[ragnost]

I found a Midway dealer in the UK about 10m from where I live finally got there last weekend I refused to buy the tumbler

Dealer Midway UK
£97.00 £42.34 Tumbler

£39.60 £21.83 Corn Cob

£00.00 £8.85 Carriage

£136.00 £73.02 Total

So I am sat waiting for a delivery from Midway UK (should arrive about the same time as the 3 Boker’s from e-bay so guess what’s going in) don’t know if all dealers jack up their prices to the same extent as far as I could see all of the tumbler’s he had Lyman etc where all over double the price of going direct so if you want a tumbler in the UK try going direct it may mean opening an account, other way is if you have family or friends state side get them to get it for you then ship it over not an option for me don’t know anyone over there

[gssixgun]

Originally Posted by TOB9595

Glen, anything happening here?

NO!!!!!! Nothing worth using, the razor promptly clogged full of media and took about 30 minutes with a nylon brush to clear out....
This was a no joy situation...

[Aurora Borealis]

Added 2 teaspoons of the green CO to the mix and am having better results and more of a mirror finish. It may sound a bit odd but it's working.

[Iron_Beard]

Has anyone tried this media? It is green like CrOx and I was wondering if it was of any value beyond the walnut shells.

Harbor Freight

[D2T]

Originally Posted by Iron_Beard

Has anyone tried this media? It is green like CrOx and I was wondering if it was of any value beyond the walnut shells.

Harbor Freight

It looks very similar to some media I picked up from Rio Grande. Overall it worked pretty well after adding some water in to get things moving a little better. In retrospect I'd would probably have used mineral oil or something like that instead of water because water caused a lot of staining on the blade.

Even with the water it is quite a bit louder than corncob or walnut.

[Iron_Beard]

D2T,

Was it worth the extra noise or does it work only as effectively as the walnut?

[D2T]

Originally Posted by Iron_Beard

D2T,

Was it worth the extra noise or does it work only as effectively as the walnut?

Sorry, haven't been around in a while. I wouldn't normally bring a thread back after so much time, but since the question was left to me...

The pyramid media did work a lot faster than the walnut and gave an extremely uniform frosted (best word I can come up with) smooth finish. I probably should've paid more attention to see if there was appreciable wear to the edge, but at a casual glance it didn't look like it was worn down much. No big nicks or anything.

I would consider using it again, but it is very loud compared to the slower alternatives.

[timberrr59]

Is it possible to sleeve a piece of PVC tubing over the all thread bolt to protect the blades? I think ACE Hardware Stores have some smaller diameter tubing. A stainless tube from an industrial or automotive supply store would be best. Coppper tubing might wear away in time. It would really shine up for sure!

[lawman2]

Has anyone experimented with the pet store walnut and/or cob to determine whether the larger media usually found at pet stores makes any difference in the result as compared to the media purchased from reloading suppliers?

[Lancer]

Oh wow...

I've just spent the last 4 hours carefully reading through this thread and I have to say it is one of the most informative and enlightening reads I've had on the restoration of razors.

As soon as I am able I will be getting myself a tumbler and some media (sourcing it should be an experience in it's self down here in Australia).

I hope, with the information provided here, to kiss good bye to sore fingers and arthritic joints on future projects.

I will try and keep you all up to date on any finds I might make.

A full list of suppliers in Australia will be provided for any locals that may be interested.

[FloorPizza]

I don't know if anyone else has had this happen to them, so just in case...

Lyman Tuffnut pre-treated walnut media can stain scales. It also doesn't seem to be a very good media in general.

I'm going to Harbor Freight to buy some of their aggressive little plastic pyramid media to use on a rusted Red-Injun I have coming from fleabay.

I've only seen one report on the Harbor Freight media.. anyone else had any experience with this stuff?

[Milton Man]

So, since Midway doesn't ship to Canada (at least that's what they're website says...) I'll be picking mine up at Le Baron Outdoor Products tomorrow. They have the Lyman Pro Turbo 1200 for $65 Cnd, or what seems to me the same thing with a second bowl for $85 (how expensive are these bowls?) Which would you go for? http://www.lebaron.ca/pdf_files_fall.../lyman_kit.pdf

Also, I'm looking at media, which would you suggest?The Lyman Easy Pour treated Corn cob and/or Tufnut media? THe stuff from Pet Smart, or something else all together? I'm looking here at the moment: http://www.lebaron.ca/pdf_files_fall...yman_media.pdf

Thanks for the help, guys - I know NOTHING about guns, or reloading, or any of this, so any advice would be appreciated.

Mark

[Earthdawn]

Originally Posted by Milton Man

So, since Midway doesn't ship to Canada (at least that's what they're website says...) I'll be picking mine up at Le Baron Outdoor Products tomorrow. They have the Lyman Pro Turbo 1200 for $65 Cnd, or what seems to me the same thing with a second bowl for $85 (how expensive are these bowls?) Which would you go for? http://www.lebaron.ca/pdf_files_fall.../lyman_kit.pdf

Also, I'm looking at media, which would you suggest?The Lyman Easy Pour treated Corn cob and/or Tufnut media? THe stuff from Pet Smart, or something else all together? I'm looking here at the moment: http://www.lebaron.ca/pdf_files_fall...yman_media.pdf

Thanks for the help, guys - I know NOTHING about guns, or reloading, or any of this, so any advice would be appreciated.

Mark

I can answer this as I asked gssixgun myself via PM .... His answer is as follows,

"Treated "IF" it is the RCBS, I only know that their media treatment is steel safe I don't know about some of the others..."

RCBS - Precisioneered Shooting Products - Home

So if it is not from RCBS then get the untreated.

Check out this thread for a little more insite into the tumbler treatment and the entire resto process.
Start to Finish Razor Restore !!!!

I am suppose to have my tumber delivered tomorrow with the media from Midway..... I can't wait to see the results !

[30Cal]

Originally Posted by lawman2

Has anyone experimented with the pet store walnut and/or cob to determine whether the larger media usually found at pet stores makes any difference in the result as compared to the media purchased from reloading suppliers?

I use crushed walnut from the local pet store. It's the same stuff you order from the reloading suppliers, only it comes in a 25lb bag and costs only $6. I think they have a more coarse grade as well.

I also have a small 2-3oz bag of xxf red powdered rouge (should be able to google it up) that I bought at the local gunshop that makes stuff ultrashiny. Maybe a half teaspoon in the regular sized tumbler. A lot of handloaders use automotive rubbing compound or flitz. The red powdered rouge works much better IMHO. I would think it'd work well in this application.

[FloorPizza]

Originally Posted by Iron_Beard

Has anyone tried this media? It is green like CrOx and I was wondering if it was of any value beyond the walnut shells.

Harbor Freight

I just loaded up my polisher with this media about an hour ago. The stuff is *really* loud. With the lid off the polisher, it's so loud it's physically uncomfortable to hear. With the lid on, it's tolerable, but just barely.

I watched the blade in the media for a few minutes... it seemed to be working its way through the media and around the polisher better than it was doing in the walnut media.

This blade had been sanded through 400 grit, but I did notice a few scratch marks left from a more coarse grit, and I found a few defects i had missed. So we'll see how this media works on a good range of scratches and defects.

While at Harbor Freight, I also picked up five pounds of 320 grit aluminum oxide powder. I'm thinking about adding it to walnut media to give it some additional teeth, but thought I'd run it passed you guys first. Thoughts?

[FloorPizza]

The ceramic media from HF is very aggressive. Much more so than walnut. The marring it left was not removed by two days in treated walnut media. It is removed easily with 400-600 grit paper, though.

[FloorPizza]

Update on the Harbor Freight Ceramic Media (again):

As mentioned before this stuff is loud, and very aggressive. I've done several razors in this media now, with amazing results, as well as no blade damage.

If you don't mind waiting a few days, this stuff is capable of removing some pretty serious rust, scratches, stains, pitting, patina, defects, you name it. Just *one* day is enough to do a stained razor. Three to four days will do some pretty amazing things.

Of course, all this comes with a big but(t)... I haven't been able to chuck a razor done in the ceramic media right into the walnut shells with good results. The walnut shells (at least the way mine are treated, I need to try other rouges/polishes) are not capable of removing the, uh, well, for lack of a better term, "sanding marks" that the ceramic media leaves in the steel. Glen (and others) have been able to get the walnut shells to remove 400 grit sanding marks, and I think if you're able to obtain that kind of result, it would probably remove the marks from the ceramic media. My walnut shells, however, aren't even capable of removing 800 grit sanding marks. I'm using the pre-treated Lyman Tufnut shells, fwiw.

If you prefer to do it by hand, the ceramic media marks are easily removed with 800 grit paper. I said 400-600 previously, then tried 800 on the latest blade. Marks came right out. Guess I'll try an even finer grit next time...

Several rock polishing sites recommend using stainless steel shot to polish up metal. Has anyone tried this with a razor yet? I'm thinking of buying some but it's kinda pricey.