Phenolic Canvas Fiber Removal
Phenolic canvas is a composite material consisting of layers of fabric fibers that is impregnated with a phenolic resin. This type ... Read More
How Barrel Tumble Finishing Works
Barrel finishing is a cost- and time-effective surface finishing process. The method is completed by tumbling parts in a rotating barrel, creating a rolling acting between the materials. Let's take a look at how wet and dry barrel tumbling works. Read More
Tumbling Stone Tile
An aged or weathered look on stone tile is a popular finish. When a stone is cut it has sharp, ragged edges (see part on left). Creating an aged look involves rounding the edges and getting a uniform finish on the surface. This can be done by hand with a grinder and polisher, but that process is labor intensive and slow. Read More
What Types of Barrels Should I Use?
Types of Barrels for Every Finishing Use Let’s say you know you need a finishing system (we say the chances are ... Read More
Black Acrylic Polishing
Polishing Black Acrylic We have written a number of posts about polishing acrylic (here, here and here and more). The 4-step dry tumbling ... Read More
Wood Part Tumbling
Cleaning Wood Tumbled Parts A common process for removing machining marks, hairs and rounding edges on wood parts is barrel tumbling ... Read More
Acrylic Duck Calls
Acrylic Duck Calls Above is an other good example of the results that can be obtained with dry barrel tumbling using ... Read More
Polishing Pewter
Polished Pewter When cast, lead-free pewter has a dull surface finish. This metal is often used for decorative purposes and a ... Read More
Polishing Acrylic
Many types of parts are molded and machined from acrylic plastic. Once the parts are made they often have a dull ... Read More
Polishing Brass Plates
Polishing various types of metals can often be a challenging process using just mass finishing. This difficulty is often compounded with ... Read More
Polishing Brass Jewelry
Brass Jewelry Polishing The above picture shows a piece of brass jewelry directly after molding and shaping (left) and a finished ... Read More
Dry Tumble Deflashing
Molded plastic parts often have flashing or excess material that needs to removed from the edges of the part (see part ... Read More
Cartridge Brass – Study (Part II)
Dirty Cartridge Brass Casings In the last post we discussed the differences in performance between vibratory tumbling and barrel tumbling to ... Read More
Cartridge Brass – Study (Part I)
Dirty Cartridge Brass Cleaning cartridge brass (see ‘dirty’ brass above) has traditionally been accomplished using a vibratory or barrel tumbler with ... Read More
Polishing Medical Parts
Once cut, machined and heat treated, stainless steel parts to be used for medical applications (see tweezer parts above) need to ... Read More
Wood Parts Tumbling vs Hand Sanding
Hand sanding wood parts can be a tedious and labor intensive process. The ability to smooth the surface, remove cutting marks ... Read More
Deburring Stainless Steel
Removing burrs from stainless steel is quite an important step in finishing it to an end product. Stainless steel demands much-specialized ... Read More
Mirror Surface Finishing
Achieving a near-mirror finish on many metals using only mass finishing such as vibratory tumbling or barrel tumbling can be a ... Read More