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Old 03-14-2011, 12:18 PM   #1
mtm_seven
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Tool: Parts tumbler

Our ranch has an endless supply of powdery white sand to use as a medium and I have a endless supply of rusty and greasy bolts, nuts, washers, brackets and whatnot that I hate taking the time to individually clean or pay to replace.

So, I scored a cheap concrete mixer on craig's a couple of years ago and decided to re-purpose it as a parts tumbler. Thought I'd share with y'all in case you needed something similar.

1st pic is the tumbler itself - it's covered with a t-shirt to reduce the dust that pours out when it's running.

2nd pis is the result. This is about 4 gallons of parts sitting on my welding table for sorting then deployed to the parts cabinets. They probably tumbled in there for 6 hours total.

The process is LOUD and annoying. You may be able to wrap the barrel to muffle the sound if necessary.

Enjoy!
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Old 03-14-2011, 12:36 PM   #2
Constructor1
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

Great idea. Thanks for sharing. Looks like it works really well.
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Old 03-14-2011, 12:38 PM   #3
KEL
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

Looks great. How much sand did you use ?
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Old 03-14-2011, 12:58 PM   #4
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

I used about 5 gallons of sand. Tried to not stress the machine too much since it runs for a longer duration than intended.

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Looks great. How much sand did you use ?
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‘86 K30 GMC High Sierra C&C Single Cab
'96 SWB Single Cab 5.7
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'00 SWB Single Cab 5.3
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Old 03-14-2011, 12:59 PM   #5
ChevLoRay
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

I see some stuff I need.......
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Old 03-14-2011, 10:15 PM   #6
truckster
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

Did you have to do anything to them before you stored them to keep them from rusting again?
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Old 03-15-2011, 10:25 AM   #7
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

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Did you have to do anything to them before you stored them to keep them from rusting again?
They are stored inside the shop in drawers. If they rust now it'd be pretty minimal.
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'96 SWB Single Cab 5.7
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'00 SWB Single Cab 5.3
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‘06 2500HD Single Cab C&C Duramax 4x4
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Old 03-15-2011, 12:19 PM   #8
suville
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

If you rinse them in "Ospho" and dry them they wont rust if kept dry. I use a cheep Harbor Freight tumbler and triangle green medium and the hardware cleans up very well.I also add a small amount of "Evapo Rust" to the medium to form a slurry, then I just dip the processed hardware in "Ospho" and dry. Caswell Plating sells a blackening kit to complete the process for factory correct finish. Sure makes it nice at reassembly time! I will add grease and oil should be removed prior to processing any grease remover will work I like the purple stuff works good.
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Old 03-15-2011, 12:38 PM   #9
D.PASSMORE
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

Do you add "Evapo Rust" to the tumbler with triangle green medium? Or to the purple solution and let them soak before the tumbler?
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Old 03-15-2011, 12:44 PM   #10
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

Evapo rust to the medium after the purple clean, evapo rust aids in the rust removal as evidenced by the pics.In my tumbler I use about a quarter cup or less it doesnt take much you just want it wet as the tumbler leaks and will make a hell of a mess, guess how I know this... trial and error.
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Old 03-15-2011, 02:11 PM   #11
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

That is cool
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Old 03-15-2011, 06:59 PM   #12
Jacfourteen
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Re: Tool: Parts tumbler

wow those thing work great! Thanks for sharing.
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