Deburring small items after parting off

I required a handful of 5mm long spacers to fit an LCD to the front panel of an electronic box I developed. I have a few 5mm long hex standoffs, too few, but have many 40mm long of the same stuff, so parted off a bunch of 5mm sections. This left a nice sharp edge burr at the part face and it was too much effort to reset each in the chuck, and clean the corners up - I had to do 40 off them...

So, tear a strip of fine emery paper, the width equal to the height of an aerosol can snap-on lid. Fit the emery inside the lid, against the sides, with emery inwards. Dump the bits to be deburred inside, top off the opening, leaving a small gap - insert the nozzle of the compressed air gun into said opening at an angle and pull the trigger, hold for 2-3 minutes, and the bits are all nicely deburred!

The spacer between the LCD and the rear of the front panel of the box of tricks:

LCD viewed from front.

Emery in the container

CLose off the top and blast with the air gun..

Nicely deburred, matt finish.

edit - them typo's...

Edited By Joseph Noci 1 on 20/07/2019 21:33:37

Cool!

Neat air-driven version of the industrial tumbler, with uses abrasive-stone shapes and soapy water in a revolving octagonal drum.

A jeweller's tumbler might work too, for small items.

Although water rather than air-powered, you used to be able to buy potato-peeling machines that worked in the same way! I wonder if they went out of use because they used so much water, straight from the tap.

Joe,

That's a really neat trick! Ideal for one off jobs, plus a lot quicker than the vibrating abrasive machines.

I once visited a cutlery factory in Sheffield and the vibrating drums of abrasive shapes and steel parts ran virtually non stop and made a hell of a din into the bargain. They did give amazing results though.

Regards plasma

Plus I remember being fascinated at our local chip shop, watching the rumbler do its job and then watching the peeled spuds go into the mechanised chipper. A reciprocating kind of machine that spat chips into a bucket.

A quick google reveals potato rumblers are still being made. And they still use lots of water to flush away the feelings as they work.

A less fond memory is of when I was a fitter at my local authority and occasionally had to go to breakdowns at the abattoir. There they had a very similar machine but much bigger, used to dehair pig carcasses. Not a pleasant job to strip and repair.

Plasma

A good idea and easy enough. As a apprentice at BAC Weybridge, we were shown how the skin milled panels for VC 10 wings were de burred on huge vibrating tables loaded with the 20 foot long panels loaded with marble chips and water.

Small tumblers are used by collectors and polishers of pebbles and semi-precious stones, and these are readily available from specialised shops and on the net.

At the Menz Shed I am currently making parts for a tumbler for one of the many rock collectors around this district, there is a good source of aggates in the area. Basicly two rubber rollers 3" dia x 2ft long, and a 1/4hp 4 pole motor from a washing machine. I'v just finished rebuilding a diamond saw for cutting up some of the rocks.

Ian S C

Sequence of operations:

1. Chuck & set stickout

2. Drill through several lengths

3. Face to length, Chamfer

4. De-burr the hole

6. Part off. Parting tool should have lead on the front so it cuts through the right side first and a 45* shoulder to form the chamfer left of the cut.

7. Hand deburr hole.

8. Advance work in the chuck

9. Go back to step 3

10. Drill deeper as needed.

I got the impression that someone of Joe's depth of mechanical and electronic ability was not asking for a tutorial on how it could be done but instead having the vision to share a simple way of deburring small pieces for those needing a quick fix solution. It is elegant in its simplicity.

Thank you Joe, the idea is much appreciated. Please don't be another to follow the TTFN route.

Alan

Excellent idea.

You got it Alan!

By the time John Reese is busy with step 7 for the 19th time, I have 40 parted and deburred spacers already fitted to the display panel...Not to mention the hour spent grinding a parting tool with skew lead and 45deg chamfer...

No worries Alan - when folk are doing better than me, I'll step down..

Also, lots of mention of tumblers, etc - yes, they obviously do work, if you are happy to wait an hour or 6...

Joe

That's a great idea Joe, it got the job done very efficiently and quick

Ian