This last weekend was a busy one, like most weekends here. On the list of projects that had to be completed was get the parts ready for heat treating. This meant bead blasting all the parts going to heat treat. Not a weekend of fun and frolic. Thousands of parts needed to be cleaned and prepped. The though of cleaning them one at a time did not make for a project that I wanted to do. I have been looking at rotating parts bins for my bead blaster but have not had much luck. I knew a simple solution had to be out there, This is a video I saw on the net that I felt would be a long term solution, but for now something quick and simple.
So I made a manually operated rotating tumbler for the bead blaster. Here is a quick video of it and using it.
The first attempt was a 3lb plastic coffee can and just rolling it around.
I needed something that was a little easier to use and could hold a few more parts. So I made one out of a 1 gallon bucket and some old castors.
This is what the rusty bolts looked like starting.
And at the end after a couple of minutes.
Not a perfect solution, but a workable one. When I have some spare time I will make a motorized one with a spray nozzle that does not have to be held.
Good solution to the problem!
I bought a cheap plastic-tub cement mixer and use that with sand in it. works fantasticly.
I will keep that in mind for larger runs of parts.