Vibratory tumbler??????

R

RobertHankins

Joined
Jun 10, 2001
Messages
1,385
Has anybody used one of these to clean up there blades after HT?

I REALLY want to stay away from Bead Blast finish and wonder if this may be a viable option. They are in pretty good shape just discolored.

Doing some S30V blades so Satin finish is out of the question.
 
Robert,
Why is a satin finish out of the question? S30V satins pretty nice.
Have you tried the ceramic bead? Leaves a really nice finish.
I have used a tumbler and just didn't like the finish.
 
Kit, I've been meaning to ask you, what is the name of the blast media you use, and where do you get it? I know you mentioned it once before, some months ago, but I can't find the post.
Thanks.:confused: :D
 
tumbulers are for reloading brass! i take s30v to a x45 norzac then a heavy scotch brite then a medium. i have used the heavy to take the heat treat colors off first also. play with it.
 
Mike,
Fusco Abrasives, 800-899-3872, B-60, SEPR Ceramic bead. Expensive but it last forever. No dust, leaves a finish that will bead water. Almost a French Gray finish.
Unlike glass bead which leaves a star shaped cut in the steel, it leaves a round dimple finish.
Let's see what some of the makers that have started using it says..
Glass bead has a recycle of about twice then it shatters. This stuff has a 20-25 recycle times and then just disappears. A 5 gal bucket of glass bead used to last about a week. This ceramic lasts about 6 months. Requires a lot less CFM of air, but doesn't hide anything.
 
Kit,
Hey thanks
Actually I was going by an ASSumption. After hearing one of the other makers say it was really hard to get scratches out of.
My blades were finished to a 400grit before HT and the HT pretty well cleaned them up.
I will try a Satin finish on one and see where we stand.

What kind of finish did the tumbler leave?

There are heavy duty Vibratiing tumblers that use abrasives inpregnated in a plastic media. That is how they deburr some tooling in the tool and die industry. A brass tumbler works well for its intended purpose, but lacks the power of the industrial ones using abrasive media's.
 
Vibrating tumblers are used to grind and polish agates. A LOT HARDER THAN STEEL.
You can get different grades of diamond powder and media .
In fact I have some and a small tumbler. I will through a small blade in this weekend and post some results as soon as I have something.
Take Care
TJ Smith
 
Hey thanks TJ.
I am considering buying one of the heavy duty ones that hold about 3-4gals of media. They Vibrate like a son of a gun, but parts come out clean as a whistle. The industrial abrasive media come in all kinds of shapes and grits. They run about $375-400 so it would be nice to see how it works first.
 
Originally posted by RHINOKNIVES
tumbulers are for reloading brass!...snip...
Click to expand...

You'd be surprized what a real tumbler can do. I've seen raw, as cast work come out clean. It just depends on what media you use, and how much HP you have behind it!

I have NOT done knife blades (Heck, I'm only on my 2nd knife), but I deburr parts coming off my lathe all the time - a little ceramic deburring media, run wet, for 24 hours is just the ticket
 
Originally posted by TJ Smith
Vibrating tumblers are used to grind and polish agates. A LOT HARDER THAN STEEL.
You can get different grades of diamond powder and media .
In fact I have some and a small tumbler. I will through a small blade in this weekend and post some results as soon as I have something.
Take Care
TJ Smith
Click to expand...

OK my tumbler is not big enough to hold the blade so it is covered with media. my tumbler was 1/2 full of 600 diamond mixed with a corncob like filler. The knife only ran the tip or about 1 inch in the media. It did start to clean up and i didn.t notice any difference in surface area. I ran it dry.
I think it will work The trick is to work out the grit size. 2 knives at a time only tend to smash together. Like using a vibrating marker.
Deffinitely going to put it on the list as a way to finish blades.
Not much help
Take Care
TJ Smith:(
 
:D I tumbled agate and other stones as a kid and know that you can deburr with the right medium. the one thing to remenber is that if you want to have crisp grinds i don't think the tumbler will be the way to go. my 2 cents
 
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