Is Contact Cement the Best Adhesive for this Job?

[Scott Memmer]

Hello, All.

I am re-repurposing a vibratory rock tumbler to do a different job in my shop. I've got it mostly figured out, except what adhesive to use.

I make guitar picks from some expensive plastics. What I'm doing is so out-of-the-box that I'm having to create my own tooling.

A company called Covington and others makes a series of what they call vibratory flat laps. The principle here is a vibrating base into which you can put different grits, then walk away from several days and let it do it's thing. It looks like this:

448821

So I came up with the notion to re-purpose an inexpensive vibratory tumbler to perform the same tasks, but much lighter duty, since I'm doing plastic, not rocks. The tumbler below only costs about $50.

https://i.imgur.com/e0qDSKA.jpg

So I removed the bowl, and this is what I'm left with. The diameter is 6.5".

https://i.imgur.com/IQqBI2z.jpg

I'm going to be placing a piece of plywood, probably 1/2", on top of this base.

Do you think contact cement is the best way to go? If so, is there perhaps a specific brand or kind of contact cement you would recommend? It's possible the base could be exposed to a little moisture.

I'm open to suggestions. I'm having fun on this little project.

Happy New Year, and thank you,

scott

[George Yetka]

I took that one apart and bolted a 5 gallon bucket to it with sorting trays to sort brass for reloading. It worked well for my purposes. There are 3 or 4 bolts bolted thorough a bracket into the bottom of the bowl. If you were to remove those you could bolt anything you like to it. I wouldnt go too tall my 5 gallon bucket with a few large handfuls of brass at the top cause it to tip over.

But if you were to bolt a piece of plywood to it and something as simple as a 12" round baking dish to the plywood. you could probably do what you are thinking. My only thought would be the picks are too light to use on the flat nothing will hold it down. to be aggitated across the grit. Have you tried throwing the grit in something like the case tumbler above

[George Yetka]

you can remove that plastic piece too and bolt plywood using those 4 studs shown

[Ron Selzer]

I would try silicone caulking to glue a metal pie pan down to it
Ron

[Scott Memmer]

George, hiya. Great input.

Yes, the picks are too light. I'll be building a jig to hold them in place, then add a weighted disc with the appropriate heft (after trial-and-error) to hold it all in place.

BTW, George, we're you surprised and how strong this little tumbler is? I own a number of Raytechs, which are excellent, but this unit, although not as sturdily built, really rocks and rolls.

George, I looked underneath, and I can replace those four screws with something much longer and bolt it all down. This is a little time-sensitive, so I was hoping to skip that step. Do you think the contact cement by itself would hold?

Thanks for your great input.

Scott

[Scott Memmer]

you can remove that plastic piece too and bolt plywood using those 4 studs shown

Interesting, hadn't thought of that. I'll probably try both ways, maybe with two different machines. From my initial tests, this thing vibrates TOO MUCH, and I'll need all the extra mass I can throw at it to keep it from jumping off the counter.

Thanks Again,
scott

[Scott Memmer]

Great, thanks.

sm

[roger wiegand]

An off-the-wall idea-- how about putting them in an ultrasonic cleaning bath immersed in abrasive in liquid (water, something kerosene like, or a light mineral oil, depending)? No idea if this is a thing, but I did notice that a bag full of small brass parts I was cleaning came out pretty well polished just from bumping into each other in the bath.

[Scott Memmer]

An off-the-wall idea-- how about putting them in an ultrasonic cleaning bath immersed in abrasive in liquid (water, something kerosene like, or a light mineral oil, depending)? No idea if this is a thing, but I did notice that a bag full of small brass parts I was cleaning came out pretty well polished just from bumping into each other in the bath.

Robert, very intriguing. Could you elaborate? Water kind of machine would do this? I'm always learning new things.

thanks,
sm

[Thomas Canfield]

For adhesive you might look at double stick tape like carpet tape or double stick used for woodturning. Easier to clean and remove piece than contact cement or caulking. Several pieces placed around should work and not have full surface covered.

[roger wiegand]

Something like this (https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Ultrasonic-Cleaner-Stainless-Professional/dp/B083KBN9M5/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=best+ultrasonic+cleaner&qid=1610023713&sr=8-6)-- they come in all shapes, sizes, and power levels.

448885

I have no idea whether or not this would work at all!

[Scott Memmer]

Something like this (https://www.amazon.com/VEVOR-Ultrasonic-Cleaner-Stainless-Professional/dp/B083KBN9M5/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=best+ultrasonic+cleaner&qid=1610023713&sr=8-6)-- they come in all shapes, sizes, and power levels.

448885

I have no idea whether or not this would work at all!

Roger, thanks. Something worth exploring.

thanks again,
scott

[Scott Memmer]

Interesting idea. I like it. Worth an experiment.

Thanks, Thomas.

Scott