Stonewashed Mcgizmos?

[precisionworks]

Thank you for your kind words persco, RI Chevy, frystormer & KeyeEl

Quite a few people have looked at & held the SunDrop. Even those who've never seen a custom titanium light comment on the color & patina.

 

[KeyeEl]

Thank you for your kind words frystormer

Quite a few people have looked at & held the SunDrop. Even those who've never seen a custom titanium light comment on the color & patina.

Looks amazing! I might be inquiring about some stone washing down the road. :twothumbs

Going to check out your sub-forum now...

 

[grnamin]

Stonewashing would be really nice, but the equipment costs money and the few people who do it charge an arm and a leg for it.

My stonewashing setup:
http://naminfamily.smugmug.com/Other/Camera-Awesome-Photos/i-SKCVfhk/0/XL/CA07261209063484-XL.jpg

Your image is too large and has been replaced with a link. Please resize and repost.
See Rule #3 If you post an image in your post, please downsize the image to no larger than 800 x 800 pixels. - Thanks Norm

Emphasis on:

 

[precisionworks]

ROFLMAO

If you accept PayPal I'd like two containers please, extra strength

 

[fyrstormer]

What is the detergent for?

 

[precisionworks]

What is the detergent for?

Stone wash is always done (industrially) with some type of water based liquid. Of all the available liquids there is only one thing in common, all contain some type of surfactant. Dish washing liquid soap isn't what I use but it is a surfactant & it would provide some benefit in the stone wash process.

 

[fyrstormer]

Why is a surfactant necessary?

 

[grnamin]

Why is a surfactant necessary?

I use diswashing liquid + water to keep the stones from sticking together while I shake the bottle with whatever I want to stonewash inside. It's also easier to clean and thinner than oil or WD40.

 

[grnamin]

ROFLMAO

If you accept PayPal I'd like two containers please, extra strength

LOL! Sorry, I keep running out of the stuff. I'll keep you in mind if I ever have a surplus.

 

[precisionworks]

Why is a surfactant necessary?

As you probably know, surfactants reduce the surface tension of a liquid. In a barrel tumbler this allows the liquid of choice to better flow along the lines of the part & it also keeps the metallic (titanium) micro particulate in suspension. Said another way, more black liquid pours out at each change & less adheres to the media & the parts.

 

[fyrstormer]

As you probably know, surfactants reduce the surface tension of a liquid. In a barrel tumbler this allows the liquid of choice to better flow along the lines of the part & it also keeps the metallic (titanium) micro particulate in suspension. Said another way, more black liquid pours out at each change & less adheres to the media & the parts.

So it keeps the parts clean as they wear down. Okay, that makes sense.

I had read that modern stonewashing is done with rough-surfaced ceramic beads. I don't see any reason why actual stones wouldn't work, but what's the difference in finish quality using real stones, no two of which are ever perfectly identical?

 

[grnamin]

I haven't done my Haiku yet, but here's a picture of my pocket knife, sandblasted and then stonewashed blade:

 

[precisionworks]

I had read that modern stone washing is done with rough-surfaced ceramic beads. I don't see any reason why actual stones wouldn't work, but what's the difference in finish quality using real stones, no two of which are ever perfectly identical?

Here's the short list of barrel tumbling media:

Walnut shells - nice for softer metals like aluminum or brass

Silicon Carbide grit & Aluminum Oxide grit - used on harder metals (> 40 HRc). Fast deburring & edge rounding

Stainless Steel shapes - very aggressive because of density

Carbon Steel shapes - less aggressive than stainless, less costly for some parts

Ceramic Preformed shapes - wide variety of sizes, shapes, grits, etc. Used for many applications

Order up a sample of each one in each grit & each shape and you'll have hundreds to test

Real stones likely were used early on & there are historical references dating back to 1890. The biggest advantage to purchasing media from a specialty supply house is the consistency. Another benefit is tech support as this is a highly variable process & not everything goes as planned.

 

[fyrstormer]

Intriguing. I have previously amused myself with the idea of buying some miscellaneous steel nuts and bolts and "boltwashing" one of my lights. Apparently people already do that. There is nothing new under the sun.

 

[cubebike]

Awesome! I will try this on my sundrop ! Before that I will test on my Atwood Ti Keyton and see the effect and result

 

[precisionworks]

Awesome! I will try this on my sundrop ! Before that I will test on my Atwood Ti Keyton and see the effect and result

Give this a bit of thought before you plunge in ...

Titanium is fairly hard, 30 Rockwell C more or less. Most steel bolts & nuts are softer than Ti-6-4 so the titanium parts will get some wear but the steel parts will wear more quickly. Ti is non-ferrous but you can certainly make it develop rust specks by tumbling it with ferrous metal (steel) parts. The titanium itself will not rust but tiny steel particles will embed into the Ti surface.

If all that isn't bad enough the now contaminated Ti is practically impossible to anodize or electro finish. It's a lot less expensive to purchase a few feet of Ti-6-4 tubing on eBay, saw it into short sections & experiment on that. $100 worth of tubing is a lot less costly than a $500 light.

 

[ShineOnYouCrazyDiamond]

It's a lot less expensive to purchase a few feet of Ti-6-4 tubing on eBay, saw it into short sections & experiment on that. $100 worth of tubing is a lot less costly than a $500 light.

Barry - I like this idea. What is the best/safest/fastest way to cut a Ti tube? (for a home user with basic equipment)

 

[precisionworks]

Ti tubing isn't bad to cut even with a common hack saw. It's not hard to find tube that's about flashlight size (anywhere from .750"-1.000") and the walls are often only 1mm thick. Use a good quality fine tooth blade, squirt WD40 or similar into the cut & it cuts quickly. Resist the temptation to use a high speed abrasive cutoff saw ... it will start to cut & get about 1/4 of the way through before the material work hardens & becomes impossible to cut

 

[cubebike]

Give this a bit of thought before you plunge in ...

Titanium is fairly hard, 30 Rockwell C more or less. Most steel bolts & nuts are softer than Ti-6-4 so the titanium parts will get some wear but the steel parts will wear more quickly. Ti is non-ferrous but you can certainly make it develop rust specks by tumbling it with ferrous metal (steel) parts. The titanium itself will not rust but tiny steel particles will embed into the Ti surface.

If all that isn't bad enough the now contaminated Ti is practically impossible to anodize or electro finish. It's a lot less expensive to purchase a few feet of Ti-6-4 tubing on eBay, saw it into short sections & experiment on that. $100 worth of tubing is a lot less costly than a $500 light.

Thanks for the heads up! I will test on my Atwood Ti Keyton and check the result first! My plan is to build a rock tumbler using small candy plastic container and with the use of handheld electric drill to tumble it

 

[brighterisbetter]

I've had good luck tumbling CRK Sebenza frame parts using nothing more than a revolving tumbler from Hobby Lobby, medium sized fish tank gravel, two handfuls of 5/16" nuts, baby oil and distilled water. Sand down all beadblasted parts first, then let it go for 4-5hrs unattended. Really pleased with the results.