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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Posts
    327

    Vibratory tumbler

    Well I have had a cheap tumbler and then I got the Thumlers uv45 tumbler. The Thumler blew a motor in just over a year so I got a new one. That one lasted a month. The design of the thumlers was sketchy to say the least. The motor looks like it should be $20 but is $130. It vibrated apart the first time. The top and the bottom part of the motor is held on by tabs, no bolts. How you mount the motor is to have 2 plates on each side of the motor and really long bolts that go into the base. Tighten the bolts down too much and it will squeeze the motor causing friction. Keep them loose and it will make a racket. The second motor was definitely blown by the bolts not being tensioned properly. It would have been much better if it just had spacers between the top and bottom plate to make sure you couldn't overtighten it. But that would have cost too much I guess. Did I mention the thumlers was $600? The total parts cost on this thing had to be $100 max. Well I had some parts that needed to be polished and I happened to be at harbor freight. They had this tumbler on sale for $170:

    18 Lb. Vibratory Bowl w/ Liquid Drain Hose

    Also had a 2 year warranty for $50 and a 20% off coupon. Got it for less than $200 total with tax. Set it up and ran it and it was pretty good. I haven't taken it apart to look at it, but it definitely didn't heat up like the thumler did. I ran it for 24 hours straight and it was just slightly warm to the touch. The thumler I think would have been a bit quicker but not enough to justify $400 more in my book.

    If you are looking for a tumbler to try out, the price can't be beat on this. Nice part is if it does crap out I can just walk in with it and get another one.

    -Keith

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Posts
    6618

    Re: Vibratory tumbler

    I have that HF tumbler. When I tried using it, it wasn't really what we needed for our parts. It does a pretty good job though. I tried a couple different sizes of ceramic and plastic media both dry and with soapy water. I have ran it for more than a day a couple times. I ran it on a surge protector for a little extra insurance. I have quite a bit of surplus stuff that I will be trickling onto Ebay.
    This item will be one of them.
    Lee

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    480

    Re: Vibratory tumbler

    I have the same HF tumbler. For my parts (6061-T6) the green pyramids work the best to give a uniform look to the entire part with just a few hours of time. The pyramids do have an amazing ability to wedge themselves back to back in small spaces, so I have to dig them out depending on the part geometry. It's also a bit smaller than I would like, but it is cheap.

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