QTR 35 Harbor Freight 5Lb Vibratory Tumbler
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 พ.ย. 2018
- This is a quick tool review of the Harbor Freight: Vibratory Tumbler
Please Note: I am a beginning machinist and I do not pretend to know everything. Please always operate machinery in a safe manner and if you don't know, find a reliable source. DO NOT COPY ME. I make a lot of mistakes. I provide these videos for entertainment only. - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
Thank you, You answered quite a few questions that I had regarding the two choices of vibratory tumblers at Harbor Freight. I am glad you pointed out they have the same size motor.
Glad it was helpful!
I used that same green HF media to clean up some old sockets and Allen wrenches, it stuck inside the sockets too. I have a tumbler that I've used with corn cob, and crushed walnut hull, to clean brass cases for almost 40 years, and it was used when I bought it. I once ran it for 2 days, because I forgot it was running. Mine has a fan on the motor shaft, Mark Trombley below had my other comment on cooling the unit. To polish metal, use walnut hull, or corncob, with some Flitz metal polish. Save money by buying lizard bedding in the pet aisle at Wally World, as it is just untreated crushed walnut hull. You can also get ground corn cob bedding for gerbils/guinea pigs/rabbits, at pet stores, that will work for polishing parts. Gotta save money to buy more tools. LOL
Great tips for alternative sourcing. I'm going to go an try to get some walnut shells tomorrow. Thanks. I am more interested in this topic than I thought. I think I might set up an experiment with same material in different media and see what the results are. Thanks as always.
thanks for the info!
Very interesting. I've seen these tumblers at HF and wondered how well they work. I just might have to pick one up. Thanks Robert.
Thanks. I hope it works out well for you.
I made a ball mill out of a speed reducing angle drive mounted on an angled plate, and bolted a plastic paint bucket (with a lid) to the flange. I've been using it for about 20 years - still haven't had to replace the paint bucket. I use it for cleaning and polishing clock parts, as well as parts for car restorations. I usually run ceramic media, wet with a bit of liquid soap added, then to polish walnut shell (from the pet center) with rouge or brasso added. For parts with holes you can either fit a tyrap, or split a length of plastic hose and use that to stop the media finding it's way into the internal passages. if you use a tyrap then you need to stop after a while and fit new tyraps, oriented differently, otherwise you get a shadow where the tyrap stopped the media from getting to the (outside) surface. (Getting a bit of ceramic media out of a carburettor's internal passage can be time consuming).
Thanks for the really helpful suggestions. I love the innovation.
I have one of these tumblers. I used it to clean small parts on a truck rebuild/restoration. It did a good job on rusty parts but it ran about 7 hours total. Mine gets hot too but I said to heck with it, its harbor freight. I set it out the backdoor of my shop so I wouldn't have to hear it. Anything with a elec. cord from HF is a dice roll.
Thanks for the feedback. It is nice to hear how similar tumbles are working out for others.
Good review. I totally recommend these for cleaning and polishing small parts with ease
Thanks. Useful feedback.
Very good review! Thanks for taking the time to make it. BTW, I'm a begining machinist too... for 30 years now, you never stop learning, it's a great hobby for me. Thank goodness I don't have to make a living from it, I'd STARVE! Lol, thanks again.
It is the best hobby I never knew about. There is a seemingly infinite learning curve, so I am never bored.
I have one of these that I use to refinish automotive nuts, bolts and other hardware. I use the green media exclusively and it works great. Additionally I run mine about 4-5 hours at a time with no issues. Only issue I have is that the rust removed from 50 year old bolts turns to dust which clings to the parts. I have to clean it off with wire brushes. Overall I'm happy with my unit.
Bob
Thanks for the feedback. My actual name is also Bob. Cheers.
Great demonstration and review, thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
I have the same one and have had less than desired results with both of the medias you tried. I tried 2-3# of 5/16 G8 nuts on a lark and was amazed at the results. Tried play sand, too. Sand worked OK but took 24 hours to get parts satisfactorily cleaned
Those are very interesting suggestions. thanks.
I went and took all my used nuts and bolts, shook them around in a pickle jar half-full of paint thinner to get rid of oil & grease, then dried on a rag - then in the tumbler, with the crushed nut shells, and a few glops of Simichrome metal polish- left it run 8-12hrs and the nuts and bolts looked BRAND NEW when they come out! (if you picture about how much Toothpaste you'd put on your brush in the morning- use about 3 or 4 squirts that size around randomly inside) took like 9 batches to get all of them done, but all my old, used rusty fasteners are as-new and ready to re-use
I like the tip thanks. I intend to revisit this topic. I have gotten so much great feedback on this video I am excited to try some of the recommended options.
Dude, that is awesome. What is your experience with rusty parts?
That wing nut is gonna be a surprise. The first time I used this thing I left it on for about 15 minutes. When I grabbed the wing nut it was hot as 🔥
That is really interesting. I wonder what was generating the friction?
Hi Mature Patriot and his dog Patch below sent us here from his channel, we like being here and we live 2 blocks from Harbor Freight. We buy tools there like you and even Vernon just did in his video. I think your finish looks like Scotch-Brite finish to us. We have watched many videos about tumbling with both versions of these from the Harbor Freight and they actually do titanium it just comes down to hours Grade 5, 8 to 10 hours to produce a finish you would like based on machined start finish of course but it none the less does the job, after all what would be the hurry. Two new viewers living in the California Desert, Patrick and Lance.
Thanks for the subscription. Mature Patriot has been a very generous individual. He started a go fund me for another channel, on his own, and has been very supportive since the get go. I really appreciate his friendship. Thanks for the details on the tumbling duration. I am just finishing a review of the 18Lb tumbler and tried 7 different types of media for 4 hours each. It sound like I was still short.
Just an FYI for anyone considering these. The 18lb is a much, much better machine. Save up and just get the larger one. Oh, and the replacement bowls are available online through other various brands. Eastwood sells the 5lb bowl for $18 and the 18lb bowl for $33.
What I do, is have 5 bowls preloaded with media on the shelf ready to do. At some point, I'd love to just have 5 vibratory tumblers... but swapping out the bowls seems to be doing the trick for now.
Thanks for the great suggestions and just so you know, I was so intrigued by the rotary tumblers that I did buy the 18Lb version and a bunch of different media types and will test it/them soon. Thanks for the tips.
I bought three of these at HF: the first one was dead on arrival, the second lasted a couple of hours, and the third is still working after three years.
That seems to be the way with Harbor Freight and the like. Sometimes you lose big, sometimes to win. They do seem to be improving things recently though. I also think that the fact that they have 2-3 sku's for every product suggests that they have different vendors for the same product, so purchases really are a crapshoot. Thanks for the comment.
very Very good video! Please do more media types!
Will do.
Buy the walnut shells that have polish added. You can also buy some polish made to be added to the media.
I just did that and expect to compare a bunch of different media types in another video. Thanks for the helpful suggestions.
The tumblers with liquid added make a very nice finish. The liquid removes the broken down media and keep the build up on the parts from happening. The liquid is a soap type product or a lubricant not sure which. Reason I know this is I worked in a shop that used this type of unit (commercial grade though).
Borax is a good cleaner.
I home built a rotary wet tumbler that uses stainless steel pins to clean and polish brass. They work great. Jerry Miculek uses an old drum type concrete mixer. th-cam.com/video/O5y_dsP3dsM/w-d-xo.html
Great suggestions. I might buy the bigger model at Harbor Freight that supports liquids so that I can review a bunch of different media types to see what kind of finishes they produce.
Give the inside surface of the tumbler a good heavy coat of flex seal . That rubbery stuff should help protect the the tumbler from abrasion for a while anyway
Great tip. Thanks.
I bought one of those about a year ago .... my manual say not to use the ceramic media ... I used the 60 grit power like media. It took 6 to 8 hours to get the finish I wanted. The unit got hot but has survived 4 eight hour runs... only issue is that wing nut. After 6 hours it vibrated off ... you don’t want to open the drum to quickly... if you’re using the grit media... it creates cloud of dust!!! I replaced the wing nut with a knurled knob and a jam nut
Great feed back. Did your lid have a washer and a rubber ring under the wing nut? I think the rubber is supposed t provide preload on the wing nut to prevent untightening. I got mixed feelings from the manual about ceramic media. In one sentence they recommend not using it and in a table the show it as an acceptable media. Confusing. Thanks for the warnings.
Dudley Toolwright The rubber washer was in place ... the lid seems to deform which counters the pre-load... also on mine the threads on the wing nut are poor and a bit oversized.. it is sloppy on my thread gauge... all of which contributes to letting the nut vibrate off...
Check out C&M Topline. They are in Goleta, CA and have a bunch of different media and are very helpful. I have one of their commercial units and wet with a flow through setup is definitely the way to go. It's very easy with a small pump and a little spray nozzle to modify the HF units. They definitely work well for the price. I just recently moved to the C&M Mr. Deburr and it's night and day difference, but again so is the price.
I did. Thank you very much for the suggestion. Their tools look well made and they have a lot of abrasive options.
Would have liked a shot of the polisher running without the lid so I could see how "active" the media is while it's operating.
That would have been a good idea. Sorry I missed the shot.
I use a Cabela's brand tumbler with the HF rust removal media on 6061 aluminum parts I make, they are in there for at least 2-3 days sometimes up to 4. That's how long it takes to go from fresh off the lathe to a nice soft deburred finish.
Good to know. Thanks for the tip.
Thanks for sharing all this! Here's a long-winded 'for what it's worth' comment :) maybe a vendor of media would be worth inquiring with. I've found a couple of companies who sell various media and will help you even by phone, to select media based on application, which could yield a few bits of theory too, to carry with you going forward. I was originally going to write for the following: rubberized undercoating is said to be a good lining for a tumbler drum. When I was doing some lapidary, I heard this many times, esp. when I was looking into building my own tumblers. Also, I wonder if you removed the 'drum' and removed that rod in the center, if you could mount a different and sealable container with external hold-downs (even rubber straps made from cross-slicing an inner tube) so you could run liquid inside, which I think is quite an advantage. I also think I'd make a small stand with three or four legs to get the whole machine up higher for better cooling. Also, a 110v, $10 clip-on small fan (Walmart) blowing sideways toward it might cool it a bit. I hope some of this will help you. Thanks again for sharing your work!
Your suggestions are great and thank for taking the time to share them. I also bought the other Harbor Freight tumbler and it is liquid friendly. I reviewed it as well. As a matter of fact, I gave this tumbler away.
Get a bag of river rock from the hardware store. They clean and deburr.
I built my own out of a tire and wheel, it's quite large but works great but does get hot. It helps to use grease on the springs and anything that rubs.
Take a can of rusty bolts, some water and a little Dawn dish soap and let her run.
Used tire. That is inspired. I bet that solution will last forever. The tire is reinforced rubber and fairly thick.
@@DudleyToolwright Don't think the drum will ever wear out. I don't use a lid and roll it outside because I use water and Dawn dish soap(slashes out). You can put your hand on the pebbles and push down with it off and of course your hand doesn't sink in. Turn it on and its like quick sand, hand sinks right to the bottom.
Good point. Are you using the 5Lb version with water. It warns against it. I suspect they do not adequately protect the motor from water and there is no safety ground on the plug. I appreciate the insight.
@@DudleyToolwright Since i built mine, I covered the motor area with aluminum. You might consider the bigger one down the road because soapy water makes alot of difference. Thanks for the Video
Advise taken. I actually was so intrigued by the whole process that I purchased the 18Lb version and will be reviewing it soonly. I also was missing the water for the ceramic media and now I can use it.
I know tis video is older but I have one of these and have left it on a week at a time and it still works fine.
That is great feedback. Is the unit in a hot environment (like may garage in summer) or in a cool environment?
@@DudleyToolwright It was in a closed 20' cargo container during summer. At least 100f inside
Just purchased one of the harbor freight tumblers to tumble brass casings for reloading... I smelled something burning after about 1-2 hours and the thing was melting. I'm returning it tomorrow
Good feed back. I suspect that QC is a neglected art when applied to commodity tools. I am sorry to hear about your bad luck. I have run mine for 8+ hours at a stretch without any ill effects.
I'll bet you can use the rubberized coating like rustoleum, plasti dip, or truck bed rhino liner to coat the inside of the barrel, to give it a longer life. That ceramic seemed more like a much more abrasive media than the plastic ..
Great idea, thanks. I think I might have a spray on version of the plastidip stuff too. Thanks for some really good suggestions.
Do you think that something like this would be good to clean off lacrosse balls that have become greasers (they get a slick finish after using for a while)?
Maybe. You could start with walnut shells and then work towards more agresive abrasives if they don't work.
I think taking it down to your local 'bedliner' place and shoot the inside would make it last forever. Whoa! a Harbor Freight tools that self-destructs: un-china-believable!.... not
I think adding a fan, bedliner and it should last, >and< allow liquid. But for $50, I think I will build my own; Thanks for the review.
Thanks for the comment. I think that could be an interesting approach to try.
Can you see if a standard sized spray paint can (with cap) can be wedged into the hopper? I want to use it for tumbling, but also be able to put a couple cans of spray paint into the hopper with a few small sandbags on top to hold them down and use the tumbler for 30-60 seconds to "shake" the paint cans up so I don't have to wrench my wrist every time I need to prime some metal!
Before the hall monitors jump in with, "You NEVER want to put a pressurized spray can into a vibratory tumbler! It'll blow up! It'll ignite and burst into flames! It'll ruin your tumbler! It'll take your eye out!".. just save it.. I shook spray paint cans with my old vibratory tumbler for 20 years and never had a single issue once. So long as you wrap the cans in a shop rag and set a small sandbag on top of them, all it does it shake the ever living shit out of the liquid inside the can. It doesn't damage the cans at all, it doesn't even leave a mark on the inside of the hopper, 30-60 seconds results in perfectly shaken paint, that's all. Works especially good on old paint cans that have sat untouched, in a non temperature controlled garage cabinet for YEARS, and all of the paint/solids have settled and sunk into a mass at the bottom and all the solvents, and propellants have separated into a suspension on top. You can vigorously shake those types of cans by hand until your wrist is broken, and still hear/feel the gooey mass inside the can trap the ball as it rolled around, but 30-60 seconds inside a vibratory tumbler and it's perfectly mixed, liquified, paint, and the propellant is activated and the can is pressurized and ready to paint with once again! And these were cans that I would have normally felt, maybe tried to spray quickly into the garbage can, and when they did that pathetic little "spurt" sound and left drips of paint running down my finger/wrist, I would have tossed them straight into the f-kit-bucket!
So all I really want to know is if two normal sized spray paint cans can fit into.. and lay down on either side of the bolt that runs down the center of the hopper (when its empty/without media of course).
What a really cool use. I hate shaking up rattle cans! Two would easily fit in the version of the HF tumbler that I have, but they change manufacturers all the time, including often having several skus for the same tool in the store. My recommendation is that you check before you buy.
Just a thought but could you paint the inside of the drum with truck bed liner to prolong the drums life?
An excellent question. Something like truck bed liner perhaps? I'll have to give it a shot when this one starts to wear a bit.
@@DudleyToolwright I liked you video very much, BTW 😃
It,s a shame about the Media Chamber, that they do not sell it as a spare part.
That is what happens when things get cheaper, less spare parts.
I guess for the price most would not want it for long term use.
If you trial different Media i am sure you will find the one that works best for each metal.
Good video.
Thanks for posting.
Regards Peter.
That's my next video. Out of ignorance, I chose several types of media from McMaster Carr and will give them a go. I am sort of fascinated by the whole process.
We do live in a throw away era. Quite the shame.
Wonder if undercoat paint would work to line the drum
Interesting option. First plastidip and now this, thanks.
I'd like to see rusty bolts put in it to see results, I restore/rebuild old lawn mowers and would like to clean the assembly bolts, I was going to replace all of them but the factory replacements are around $4.00 apiece
I will have to give this a shot. I was planning another video on the topic, because I am strangely fascinated by this tool.
Try walnut shell media that reloaded use for a polish.
I was interested in how walnut shells perform and might just follow your suggestion, thanks.
just learned about the existence of these things, hows it held up for you over the years?
It's held up well, because I rarely use it. I rarely make quantities of small parts that need deburring or finishing.
is ceramic polishing abrasive media supposed to shine metal parts? It just makes mine very dull.
It really depends on the media, I think. I am so far from an expert, it hurts.
The ceramic media puts polish on the part then when you run it through the Walnut it shines it are you can buff it with fine wire brush
I have one of those same brand going on 6 yr use mine to polish brass for reload and rocks that the wife collect some time it will run two or three time aday for 2hr at a time
Good to know. I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.
Which median should I use to get a surface finish of 125uin/3.2um on aluminum?
I am not that adept at the technical elements of that request. Perhaps a media vendors web site?
wonder if a healthy dose of plasti dip once in a while will prolong the inside of the bowl
great suggestion, thanks.
I though you pull the rust off and THEN polish. I don’t think the ceramic was used correctly. Still informative, I’ll be getting one of these soon.
I am not entirely certain. The information out there is sketchy and those with lots of experience haven't yet chimed in. I always do research before I make a video on topics I am inexperienced with, but it seems a lot of information in this field is locked up in peoples heads rather than books.
you could make a spacer to stand it on and put a fan under it or maybe just put the fan under it and have it sit on that.
Thanks for the useful suggestions.
I live in Simi Valley, where abouts are you?
Abouts the middle.
Look at what the reloader guys use, when they polish their brass. It might give you a better example.
Great advise, thanks. I suspect a large portion of these smaller tumblers are sold to people reloading ammo. Thanks for the suggestion.
Are these media pieces just made by plastic?
The ones in the picture are. They are plastic with embedded abrasive.
So point a small fan at it?
That could work, but I was thinking that harbor freight could put a fan blade on the shaft next to the offset weight. and get two for. They would have to make it small enough that the eccentric motion of the motor and shaft would not cause it to collide with the outer surface, but I think it is possible.
Since it is from Harbor Freight I would use the dog out of it especially if you got the extended warranty. If the bowl wears out or if the motor dies you could either get your money back or another one.
My two cents worth for what it is worth.
You 2 cents are great. I feel like I definitely got my money's worth.
I used 1/4 stainless bbs in mine and my bolts look like new I only run mine for 1 hour and shut down for 20min
Interesting. I haven't tried SS ball bearings. I will give that a try.
Perhaps the interior can be coated with plasti-dip or perma seal, then re-coat it periodically. It would be shame to toss a unit for just the bowl wearing out no matter how cheap a new one is.
That is a very good idea. I have been thinking since several people came up with the plastidip solution and although it is a really innovative solution, I am concerned that it might dampen the vibration of the media a bit. If coated the plastic will then have a sort of spongy layer on top of it that I think might give enough to slow the process. What do you think?
@@DudleyToolwright Well, there's also Flex Seal and similar products that I think are thinner (there's a comparison on youtube). Moreover I read it's a simple matter to remove plasti dip by peeling it off.
Thanks.
Plasti-dip is terrible stuff. It looks good once dry but it is not durable at all, it will most likely start pealing off right away. It deteriorates even faster when exposed to UV.
If it were mine, I would add a small PC fan to the bottom. And paint the inside with a "Bed Liner" type Urethane. Just my thoughts.
I like your thoughts, thanks. Although if you literally meant pc fan, they typically run on 12v dc, not 110v ac, but I get where you were going.
Indeed thanks.
Reasonably quiet is not the correct word for it. I have the same unit, and it is so freaking loud it will abrade the flesh off your bones. I have to keep it under a wooden box just to stay in the same room with it and that still needs some sound deadener to be more helpful. My shop is 24x36 feet. This machine is LOUD. Need to find a way to vent the box, this unit puts out quite a bit of heat. And the nut comes off all the time, first time I used it I left it to run for a couple hours. It flung the lid off and media all over the floor. Now I have to watch it constantly and make sure lid stays on. But it does work. Not thrilled with the lack of quality on the drum plastic, I do metal castings with plasitic abrasive media and stainless shot. Pretty sure it will burn a hole in this thing fast. Currently looking for something better. I've seen tumblers at gems shows and jewelry trades shows almost as big as I am that are so quiet you can stand next to them and barely know they are on. So far I can't afford those...
Be aware that use of plastic and ceramic media without water or deburring solution will generate microdust that you don't want to inhale on a regular basis. Do this outdoors. But I don't think this unit is made to be used with liquid. It was such a pain in the ass to listen to I got a small two-drum rotary tumbler instead, with which I can use deburring liquid.
riogrande.com sells different kinds of tumbler media and liquids for use by jewelers that work very well.
Dollar store plastic washtub to empty into... With a plastic colander if you are using liquids...
Great feedback, thanks. Harbor Freight sells the same item with multiple SKUs, which I think, relates to different manufacturers or at least parts. Mine doesn't seem to have any of these issues. I am sorry to hear about the issues you have had.
I bout this from my grandpa for 10
Great deal!
Ya
Typical H F no parts available, so the cost savings sort of evaporates .
They claim there are parts, but I have never tried to actually get them. I would love feedback for anyone who has tried.
@@DudleyToolwright
I can't speak for everything H F sells but I've tried a couple times to buy parts and was told that none were available.
That seems strange since there is an exploded view of the tool with the parts numbered.
Since I'm the type of person who usually does my own repairs, this is not a good thing.
@@workonitm8 Excellent feed back and a decent warning to others, including myself. Much appreciated.
You have to add water
Thanks, except that this tumbler can't have any liquids in it. That is why I bought their larger model than can.
Keeps vibrating a hole through it's own cover....
That's useful feedback. Thanks.
Didn't seem like it did much at all.
It deburred the parts without taking off too much other material. I am sorry the footage did not adequately capture the results.
*impressed with quality. my unit came 🔎🔍 **allabout.wiki/Lyman** with a pound or so of what looks like stainless steel shot and more importantly a spare o-ring for the access hatch and a toothed-belt for the motor-drum drive. Nice touch.the drum and base are both larger than I expected and heavy.the materials and build quality seem good to very good.it's been running on the slowest speed for the last couple of hours with2 pounds or so of my steel parts to be deburred,4 pounds or so of 1" ceramic stars andwater with a little bit of dawn soapfilled to 1/2 the drum volume.I weighed the drum half filled with the previous mentioned items and it came out a little under 9 **pounds.like**: I like the way the drum hatch gets locked.the robustness of the build and motor.con: no instructions that I can see on how to work the base dials/controls, but I got it running by just turning the knobs.grin.not sure if the timer is on or what the 1/0 switch does (it's not on/off to the motor), timer use maybe ??I'll have another look in the box for the instructions or maybe on line .... this is not a big enough of an issue to take rating stars off my initial 5 star rating.update 10.1.2017: ran it 24hrs/day for 4 days straight with 4 different batches of parts and it worked without issues. My a36 steel parts came out as expected with a nice even finish.BTW not mentioned but as I state in the previous line, I've been running it without a 'timer' limit. I suspect the '1/0' switch when switched to '0' disables the timer ... however I got it to work this way, it's the way I wanted, so I can run it overnight without a 3hr reset of the timer.*
I appreciate the feedback. Thanks.