Should You Buy A Vibratory Tumbler To Clean Rusty Hardware? Probably Not. But...
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 เม.ย. 2022
- I picked up an 18lb vibratory tumbler like you'd find at Harbor Freight, Eastwood, and numerous other tool importers. I was wondering if it would be a suitable replacement for the trusty ol' wire wheel for cleaning up rusty/greasy nuts and bolts. Obviously, there are a million ways to clean a bolt, so the question isn't, "Will it clean bolts, " because of course it will. The question is, "Is a vibratory tumbler good enough at cleaning hardware to justify its addition to your shop?" The answer to that, it turns out, is complicated.
This is not an overall review of the tumbler. If you are considering buying a tumbler for rocks, deburring, or weird gun things, this is not your video. I am looking at this from the angle of cleaning rusty/greasy/dirty hardware and nothing else.
Just a note that this is NOT a paid review or endorsement. I bought the tumbler and media with my own money in post-inflation, 2022 stupid dollars.
Related part numbers:
Harbor Freight #96923
Eastwood #20153 - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Use a rubber lined rock Tumblr and not the tumbling media that you used. Its too big and abrasive. My late father sold industrial abrasives and sold a lot of tumbling media so I still have a lot of media that I have been experimenting with. He had an industrial type vibratory Tumblr but that was always used to get a final finish. In my opinion, a rotary type of rock, Tumblr absolutely works the best for removing rust. A small medium grit type of media along with about a half filled with water tumbling container along with a little bit of Dawn dish washing soap. Soap is a wetting agent and must be used with any type of wet tumbling. No need to double your work by removing the parts to rinse them off. Rinse everything off in the tumbling barrel. You clean both your parts and the media. You really made more work for yourself than you needed to. And the wire wheel…. I think that smoking a pack of cigarettes would be much better for you than using a wire wheel. Tumble correctly and you should never ever have to use a wire wheel. As far as dry tumbling goes…don’t waste your time. Just my opinion 😁
The value of these is for weird shaped parts not easily wire brushed. I also often run mine for days with mild media to get a nice polish. I also do mine dry so no mess. Walnut shells as media.
I didn’t know Moby was into wrenching
My wife's friend actually dated Moby. Should I be concerned?
I believe you would get better results if you put a blasting media in the thing along with the resin abrasives without water. Something like crushed glass or garnet would be good because its way smaller so its constantly contacting the parts and can get into the tight areas like threads and lettering. This is what I've seen most people do with great results.
Yes. I have aluminum oxide on hand as well as ceramic wedges and crushed walnut shell.
Never thought of a fine media.
I do have a bunch of coarse-ish blasting media. Might be worth another try. I have no shortage of rusty bolts!
Good review, I completely agree with all your points. Mine has been sitting untouched for nearly 2 years now as my good ‘ol fashioned wire wheel, polisher, and blast cabinet yield much better results (and I’m not afraid to put in the work).
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am cnc plasma cutting parts, starting with rusty stock scraps, and seeking fast ways to prepare parts for powder coating that will endure.
I am gun guy! 👋
That media is HUGE. I can't believe you got such good results. I would like to see what you get if you used play sand!
Based on the 4 things you stated at the beginning a tumbler won’t work. Sandblasting first then using the tumbler to polish is where they excel. Polishing stainless steel, aluminum, copper and brass comes out great in the tumbler. The larger ones have a way to circulate water to remove the dirt as the machine is running.
I ended up getting one on one of the sales, and think its great. Much quieter than I thought, but as you said, expectations are important. I do a quick clean to get most of the bulk grease and muck off the parts before putting them in (I got an old portable dishwasher off Craigslist for $20 for that). I've put many loads through the vibrator and haven't seen any need to wash the media. I also add a bit of water and an abrasive slurry forms which I would think helps rather than hinders the process. Never occured to me to throw it out. I hate the wire wheel, so maybe that's part of the attraction.
Very useful video to me, thank you.
That's a vibratory tumbler, it's only for dry media like corn con or crushed Walnut shell or ceramics. No liquids should be used in those at all. Outside of additives like liquid wax, jewelers Rouge, rubbing compound (in tiny amounts), mineral spirits (also in tiny amounts), and things like that. Wet tumbling is a different type of machine. There's bonuses for those too, but I don't use it very often at all honestly. Put the right chemicals in your wet tumbler and you will see amazing results, but it's kind of a P.I.T.A. most of the time.
The best part of these is you can toss them in and go about your day doing other things. It frees up your hands and let's you do two different jobs at the same time, which makes it more efficient even if it takes longer. Which brings me around to another good point. Let it go longer if need be. I routinely run things in mine overnight or even over a weekend. I've left on vacation for 3 weeks and forgot to shut it off. Your not likely to really damage anything by letting it go do its job for a while. That being said, it has limitations. It won't clean anything inside small holes, especially blind holes. Period. At all. It won't restore finish that's already damaged, it won't get rid of pitting, and it won't likely make things shine.
I did a bunch of reading before I started, and some people say never run wet, some say never run dry, some say to use X media, some say never use X, only use Y. I just took all I read and distilled it into one attempt. The plan was not to figure out the perfect equation for cleaning bolts, but to see how much trouble it was and if it was worth it for a person to make the investment into a tumbler for only that purpose. I decided that even if it worked perfectly and left no mess, it was not worth it to me.
I worked for a company that manufactured stainless steel and aluminum parts, all of our vibratory tumblers were wet, never dry.
@user-sk5ll9zw7c really? I had never heard of that before. I mean, it's not like me never hearing of it before should surprise me. The number of things I don't know grows daily, it seems lol.
@PhillipsHomeRepair well, I'm still learning about it, and I've been doing it for years, lol. Honestly, it's worth jumping into. I started using one when I started reloading cartridge cases, but I use several different types for a whole lot of different purposes anymore. I've cleaned a lot of stuff with them over the years now. Car parts, door hinges, old tools, knives, treasures found while metal detecting, jewelry (not good jewelery lol), kids' toys, and probably a million other things. They're one of those tools that's useful for more than what you originally intend to use them for.
"weird hobbies like guns" :(
Not as noisy with the correct amount of water, and a lid made of 3/4" plywood, tightened down with a knob. Been using the same tumbler for 15 years now... still running.
Ten hours of run time per load is not unusual for me. My reason for doing so is merely to be doing other things while the tumbler does it's work. It achieves results which I deem adequate. I may have fifty or more objects in the tumbler load at any given time. I can do the same at a wire wheel, but I don't want to stand at the wire wheel for the time it would take me. So I keep my tumbler.
This tiny tumbler looks huge standing next to you. Lol. That's a small tumbler though.
It's because he's a libsoy boy😭
Do you think if you use degreaser or some other cleaner it would have been easier to clean up?
Maybe? I may still experiment with media and additives, but it’s hard to see the process becoming less of a pain compared to a few minutes at the bench grinder.
I have the same model, bottom container comes off with one wingnut and has a drain port, so the mess you made with yours. I use mine dry with rust cutter media works great on rusty parts, much cleaner then what you pulled out. Watch the dust when you open container, I let mine sit for 30 minutes before I open it. Try again and do the unthinkable, read the manual and watch some videos.
Some people dry tumble and some wet tumble. Just because I tried a different method doesn't mean I didn't read plenty before coming up with a plan.
@@PhillipsHomeRepairreally aggresive response from people just trying to give advice. Words on the internet cannot convey emotion without stating the context, wouldn't take it as an attack.
Also these got featured at SEMA and seem to be doing wonderful, so always consider user error or misinformation.
Good review for me since I literally bought mine yesterday solely for bolt/nut/bracket restoration. Tried it for 5 hours last night and wasn't too impressed, think I'll take it back. Gonna try hydrochloric acid next. Ultimately I want to achieve a nice yellow zinc finish.
If I didn’t have other plans for mine, I doubt I’d use it again. I’ve already gone back to the wire wheel on the bench grinder for rusty bolts. I’ve already picked up the media for tumbling rocks and my wife is quite excited to get started down that path!
Ever try vinegar?
I have one, and I am disappointed w the overall results. thanks for vid you saved me the cost of that medium.
Why didnt you just do the items in the media without the liquids?
Same reason he doesnt think to try a more abrasive material after he didnt like the results
I read everything I could find before trying this, and while some people do recommended dry tumbling, the majority of professional advice I could find said to do it wet. But no matter what I did, someone would tell me I was doing it wrong. The goal was to see if it was significantly faster and/or easier than my current method, and I determined it probably wouldn't be.
Problem you have is most deburring company's use a second unit to clean the media and a filter system for cleaning the bowl, parts you tumble need to be sent through a dryer either spin, airblast or maise
I'm sure with the right setup, I could make a really nice parts cleaning system. But for the small amount of parts I need to clean, I'm sticking with the wire wheel.
I think you're kinda wrong! I think a wire wheel and bench grinder will never get the rust out of the nut thread area. I also don't think you should have added the water but maybe should have tried something else for media. But still a good video.
Fair points. It was just an experiment to see if it was worth further testing. I've mainly gone back to the wire wheel, but I have soaked rusty hardware in EvapoRust a few times.
Cat litter works well, don't add liquid. Your media was way too large.
drama queen
...says the guy triggered enough by random TH-cam videos to leave negative comments.
@@PhillipsHomeRepair Phil, I don't see a mere comment, even a caustic one, as "triggered". The term triggered comes from identifying someone's reaction as abnormal in the sense of being an extreme reaction. Those who call themselves "social justice warriors" or some equivalent, for instance, typically express a psychopathy which renders them prone to use an extreme reaction in order to manipulate people into accommodating the absurd ideas they embrace and are determined to coerce normal people into accepting. In other cases the term "triggered" can, and probably should be reserved for those instances in which a reaction which evinces emotional dysregulation which automatically results in "triggering" an extreme reaction which would not be observed in a normal person. As to whether 31acuz made an accurate observation, I have no opinion.
@@stephen1137 A couple things...
1. My name is Mark Phillips, but it's a common mistake
2. Let me edit this sentence for you so you can see the other side: "Those who call themselves "patriots" or some equivalent, for instance, typically express a psychopathy which renders them prone to use an extreme reaction (January 6th, shooting up an FBI office, blocking traffic with semis, Oklahoma City bombing, armed protests at drag shows, marching with tiki torches while chanting racist slogans, shooting up several gay bars, etc) in order to manipulate people into accommodating the absurd ideas they embrace (stolen elections, COVID conspiracies, pizzagate, Qanon, false flag mass shootings, The Illuminati, flat earth, crisis actors, etc) and are determined to coerce normal people into accepting."
3. I used the term triggered in jest, because it is commonly deployed against people with progressive views for expressing disagreement of any kind. People with stupid ideas have learned that if they can divert attention to someone's reaction to their stupid ideas, it takes the focus off them having to defend their stupid ideas. I guarantee you that if I went to a video of some preacher damning half of my friends to hell, and simply told him to go f**k himself, someone would accuse me of being triggered.
4. This is an 11 minute video about tumbling rusty bolts with a 5 second joke about how I find guns weird. Jesus H. Christ, people. Either watch the f**king video or don't.
@@stephen1137typical leftie liberal. They all look the same too. During covid he probably wore a 😷 in the shower 😂
If your a car guy and you don’t like guns….Your the weird one! America Baby
Thanks, I’ll stick with the bench grinder and a wire wheel, oh, n95 mask
I don’t like guns either, but I like tyranny less. So there for I own guns.
It's true, I have no guns and am constantly struggling with tyranny.
Never mind, I thought you said tranny. I have a 200-4R in my garage that I keep tripping over and I thought I might have to shoot it.
Unlike the wire wheel, the vibratory tumbler doesn't remove skin.
totally going to find a different video
This isn't an airport. No need to announce your departure.
Soii boii
LIBS: OWNED
Guns are weird and Osiris shoes are cool is the only things I took away from this video
This Dude definitely got picked on in high school😂😂
Yes I did. Thanks for bringing it up.
wrong media
What about a sand blaster? I’ve tried the tumbler. It does take a long time in the tumbler if you want to remove more of the rust. A wire wheel is dangerous no matter how careful you are. Sand blaster is fast, easy and not dangerous
Yeah if he wasn’t such a spice about other ppls hobbies being weird we could offer ways to improve the turnout . Butttt since he was i don’t feel need to
🤣🤣🤣 real talk!
Stop it with the mean comments guys....guns scare me...!!! Anyways I am goin to finish my meatless burger...totally...!!!
I found one of these tumblers and it's not that big. I realized in this video it's the soy-boy next to it that makes it look so big 😂.
You need to try it before you start knocking on guns 😒
You should just get nitric acid and dip everything in that for 4 min it’s cheaper
"F.J.B."!
You should relabel your video the anti 2nd amendment clown that doesn't know the lid is there for a reason
This guy is so far left he was born on Reddit 😭
I guess he is a gun hater.. I never knew my 2nd amendment hobby was “weird”. But thanks for the informative video
I’ve lived my entire life in a city and never had any use for a gun. I’ve never even really seen one, except on tv.
I didn’t get “ gun hater” from the dude. He just doesn’t know what prepping brass for reloads is.
Calling guns “weird” is kinda weird though. I mean, when you’re in trouble ya basically calls guns to help.
Totally off topic though.
I bought this machine to clean up some parts for an old bicycle.
Hope it works decently.
If not, I’ll take it out back and shoot it😂
I am looking at one to clear my gun parts
Yeah, I wouldn't trust anyone who says they're into mechanical stuff who also says they don't understand the appeal of guns. Even if you think guns should be restricted or even outlawed, if you have an appreciation for machines, you ought to have an appreciation for guns and the hobby. It's like an astronomer saying he doesn't really understand why people are into physics.
I definitely got the gun dislike from tbt comment. But but just as it’s our second amendment right. Not to mention his as well. It’s his First amendment right to express his opinion. We need to save our energy towards finding better politicians. And not attack each other.
“ most disappointing gumball machine ever“ me: Sub’d & Bell’d Immediately
Apparently I need to address the brief comments I make in this video about guns. So at the risk of (definitely) making things worse, here goes:
First off, if you are into guns and watched this video without leaving a thumbs down or commenting something shitty to me personally, congrats! I appreciate your ability to behave like a grown-up, and I am honored to share a planet with you.
All of my videos have a thumbs up/thumbs down ratio of at least 95%, except this one, which is at 60%. This means something in this video is especially triggering to a some viewers. And based on the comments I keep getting, it's the gun people.
We all have hobbies that we geek out on and other people don't understand. Here's a brief list of weird hobbies I have or have had in the past: AMC Pacers, lowrider bicycles, vintage Vespas, accordions, lowrider cars, skateboarding, death metal, watch repair, BC Rich guitars, 8 track tapes, tube amps, Moffitt houses (it's an Iowa City thing, look it up), old horror movies, car stereos, and vintage arcade cabinets.
If someone came to me and said that any one of the above was weird, or they didn't understand it, or they thought it was silly, or they thought it was a waste of time, or anything else like that, I'd be like, "Yep. It's weird." End of story. Why would I get offended by someone NOT liking a weird hobby I have? The fewer people into accordions means more accordions for me.
I grew up and have lived my entire life in Iowa City, which is a liberal arts college town. All around us, it's rural and small town living, with lots of farming, hunting, and guns. But Iowa City is its own little world. You're much more likely to accidentally encounter a jazz concert or poetry reading than a gun. I've never even seen a gun in real life in my 40+ years, except for on a cop's hip. I have no reason to own one and none of my friends that live here have any reason to own one. I don't eat meat and I don't kill bugs, so I obviously don't need a gun for hunting. For the personal protection argument, a gun owned for personal safety is statistically many times more likely to harm a member of the household than a "bad guy". I love my family too much to bring a gun into the house and put them at risk.
As for the "protection from tyranny" argument? I'm deeply concerned with how casually people throw around the possibility of killing law enforcement or government officials. That's a relatively new phenomenon, and it's extremely unsettling. We elect the officials. If they do something you don't like, you get to elect someone else. If you think the process is unfair, you can elect officials that will change the process. That's the beauty of representative democracy. At no point in the cycle should violence be involved, and to even THINK about that as a possibility shows some major problems with the American psyche.
Bottom line: I just think it's weird to be obsessed with objects that do nothing but propel other, smaller objects. I'm free to think it's weird and you're free to think it's cool. No need to be an asshole.
I like guns and I like cars. What I don't like is a man who wears a brand new pair of Osiris shoes and plays with greasy grimey car parts, lol. Great informative video and haters gonna hate.
@@evonpersonal6388 Those are my slip-ons that I keep by the door when I'm just running out for a minute or walking the dog. They're actually about 10 years old. If I was expecting to make a huge mess, I'd definitely throw on the steel-toe Timbs though. Thanks for not being a hater!
Sorry you encountered so many people that don’t understand freedom. You are entitled to your opinions.
For fast rust removal I would suggest a blasting cabinet (much mor versatile) or a tumble blaster if you are only doing small parts. To do small parts in the blast cabinet put them in a coffee can or similar and you can still clean large stuff. Tumble blaster throw the stuff in set the timer and come back and it is done. The handful of stuff you had probably 15-20 minutes in the tumble blaster.
This guy right that again humor us like who the fuck is reading that
I love guns but also like this channel.. I’m so confused now
guns are a weird hobby. shooting guns is kind of like golf but you get to also block out all the ambient noise. anything which you can get better at is addictive. guns themselves are diverse and technical and collectible and come in all shapes and sizes and price ranges and are like trading cards but and you can upgrade them. then there’s the political aspect of it which some people only own guns on principles and have no idea how to use them. and then there’s the fact that it is a weapon and is linked to a persons psyche if that’s where they go in fight or flight mode. and then there’s the flag wavers with gang mentality who feel the need to wave their guns in everyone’s face because a love affair with deadly force has become normalized which is where i get off the ride. shooting is cool guns are cool it will protect your family but i think you have to accept the sick fact that you’re potentially going to kill somebody and that’s nothing to brag about because it’s actually sad and i feel sorry for you if you have to experience going through that even if you were in the right it will live on repeat in your mind and change you for the worse and at some point you’ll stop wanting to advertise your mental illness and finally strip those retarded stickers off of the back of your truck. if you do go through that i hope that you got the right guy and that it was worth it but i still hope that it never happens in the first place.
Thumbs down for the gun comment.
Thumbs down for the thumbs down for the gun comment comment.
U know u didnt have to make it a goopy mess you could have run it dry or with very minimal lubricant and got the same or better results.. but that would be crazy right. Also you didnt mention changing to a more abrasive material to get better results... like ceramic? You aint workin on my shit 😂😂
You seem nice.