I'm going to ditto Doug and go a bit farther.
I would recommend a barrel tumbler instead of the vibratory unit. When dealing
with rusty steel, the vibratory takes second place. The small vibratory units
are really great for cleaning and polishing smooth metal, but they are not
really intended for rust cutting. The exception is the truly heavy duty units
sold by McMaster-Carr, but you're talking big bucks.
I suggest a visit to McMaster-Carr http://www.mcmaster.com/ for media (search
for "tumbler") and any rock shop for the tumbler.
http://www.dadsrockshop.com/tumbler_rotary.html
http://www.4facets.com/tumbler.html
http://www.bergsrockshop.com/cgi-bin/product.php?item=Rock%20Tumblers
I use Novaculite in my tumbler along with a rust preventative fluid. It cuts
the
rust without tearing up the steel. I use it for badly rusted small parts that I
don't want chewed up in the blast cabinet.
Andy Litkowiak
Douglas Frank wrote:
> Vibratory parts cleaners are stocked at most larger gun stores. The
> places that sell reloading presses & stuff for making your own ammo will
> typically stock them in the smaller sizes. They're used for polishing
> brass cartridge cases. For cleaning nuts & bolts & stuff, this would be
> just the ticket.
>
> HOWEVER the walnut shell media sold for polishing not-very-dirty brass
> would not be suitable for rusty steel. I've not tried this, but if
> Eastwood doesn't sell a suitable media, I think I would first try a bit
> of clean sand.
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