wood in a rock tumbler ?

[tribalwind]

i just got fnished scrolling out a bunch (50!) of little peace sign necklaces/earings for a store nearby, and want all the edges rounded over,organic/rustic-like not perfect symmetry. was gonna just use a mini sanding mop i have for a dremel but....wondering if i could buy or make a tumbler and toss them in there with a mild abrasive medium ? afterward i'd clean them off and dunk em all in an oil finish...
using all kinds of woods(using up scrap for them) cedar,walnut,cherry,hard maple,dense exotics etc...

[dbhost]

Not sure, but I'd be interested to see how that works out for ya...

[JoeyGee]

I think I read on here one time a tip for sanding a sphere, so the credit goes to whoever that was. Make a box with an open botton and set it on a belt sander and allow the pieces to tumble against the belt and each other. Maybe the belt would be too fast, but I guess it depends on how thick your material is.

[scmhogg]

I have never tried this.... But, most tumblers use a liquid, water, which wouldn't go very well with wood. You might look into the little machines that one uses to clean brass for reloading. You can use various abrasives from diamonds to walnut shells.

HF has this one. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93252

Steve

[herb fellows]

I'm with DB, let us know how you decide to do it and how it comes out, sounds interesting.

[Uncle Cracker]

If you can't get it with a tumbler, perhaps a sandblaster could do the trick...

[drillman88]

We used a rock tumbler filled with medium grade silica and scotchbrite pads cut into small pieces at work to effectly sandblast and polish small parts.I think the scotch brite may give you what you are after without being overly aggressive.We never used any liquid.

[tribalwind]

thanks for the ideas guys,
yea belt sander trick wouldnt work here,theyre flat discs, ditto on teh sandblaster, unless i got an airbrush sized one,might as well use the dremel at then,im after a wya to batch process them.

I have never tried this.... But, most tumblers use a liquid, water, which wouldn't go very well with wood. You might look into the little machines that one uses to clean brass for reloading. You can use various abrasives from diamonds to walnut shells.

HF has this one. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93252 Steve

funny ,thats the one i was looking at,that and their regular tumbler, i thought i'd either use thinned BLO in the tumbler or just forego any liquids in it..torn as to which to give a try though, dont really want to buy both,
if it dont work out i could get use out of tumbling actual rocks for use in inlays on flutes and artsy craftwork.

scotchbite pads thats interesting idea too.
might give that one a try

[Tom Miller]

Seems like adding a liquid would only make the wood fibers more resistant to abrading away.

How about a rock tumbler that's mostly full of sand, and then add a few of your parts. The parts themselves knocking against each other aren't going to give you the action you need, but maybe larger media will.

Regards,
Tom

[pelligrini]

I was thinking of using some of that garnet sandblasting medium.

I also thought about bagging the pieces up with some medium and tossing them in the dryer. Then I recalled the time I put a cedar chip filled dog mat in the dryer. It ruptured, and it was a big mess.

[BerniePA]

I was thinking of using some of that garnet sandblasting medium.

I also thought about bagging the pieces up with some medium and tossing them in the dryer.

If you're married and want to stay that way, I think I would think three or four times about doin' that to my wife's dryer -- unless I already had the new one on order from Sears, Lowes, HD..........

[tommyt654]

I have a Thumlers Tumbler and have has good sucess using walnut shell as a tumbling medium to polish up ivory and some small bits of wood as well. Yu might want to contact them and see if they have an alternate medium for wood.

[sscherin]

Well you could always rent a cement mixer from HD for a day and grab a 100# sack of medium sand..

Call it a $20 experiment.

[Beesneeze]

can be done

I once tumbled oak burls in a small wooden keg lined with sandpaper (i just stapled it in).

I drilled a hole through the top and bottom, ran a metal rod (axle) through, and made a wood frame out of 2x4 , with two 2x4 drilled on either side to hold the metal rod axle. An old 1/4 horse electric motor with a speed control turned it.

Worked well, but the noise was unbelievable! Made an MDF box lined with carpet pad to dampen the sound, but even then it was loud. Good thing I lived in the middle of the woods.

[eccentrictinkerer]

I had a similar need for sanding small parts several years ago. I glued sandpaper to interior sides of a 6"x6"x6" cardboard box.

I loaded the parts, taped the box shut the wrapped the box with two beach towels tied on securely. Into the dryer for a couple of hours and I got the finish I needed.

Noisy though!