at the pet store.

Do they have different colors?

[Rex]

Do they have different colors?

In hamsters, for which the walnut shell is intended, there is some variety.
In walnut shells, not so much.

[JRouche]

Cool Mod. I have the small one and big one and a dedicated brass (ammo) one. I use the small one for wet and ceramic and the large one for dry and walnut/wax. Thanks for posting. JR

[Baz]

How dirty do your hamsters get that you have to put them in an abrasive tumbler? I find 5 mins in the dishwasher works fine.

Looking round in the UK it seems that model is £150 minimum, 3x the price. Henry hamster will have to stay dirty.

[dave_r]

After a couple minutes in the tumbler or the dishwasher, they are more than happy to run on the treadwheel all day long...