Vibratory Polisher Pro's & Con's

[daz2206]

Please can somebody give me a little advice on vibratory polishers, im debating whether to go out and buy one, the main reason is im spending a lot of time and money on things like cratex style bits to get into tight corners, and powerfile belts (for taking down rough cast) and felt bobs etc.. , i only polish as a hobby and its mainly car engine covers and pipes (alloy) that i mess on with, i really like the idea of chucking the part in and coming back a couple of hours later to find it done. im guessing there has to be a reason why everyone isn't using them ?
is the media expensive ?
is there a lot of different media needed to take it from rough cast alloy to an almost perfect finish ?
on that note, is it possible to get an almost perfect finish from one ?
is the media reuseable ?
is it a long process from start to finish ?

i appreciate not many people on here use these machines but if anybody knows anything at all about them i would very much appreciate their advice on the subject. (thanks in advance)

[sswee]

The initial cost outlay is a little high. If you do very many small item pieces or severely hate doing it by hand then it's worth it. The media cost will depend on the size of tumbler you get. You'll need coarse, medium, fine ceramics and either charged walnut shell or corn cob. The 4.75 gal needs 15 lbs. of each ceramic and 10 lbs. of walnut or cob. The media is reusable. Caswell has the additive to recharge the walnut or cob.

Each media type gives an approximate run time
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/...y_tumblers.htm

SS

[daz2206]

thanks for your help, (i didnt realise caswell sold them), the parts i would be doing would not fit in the round type as most of the parts are between 2ft and 2ft 6" long (rocker covers, cam belt covers, mainfolds etc...) so i would be looking at a tub type around 3 ft x 1 ft x 1ft = 3 cubic ft (i think lol), the media seems to be a reasonable price if it can be re-used so that shouldnt be a problem, the run times of each media seems ok,
so now i need to know roughly how much media is needed for a 3 cubic feet tub (does 65 lb's sound about right ?) and is there anywhere i can find close up pictures of work done by vibratory polishers to get an idea of the finish i can expect, also will they distort mating surfaces ? would the mating surface need skimming afterwards (for example where the manifold fits to the engine block) or would it take an even amount off all over ?.

[sswee]

The tub type vibratory tumblers I've seen were pretty pricey. I did look at a couple on ebay that were about the size you're talking about. Anyone selling them should be able to tell how much media is needed. I'll calculate an amount based on what I have. The round bowls work best at 2/3's full of media. I can take some pics of parts I have done. It takes of material fairly evenly over all. The corners and edges will get slightly more wear than the flat surfaces.
SS

[daz2206]

thank you again for your help, i really do appreciate your time, some pictures would be excellent if you dont mind, i think i will have around £3,000 (roughly $5,700) to spend on a vibratory polisher and some media so im not expecting to get a brand new one. (although it would be nice),

[sswee]

I don't how the market is where you are at but for that much money, you should be able to get a pretty nice setup. I'll try to post the pics by the weekend.
SS

[mpierich]

Originally Posted by sswee

I don't how the market is where you are at but for that much money, you should be able to get a pretty nice setup. I'll try to post the pics by the weekend.
SS

What are you using, sswee...a bowl?

You're right, that much money would bring a nice tub. I've been looking into it myself but concluded that at my volume of business it would take too long to pay for itself. I'm also a bit skeptical about how well it would do the tight areas like on an intake manifold - the smallest media I've seen wouldn't make it into the pockets, and wouldn't be able to move much if it did. As for those mating surfaces, I envision bolting covers (made of tin, etc.) in place for covering those areas.

Unless I take it to the next level and get a lot more business, my only hope is probably to build one. Maybe someday.

[daz2206]

[quote=mpierich]What are you using, sswee...a bowl?

I'm also a bit skeptical about how well it would do the tight areas like on an intake manifold - the smallest media I've seen wouldn't make it into the pockets, and wouldn't be able to move much if it did.

hmmm... good point, i had thought about this myself as the pictures ive seen of different media make it look like pretty big lumps (unless the pics are extremely close up) i would ideally be looking for media no bigger than 1/16 of an inch, also the idea of fixing some kind of plate over the mating surface sounds like its definatley worth looking into (just to be on the safe side)

[sswee]

I have the 4-3/4 gallon round bowl. Right now I have 1/4" fine ceramic triangles, charged walnut shell and charged cob. The 1/4" ceramics are small enough to get into a fairly small area. I'll get them in a pic with some of the parts tomorrow.
SS

[daz2206]

Thanks sswee, im just looking at a couple of small bowl type vibratory polishers on ebay as im thinking of getting a little one first to test them out before i go out and spend thousands on a proper one, should i get the same results from a lttle desktop one ?