What's new
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Tumbler Question

Julian

Julian

Site Supporter
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
744
Location
Bromley
I have been tumbling parts over the weekend and the dam tumbler material gets stuck in the cross-heads of screws, it takes me an age to get the ****e out.

Any suggestions?

Also what and where do you folks get the tumbler material.


Cheers
 
Julian said:
I have been tumbling parts over the weekend and the dam tumbler material gets stuck in the cross-heads of screws, it takes me an age to get the ****e out.

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Try using a pin or even the end of a screw to remove material in the cross-heads.
 
I managed it in the end with a sharp screw end, but it did take an hour or so, just wonder if the martial that Mfresh suggested would be smaller grains and not get so stuck in there...

Anyone sonic clean stuff? Does that work well?
 
Anyone sonic clean stuff? Does that work well?
Click to expand...

I usually put everything through the ultra sonic cleaner before it goes in the tumbler and also put all plastic parts through the cleaner as well. Works better on the small plastic parts than on the metal but it gives the tumbler a bit less to clean off I suppose :) Don't expect hugely noticeable results from a sonic cleaner though (not one of the little cheapo ones anyway).
 
I've got a little sonic cleaner. Generally found it to be best for plastic and chromed parts. I've done things like bumper caps, coil sleeves, flipper bats, wire guide rails, mini-posts, etc. Don't expect sonic cleaning to magically remove really engrained dirt or corrosion, but it's great at removing dirt from awkward nooks and crannies. I don't do screws in the ultrasonic as getting them wet tends to make them rust unless you mess around rinsing in isopropyl alcohol and drying thoroughly. I found, like you, that tumbling screws clogs the slots with gunge, especially if you use the ready-made media that has the red rouge polishing compound in. That stuff sticks like sh*t to a blanket. I found plain walnut just like the stuff @Mfresh linked works really well with a couple of tablespoons of Brasso and/or Autosol. I'm still a sucker for doing screw heads by hand with the Dremel and a felt polishing wheel. I can do about 2 or 3 a minute and get a mirror shine on them. I don't bother doing the actual thread as I think leaving the shank unpolished is likely to make it grippier when screwed back into the wood (and you can't see it anyway!)
 
I use a pin , one of the ones with a plastic head. Works a treat (and just for info, my predictive text just wrote that sentence as "world's a twat" and if i try and write twat it predicts "tasty"... nice).
 
That's why I stopped using a tumbler. Better things to do than pick out bits of media from screw heads and nuts and the like.
Life's to dam short, get yourself a polishing wheel.
 
replicas said:
That's why I stopped using a tumbler. Better things to do than pick out bits of media from screw heads and nuts and the like.
Life's to dam short, get yourself a polishing wheel.
Click to expand...
Tumbler is good for a lot of parts, just not everything. Small stuff like screw heads are better done with polishing wheel (I prefer 1" felt on the Dremel rather than bench for this job - better shine and less likely to launch screws ballistically across your workshop!) Tumbler is awesome though for mid-size parts like flipper brackets and baseplates, pop bumper parts, hinges, etc. Chuck it in and forget about it for 2 days. Takes 90% of the grunt out of polishing. Just a quick final buff with a cotton mop and white compound aterwards. Bench polisher is the only way to go on larger parts like lockdown bar, side rails, coin door, backbox lift channel, etc.

I really must order my own tumbler... ;)
 
Any good quality bench grinder and stick a polishing wheel on it.
it'll do all the shiny metal you need with none of the waiting for days and no more wasting half a day picking out grains of media.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom