Metal Tumbler for Removing Slag

[jim]

I have been throwing around the idea of building a tumbler for a while as I have a large number of small and medium parts that are time consuming to grind. I was thinking of a small one to start maybe out of a propane tank turned by a couple of rollers. Just wondering if anyone has tried this and what type of material you use inside to do the deburing.
Jim(murals in metal)

[fyrpower]

You can use a cheap harbor freight cement mixer with small scrap metal as a medium works great

[jim]

Thats a good idea.The guys in the shop might think im nuts for the noise . Could close a area off and insulate it.
Thanks JIm (murals in metal)

[KenTexFabrications]

Jim, fyrpower is right. I have been using my Harbor Freight cement mixer as a metal tumbler/deburring pot for over a year and a half now and it does a good job. I have a mixture of small broken floor tile pieces(about 90%) along with the small metal scrap media(about 10%). I removed the mixing paddles in mine, it seems to be a little easier on delicate parts and easier to un-load, but it works well either way. The tile does get very dusty as it breaks down and requires washing out from time to time. Maybe one of these days I will incorporate a washing system, but for now I simply use a rubber snubber and a trash bag to close the opening in order to cut down on the dust. It is noisy however, and I am planning on spraying the drum with a bed liner material from the local automotive store. Hopefully with the application of several layers it will dampen the noise factor. Yes, there will be some skeptics, but the difference is measured in thousands $$$$$.

Ken

[jim]

Thanks guys I think I will go with the cement mixer idea . Cant wait to see the look on the guys face when I roll in with this .I could wrap the outside with carpet to cut back on the noise.
Jim(murals in metal)

[ce offroad]

I use gravel and scrap round drops from the table.

[AIRFLOWKID]

Guys
I use a cement mixer from Lowes -barrel is plastic-alot quieter.I also put b-b's inside to debur& old nuts & bolts
Tim

[anvilhead]

We made our tumbler out of a hot water heater tank. Welded 1" round bar on each end and attached pillar bearings. Attached a chain and sprocket on one end and a very small gear box to turn the unit. Used steel round slugs and square slugs from the punch press. Place flat bar on edge length ways to act as fins to help stir the load. Put in a long access door (we were using this to clean hot forged pickets for railings). We would load the tumbler in the afternoon and turn it on when we left for the day. Very loud. But it worked very well. Never thought about using it for plasma parts..... until I read this thread.

[Complete_Loser]

Outstanding. So im not crazy!

I also kicked around the thought of bedliner to knock down the noise. I think i will give this a go.

[Joey]

I made a tumbler out of 16 inch casing turning on flanged casters with a gear box drive. Works good. I made a trough underneath so getting parts out was easy. Just open the door, turn upside down, all the parts slide into a five gallon bucket. It has 3/4 inch bar for stirring the parts. I mostly cut hinges out of 1/2 plate and I would lose money without my tumbler cleaning them for me. That being said...... If I had found this website and read the idea of a plastic cement mixer I wouldn't have built mine. I would buy the mixer. Cheaper Quieter Easy to empty Easy to load

[JJ13]

I made mine octagon shape, so it gets 8 times the rollover inside. It turns at 3 rpm and works awesome.

[twicecustom]

We build a large one about 12 years ago. Best thing we have done,, well maybe not the best, But it sure saves many many hours of cleaning. Its loud but works so darn good... For the media we have a CNC Turret punch and punch 3/8 plate on a regular basis, so it has the drops in there, and another one we have had very good luck with is horseshoes,, yep real horse shoes, They seem to be heavy enough and have the curve that seems to get into the tubes and such. Ours spins at a pretty good clip, and only takes about 4-6min to get the job done. I will time the rotation tomorrow at work and post it. And I will try to snap a couple pics..