Son of a Harley

bwolfie said:

How much does your machine hold?

I'm sure this is not the right size, but $15 a pound might be worth a shot.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-pound-Stainle ... 27f6dc2aef

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It would take around 750 lbs of stainless.
I would only use the round ball media for a cylinder head. It's around 25.00 a Lb.

Ouch! 750 pounds of any media ain't cheap.

bwolfie said:

Ouch! 750 pounds of any media ain't cheap.

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That's why I use ceramic and porcelain media. About 350 lbs of that will fill it at 5 to 10 dollars a pound.
It will do the same thing on aluminum as stainless media -it just takes twice as long. Jim

Ok quite an investment for the long term but could easy see a back up of orders to get that nice finish. Do these various expensive media get used up or too contaiminaed to use? Do ya think the finiish is shiny enough it might hinder heat flow of Dayton racers? Would tumble polish be appropriate for connecting rods with your current mddia?

hobot said:

Ok quite an investment for the long term but could easy see a back up of orders to get that nice finish. Do these various expensive media get used up or too contaiminaed to use? Do ya think the finiish is shiny enough it might hinder heat flow of Dayton racers? Would tumble polish be appropriate for connecting rods with your current mddia?

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The porcelain media lasts a long time with little to no wear.

The abrasive medias like ceramic and plastic do wear and get slightly smaller with each use.

The media will stay clean as long as the liquid that flows through it is maintained.

With a normal tumble there is no change in the surface texture of the aluminum so I don't think it would affect the heat dissipation either way.
If I were to tumble a head with more aggressive media you could make the surfaces smooth -which might affect it.

I think it would do a great job on rods. I will have to throw a couple in and see how they come out.

JIm,

I used to get my cases shot peened for a nice impervious finish. How would you describe the differences?

xbacksideslider said:

JIm,

I used to get my cases shot peened for a nice impervious finish. How would you describe the differences?

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On cases the result is very similar. The vibratory mill produces a little brighter finish.

On a head the result from shot peening was not as good as there are to many places hidden from the shot. Jim