More resto questions.

[Leadfoot281]

I've got about 50lbs of loose nuts, bolts, screws, washers ect that are all pretty rusty and need some serious cleaning. I've been thinking about picking up one of these units. http://www.eastwood.com/catalog/product/view/id/1302/s/ew-hd-vibratory-tumbler-w-media-pushbutton/category/137/ . I do have a bench grinder with wire wheel but that will take forever and shipping this much stuff out is going to be spendy. All my parts are goofy metric stuff and finding correct replacements won't be easy either.

Has anyone here have any experiance with these? Could I polish a tiny 1bbl aluminum carburetor with it? Also, will the parts require any further steps afterward (zinc plating ect)?

[guspech750]

I would just recycle those old rusty bolts and stuff. I would think they would be pitted and weakened.

[LeoVampire]

You could get a sand blaster chamber for cheaper I would think.

Around $127.00 on e-bay for the cheapest one.

[Leadfoot281]

I would just recycle those old rusty bolts and stuff. I would think they would be pitted and weakened.

No can do.

They're not that bad. It's mostly just the bold heads that are rusty. All the threads are fine.

I paid $70 for 11 NOS Honda bolts last week. Redoing this 3 wheeler with NOS stuff is going to cost more than a new trilogy. Typical used stuff off e-bay is far worse than what I currently have.

I'm trying to restore this thing not replace it. If all I really wanted was a three wheeler I would have just bought one. This one belonged to my Dad and I'm gonna restore it.

I have a blast cabinet. My air compressor won't keep up with it though. A new air compressor is also out of the question. The country needs me to pay for their health care at the moment. I just don't have the cash. The machine I linked to is much cheaper than a new air compressor and all I really need to know is whether or not additional steps are needed to finish my hardware restoration.

[justbob]

If you know your sizes, I believe this company sells them by the piece. http://www.boltdepot.com/ Other than that, a good ole wire wheel on a bench grinder will clean them up quite nice and quick, but you'll still have to have them coated or the rust will be back in a few days.

[mrjones]

Around here, Sam's usually has a 240V air compressor for about the same price as the tumbler you're looking at. The tumbler would be a cool tool to have, but I would probably use a compressor more.

[LeoVampire]

adding a second tank onto your existing one may help it keep up with the blaster cabinet you already have. Just run them in tandom and then out to the blaster unit that might be a cheap way to go.

[martyo]

What size compressor do you have? Keep in mind for blasting, you do not need to run it at a high psi level.

Some of those vibratory tumblers will remove too much material, thereby taking threads with them.

[ImpalaSlayer]

i have herd that soaking them in a tub of white vinegar will remove the rust. see if you can find any info on teh webs

[Leadfoot281]

What size compressor do you have? Keep in mind for blasting, you do not need to run it at a high psi level.

Some of those vibratory tumblers will remove too much material, thereby taking threads with them.

I have a very old Craftsman 220v unit. I don't know it's CFM rate or it's overall capacity. All I know is that it's worn out and when I do get a different one it'll be the best money can buy. I don't like up-grading stuff. Buy cheap= buy twice in my book. That will be next year at the soonest though.

I'm not interested in sand blasting 250 itty bitty nuts, bolts, screws, washers, tiny little brackets, and other assorted rare pieces of super expensive Japanese weirdness. I don't want to buy all new hardware either. I'd much rather buy tools and use them.

I bought the last pair of NOS fenders for the damn thing ($380 for just the rear fenders) and refuse to put it together with rusty hardware. Who would?!

I AM interested in the tumbler I linked to. Does anyone here have FIRST HAND experience with them?

I put 570 miles on the Marauder today tracking down a pair of forks for the f'n thing and came up empty handed. After today I'd have to believe that restoring a crashed UFO would be cheaper, easier and have much better parts availability.