drgas Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Has anyone tried using a portable cement mixer with tumbling media of some kind as a way of removing scale from forged pieces? We are getting tired of wire brushing and are looking for a cheap but effective way to "descale". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 Did it for years works well but Its loud and makes a lot of dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry H Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 you don't need any thing else but the parts, tumble them together and you're good, no media necessary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dablacksmith Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 i did this and used a bit of gravel for medium it worked fine i did modify the tumbler by changeing the paddles so they dont grab the ironwork other than that it worked fine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshua.M Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 i learned a trick from work that you put some water in (5:1 medium to water) and it will keep dust down and helps polish it too -josh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 If you want a aggressive media when using a tumbler, throw in a bunch of nails or small drops, welding rod ends, holes from punching etc. When your finished, dump the tumbler media out onto a screen and the dust etc will fall away from the media that can be reused. If you add sand and a little boiled linseed oil and tumble a bit longer, the steel comes out with a nice oil finish.You can save and reuse the sand adding more linseed oil as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J W Bennett Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I made a tumbler out of a 100# propane tank. I use 3/8 nuts, welding rod stubs,Short drops and odds & ends for medium, I love it. Wrap it with foam rubber and it cuts down on the noise a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 We use a concrete mixer. I eventually removed all the paddles from the inside so that the sliding is smooth, and the noise is much less. I did try gravel and sand but eventually bought some proper polishing media that did a much better job. Together with that we bought a rust inhibiting soap that we threw in the mix with water, and it makes the loveliest grey foam, especially when you put in too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 if you can find a steel fabricator secure a bucket of punch droppings as a medium for tumbling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fe-Wood Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I made a tumbler out of a 100# propane tank. Brilliant! I have buch of tanks I bought at auction while they were full.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windancer Posted June 15, 2011 Share Posted June 15, 2011 I used one of the small cement mixers from HF, without the paddles. First used small pea gravel, worked OK but slow. Used sandblast media [black beauty] also worked OK. Got some punchout scraps and that works best and very fast. I bought a roll of 1/2 inch thick felt from ebay and rubber cemented 2 8 inch bands of that around the OUTSIDE of the drum., upper and lower. Fast, efficient and QUIET. Just the punchouts- nothing else mixed with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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