# hi gloss finish- why not a tumbler?



## studioso (May 30, 2011)

hi,
I was reading a pen magazine sometime, and a big manufacturer described their resin pen as polished in a tumler.
so this got me wondering:

why do we bother with the micromesh, when we can let a tumbler do the polishing?
I admittedly have no experience with these, but I know that they are relatively inexpensive, that depending on the shot used you can get any kind of finish/gloss you want, and while they should definetly work on plastics, they might even work on CA coated blanks.

the only problem I can forsee is that the egges would ound off, so perhaps you would need to bolt 2 bushings through the blank. 
on the upside, no water, no sanding particles to deal with, and you can polish several blanks ata time, while you are busy enjoying other things...

(A search only seem to bring up tumler polishing in context with metal)


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## ohiococonut (May 30, 2011)

I've been reloading for all of my firearms for years and have two vibratory case cleaners, not tumblers. I see a couple of problems here. Unless you know the process you'll be spending hours figuring out which tumbling media to use and then more hours trying to figure out how long you need to tumble them. There are two "basic" types of media used for cleaning/polishing shell casings. And I say basic because there are soooo many types of tumbling media. One is used for cleaning which is crushed walnut shells, and crushed corn cobs is used for polishing. Some have polishing compound added, some don't. You will have to use bushings on each end to keep the edges from rounding off and the process isn't going to just take 15min, it can take hours to polish. 

You're probably looking at a minimum $100 dollar investment "if" you know what you need. Your finish needs to be farily smooth to begin with if you want it even. I'm not sure about polishing ca finished blanks, leave it in too long and your finish is gone. If I were mass producing pen blanks this may be the way to go. But making them one at a time, this would be a very slow process. I might give it a try just to say "been there, done that". Maybe someone here has/does use this process and can shed some light on this subject.


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## thewishman (May 30, 2011)

I think it is worth pursuing. Friction polish used to be THE finish, things changed because people tried different things. Give it a shot!


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## azamiryou (May 30, 2011)

I'd say, if you have a tumbler handy, give it a try!


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## studioso (May 30, 2011)

ohiococonut said:


> I've been reloading for all of my firearms for years and have two vibratory case cleaners, not tumblers. I see a couple of problems here. Unless you know the process you'll be spending hours figuring out which tumbling media to use and then more hours trying to figure out how long you need to tumble them.




Thank you for the advice, do I really need to experiment with medias and times? I though that's what forums are for!!

100$ is probably the price to pay for a brand new tumbler. I'm sure a simple tumbler can be made from scraps or bought used on eBay. 

And to be honest, polishing it's not what I enjoy about pen turning. And even if it takes an hour, I don't have to sit there and watch the water boil...


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## ohiococonut (May 30, 2011)

> Thank you for the advice, do I really need to experiment with medias and times? I though that's what forums are for!!
> 
> 100$ is probably the price to pay for a brand new tumbler. I'm sure a simple tumbler can be made from scraps or bought used on eBay.
> 
> And to be honest, polishing it's not what I enjoy about pen turning. And even if it takes an hour, I don't have to sit there and watch the water boil...


 
No, you wouldn't need to experiment as long as someone else has already done this and you can glean the info from them. Fortunately the world wide web has opened up new opportunities and lessened learning times tremendously. It years past is was try and try again and learn from your mistakes.

There are basically two types of cleaners/polishers. One is a tumbler which is a small drum that allows the media to tumble as it rotates much like a cement mixer. The other is a vibratory bowl that sets on springs and does just what the name implies. It has a small motor underneath with an eccentric weight and the contents vibrate around in a circular motion. 

Most people that want to polish things such as rocks and gems use a tumbler. It can be a little more aggressive because of the motion it uses depending on the media. One in particular that's popular with them is the Thumlers Tumbler. You can make a small tumbler out of a coffee can and a small motor that works quite well. As far as the vibratory case cleaner/polisher, just about every reloading manufacturer makes one.

And last...you don't have to watch it, just don't forget it's running :biggrin: When I first started using one I used a lamp timer. If I left it running it would quit but start up again the next day and run for the same amount of time. Later I built a unit that uses an AB timer that I set to count down time and stop.

Don't know how much of this you already knew but you said you couldn't find any info........guess that's IS what forums are for :wink:


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## MesquiteMan (May 30, 2011)

Harbor Freight has tumblers and vibratory polishers.  Might look there.


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## hunter-27 (May 30, 2011)

Been there, tried it. I used a Lyman vibratory machine.  It does work to an extent.  If your barrel is sanded smooth, it will polish it.  I found best results with corn cob media.  If your barrel has more than extremely fine sanding scratches it will not be as nice unless you leave it in much longer.  I found that, for me at least, by the time I had the barrel sanded smooth enough for it to polish the way I wanted, it really took hardly any time to just go ahead and finish it on the lathe using Brasso.  I did bolt the bushings on with a 1/4 " bolt and nut to protect the edges.  I just decided it was not worth the extra steps to accomplish the final polish which really should only take a very short time anyway on the lathe.  If you were doing "production work" might be different but at my pen rate, I did not feel the "juice was worth the squeeze".  Maybe a different tumbler/media combo will yield someone else better results.  Don't take my word for it, give it a shot.

Landon


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## studioso (May 30, 2011)

Thanks for the input: In fact, like I said, I don't own a tumbler, the only one I've seen in real life is by my grandfather, a pro watchmaker. I guess next time I go gist I'll bring some corn along...

Btw, am I wrong to assume that you can only place one blank at a time? I would think that multiple blanks would bang against eachother, perhaps this might leave unwanted marks ( even if you put mask tape on the bolted bushing)


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## Sylvanite (May 31, 2011)

Buffing yields a higher shine than tumbling will, and it is much, much quicker.

Regards,
Eric


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## hunter-27 (May 31, 2011)

studioso said:


> Thanks for the input: In fact, like I said, I don't own a tumbler, the only one I've seen in real life is by my grandfather, a pro watchmaker. I guess next time I go gist I'll bring some corn along...
> 
> Btw, am I wrong to assume that you can only place one blank at a time? I would think that multiple blanks would bang against eachother, perhaps this might leave unwanted marks ( even if you put mask tape on the bolted bushing)





Sylvanite said:


> Buffing yields a higher shine than tumbling will, and it is much, much quicker.
> 
> Regards,
> Eric



I never did more than one at a time but yes that could happen.  As Eric also states, buffing is "much, much quicker".  

By the time the barrel is prepped enough to put in the tumbler, you might as well just finish it.


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## mredburn (May 31, 2011)

The producers of mass quantities of pens doesn't have time to finish each pen by hand without having a huge increase in costs which is then passed on. They use massive tumblers and finish large quantities at once in a shorter time than your rock tumbler or vibratory reloading polisher. I have both. The softer media wont rub your corners that round unless you leave them in there for days. The media acts as a buffer between parts as well as a buffing force. Unless you go to the centrifugal rotary high velocity machines that are used for deburring etc. 

Although you can do it this way I dont think you will get the results you want in a short time. My experiences with polishing other things tells me you will have to leave it in the machine a long time and that means its costing you more than just finishing it on the lathe. Depends on the volume you are trying to achieve.


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