jasonkimes
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2015
Posts: 8
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Post by jasonkimes on Nov 2, 2015 11:59:53 GMT -5
I just now registered after finding the forum only last night! I make welded steel outdoor, public sculpture. for a few years now I've using steel punches, the remnant from a hydraulic press. it's quite a ride developing a decent cleaning method to use on the punches to make them easier to weld (welding the crusty rusted ones really sucked!)...
I started with the Harbor Freight 18b (?) vibratory but quickly destroyed the included plastic bowl, these punches are 1" diam & another 1" thick (heavy). Recently I replaced the plastic bowl with a steel bowl I fabricated that is WAY more durable but also significantly bigger. I also added a fluid system to wash the media and parts as they vibrate. The bigger bowl now means i needed more media, before wording $100-$200 for ceramic media online I tried busting up ceramic tile i had laying around the studio. I found the site searching for anyone else who'd tried broken ceramic tile as a media type.
I'm not so concerned about polishing the parts as much as cleaning but would like some bite from the media to debur the punches that often have sharp edges from where they get sheered from the steel plate/I-beam. My process is so specific I'll certainly not find exact examples of the same application but decided to join the forum to just ask the occasional weird question directly assuming you guys have extensive experience that could apply to my application & surely have valuable input.
Thanks!
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 2, 2015 16:01:28 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum.
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jasonkimes
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2015
Posts: 8
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Post by jasonkimes on Nov 2, 2015 20:13:41 GMT -5
I tried uploading a couple of images of the vibratory I've been customizing & an example of the artwork I make but everytime each upload completes (each image under 1MB) I get the message that the forum site has exceeded the amount of storage available for images... is that normal or do I have a setting wrong on my end?
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 3, 2015 0:47:40 GMT -5
Welcome!
You'll have to post your pictures somewhere like Photobucket and then link to them here. This forum doesn't host images.
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jasonkimes
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2015
Posts: 8
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Post by jasonkimes on Nov 3, 2015 2:42:12 GMT -5
thanks!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 3, 2015 10:33:32 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum....Great people,great advice and lots of rocks,minerals and fossils!!
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jasonkimes
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2015
Posts: 8
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Post by jasonkimes on Nov 3, 2015 13:41:42 GMT -5
Here are the pics now that I have a shiny new Photobucket acct... Harbor Freight vibrator with new welded bowl: s1039.photobucket.com/user/jasonkimes/media/vibrator%20bowl%20on%20tumbler_zps8vqrbugf.jpg.htmlNew vs plastic factory bowl that has no bottom due my abuse: s1039.photobucket.com/user/jasonkimes/media/vibrator%20bowls%20compared_zpssf5dhi4m.jpg.htmlMost recent sculpture I've made using punches cleaned in the vibrator, its rusty now bc I use ferric nitrate to do a controlled rust (patina) before oiling. Theres no stoping an outdoor steel sculpture from rusting so you might as well use it to suit your purposes: s1039.photobucket.com/user/jasonkimes/media/standing%20punch%20figure_zps34fnrrru.jpg.htmlI've been developing my method without hardly any info since everything online is from ammo reloaders or is total industrial "mass finishing" engineering language... I know my use case is gonna be out of left field no matter where I go but thought joining a forum to pick the brains of folks who know the underlying process is gonna be my best bet at figuring things out whthout reinventing the wheel from scratch. Currently I've got a system that cleans off the thick rust scale & gives me clean steel to weld, thats the most important but I'm still interested in methods of polishing steel. Making indoor work isn't too difficult to keep from rusting and I also use aluminum & stainless in my work so I've been learning what I can about just what, fundamentally, does the work of polishing. Only Sunday night, just before I ordered $100+ of ceramic media, did I remember I had a bunch of ceramic tile sitting around here. After a cut bloody fingers I had a buckets worth of ceramic chips that appear to being doing a great job! Along with the home made fluid system I made with a fountain pump I made for a cheap; horizontal band saw, I have the crusty rust problem licked. Just waiting for my jug of soluble oil to get here on Thursday & won't need to dry off each clean punch as I get it out. So thats my story & why I joined, having little to no interest in polishing stones I hope I'm not intruding. Feel free to ignore me if so, its no big deal, as an artist with frequent odd questions I'm used to asking ten people before finding the one person who's interested enough in the weirdness of the question to share what they know. I have a feeling this site is full of unique diy-er's & problem solvers like myself. you can see more of my sculpture at www.jasonkimes.com
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Post by Peruano on Nov 3, 2015 18:27:03 GMT -5
Gosh, so many folks polish metals with vibratory tumblers, I'd expect some real good advice to come your way. In the meantime let me give you some guesses. I would guess that anything of the same hardness or harder would accomplish your task. I.E. use pea gravel if its mostly quartz and chalcedony, and send the ceramic media to me. Some folks here break up old carborundum grinding wheels to produce grit for larger tumblers. If live near an area with harvester ants, I'd expect the ant hill rock rubble would work for you - it might just need to be screened to produce a uniform size. Your punches are presumably hardened steel so I'd guess that nuts and bolts scavenged at the local Restore store would not work, but then rust is definitely softer than the base steel. BTW I love the one example you offered us and am on my way to your web site to see more. Welcome and who knows you may lead us to new horizons and breakthroughs. Tom
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Post by paulshiroma on Nov 3, 2015 20:33:56 GMT -5
Hey, welcome to the forum!
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jasonkimes
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2015
Posts: 8
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Post by jasonkimes on Nov 5, 2015 11:00:37 GMT -5
thanks a lot Tom! I'd been thinking a/b hardness ratings but not knowing the ceramic type used in many different tiles I broke wasn't certain that they were necessarily harder than the mild steel punches I'm cleaning. I know there are dry powdered polishing compounds used on rocks & thinking of that I sprinkled in some dry porcelain looking for the same effect. it's surely not hard enough as I saw little difference... I've also seen liquid chemical compounds on commercial mass finishing supply site but haven't figured out what makes them up or how they are actually effective. From your advice I'm gonna look into the harder stones you referenced. I've bought bags of pea gravel from lowe's before but highly doubt they'll have the rock makeup listed. where would you suggest looking into more specific kinds of rock in pea gravel?
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