vibratory tumbler and deburring

Patrick Marshall · Post by **Patrick Marshall** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:38 pm

Need a little help. Today while dropping off parts for work I was given a vibratory tumbler, got it from a tool and die shop so i know it is a good one and heavy duty. My question is this. What kind of media would I need to use to deburr holes in lamellar and scale plates and give the plates a good polishing also? One for the holes and one for the polishing? I once heard here on the forums that play sand could be used to make the holes nice and smooth so that the cording used to join the plates doesn't get cut. Any help would be greatly apprciated.

Pat Marshall

Jurgen · Post by **Jurgen** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 6:48 pm

There are a ton if different medias. You'll probably need at least two, one for deburring and one(or more) depending ont he level of polish you want. Steel/stainless steel tumbling shot will round off burrs and will put a burnished finish on stuff but is pretty expensive.

My guess is you'll want a fairly aggressive media for the deburring. Keep in mind that at least part of the media will need to fit in the holes to properly debur them.

Jurgen

Sean Powell · Post by **Sean Powell** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 7:44 pm

Depends on the hole size. You want to be certain that as the media wears it is never just the right size to get jammed in the hole but you want it small enough to get into the holes and generally large enough to provide some resistance. We use ceramic tetrahedrons at work. They come in what is essentially a hardness or grittiness factor similar to different grits of sandpaper.

How large are your plates, how large are the holes and what material are they made from? On monday I'll try to remember to ask at work what the shop would recommend.

Sean

Patrick Marshall · Post by **Patrick Marshall** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 8:38 pm

The lamellar plates are 1x1/4" wide and 3" long with holes 3/16th in diameter. scale plates are 1x1/4" wide by 1x3/4" long, holes in them are 1/8" going to sew them to backing.

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Fri Jan 07, 2011 9:58 pm

I like the wet green ceramic triangles.

mattmaus · Post by **mattmaus** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:30 am

Dumb question from someone who barely understands the concept behind the subject here...

Dependant on media used.... is any of it re-usable?

The Iron Dwarf · Post by **The Iron Dwarf** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 1:38 am

yes, you keep using it till the media wears away and keep adding more to maintain the level you want.
I have a very small one, holds about 2 gallons.
I also use an old cement mixer with the paddles removed and some bars welded inside instead, that has sand and gravel in it

losthelm · Post by **losthelm** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 8:46 am

Depending on how much you want to invest and how quickly you need the plates I would look for industrly supply houses.
Blasting media works well and usualy runs 20-40 per bag.
To polish walnut seams to be popular and cheap. but its no good for wet tumbling.
The ceramic media or stainless pin shot will work with Wet tumbling.
In theory you could find someone with a lathe or nibbler and just use chips/chads.
But that can get expencive. Useing plastic beads or pellets will help so you can use less media and still have good movement in the drum.

Some of the longer lasting media will collect dust and grime with use. A good washing with specialty soap will help seperate the metal particulate from the drum and media.

Armourkris · Post by **Armourkris** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 2:09 pm

I've never used a vibratory machine, but I used to run a machine called a slide hone a lot, works by tumbling things while simultaneously sloshing them back and forth. My understanding is that there is a lot of crossover in the media used.

With that said, my standard for armour project was steel ball cones. think of a 1/4" UFO shaped bit of metal, but make one of the hemispheres conical instead of round. it isn't really good for aggressively removing coatings rust or grime, but it'll deburr and bevel all your edges and holes and put a durable, low maintenance polish on exposed steel.

For removing gunk and grime and heavy burrs we would usually use Ceramic ACC(angle cut cylinder) or triangles. the ceramic medias tend to be more aggressive, and leave a satiny finish behind.

lastly for aluminum and other soft or delicate things we would use plastic media, either more of the ACC or else cones.

size wise we only ever used 1/4" for the ball cones, ACC ran between 3/16 up to about 3/8 on the large end of things (use whatever size wont get stuck in holes in the piece) cones ranged from 3/8" up to 3/4" (that's height, not sure on the diameter of the basses of them) and the triangles were pretty much always 1/2"

I hope something in there helps you out

Odd · Post by **Odd** » Sat Jan 08, 2011 4:45 pm

Finishing is really dependent on material used.

But for edge breaking and deburring.. Pool filter sand.

It's cheap, fairly uniform in grain, and is screened well to get out most of the crap that you don't want in there. Also, it doesn't stick to parts that are clean. It lasts quite a while. now, it isn't as aggressive as other media are, so it takes longer. But for me this is a plus, as you can get better control on just how broken those edges get.

For finish, on aluminum and brass I have used peanut hulls, walnut shells, pecan shells, and all the other stuff folks use in rock polishers. But the BEST finish I have ever gotten, was following the pool filter sand on brass, with plain, ordinary flour. Now, flour sticks at first, and is prone to pulling in moisture which, of course, can make glue. However, it also falls off later due to the friction and constant rubbing.

I use flour to clean and polish my tiny chain items as well.. My wife has a Sterling Byzantine chain I made a dozen years ago.. 21g, 1/8th or so.. So not impossible, just tiny. And I keep it shiny just tossing it in one of those round altoid tins full of flour, and giving it about 10 good shakes.

Takeyama · Post by **Takeyama** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 1:43 pm

I have used a 5 gallon bucket and some damp sand.... and a big hill.

Sean Powell · Post by **Sean Powell** » Tue Jan 11, 2011 8:50 pm

I floated this around with our finishing department and this is what I got:

See below for what **** ***** recommends, he's our finishing guru here.

It's hard to beat a cone, v-cylindrical, or cylindrical-shape media for overall finishing performance and hole deburring.

If you want a bead blast type finish, you may have to bead blast versus vibe but you could try a triangular shape also to give an overall consistent rougher finish.

There's also some random burnishing media from Washinton Mills called "XM" that can give more of a satin finish (see attached).

Rio Grande jewelry supply would be a more comprehensive retail source than McMaster-Carr, they do not have much of a selection of media.
Check them out at:
http://www.riogrande.com/MemberArea/Sea ... ng%20media

And from **** *****

I'd start with the SJ cone from Vibrafinish, I think it is 7/8". We have tons of it.

Find out what type (style) of machine he plans on using.

Bead blast leaves a nice, uniform satin finish that has "texture". This is gonna be tough to get with vibe.