wouldwurker Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Had this harebrained scheme.... If you make your own ammo, you're familiar with a casing tumbler. If not, it's essentially a cheap plastic machine that fits over a 5 gallon bucket, filled with media (walnut shells or corncob) and a few drops of polish. Add your spent, dirty, and scratched casings after a day at the range, turn it on, and it agitates for a few hours. The casings come out spit and polished to a mirror shine. I remember as a kid, putting basswood up to the metal buffer in high school shop class and getting mirror like results. Since G&G plugs are miserable to make, even with the power drill method....I'm thinking this might work. Especially since I have to make a million of them for the guild-build Adirondack chair (99% done since June, BTW...just sadly sitting on the assembly table.) Do the rough pillowing with 100 grit via drill, saw to size, and throw the whole lot in the polisher. I'll let you know how my experiment goes....I'll not about to waste a morsel of black ebony, so maybe some walnut, purple heart, and hard maple. Maybe a few squirts of Menzerna right into the media. Curious if anything similar has been tried? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barron Posted October 21, 2014 Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Won't this round off all of your corners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hopefully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Walnut. Couple quick hits by hand on 100 grit over a foam pad Trimmed And into the fray Test subject one. Begin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Purple Heart into the fray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Eye of newt.... A beech domino. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 And a few pieces of walnut with sharp corners, to see if they round over Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and caldron bubble... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Make the pieces double length, then cut them in two after polish so the end that goes into the hole is still flat and square. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 If this works, that's brilliant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefmagnus@grics.net Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 If this works I am going to use the process to make feet for my cutting boards. I will also make them double length so I can split them in the middle and get two... Chef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Well....they tumbled all night and looked about the same as they went in. Back to the drawing board, but how do we know if we don't try. Might need a different media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Even if it did work, I think you'd still have the problem that Barron mentioned but seems to have been overlooked... It would round over all the edges, including the ones that are supposed to seat tightly into the corners of the mortised hole...which means you would have little gaps at those corners and consequently a sloppy look. You don't want all the corners to be rounded...the peg should be perfectly square except for the exposed part that is pillowed. G&G ebony plugs are a PITA...unfortunately the drill technique is the shortcut. Nice try anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Presumably, the saw in half technique that wtnhighlander mentioned would have given a flat bottom on both ends of the plugs. Each plug would still be a tad oversized and subsequently getting a chiseled bevel on the bottom anyway. Anyway....no dice...for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric. Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Flat bottom, yes...I'm talking about the edges in the vertical orientation (the long grain edges). Rounded edges don't fit tightly into square corners. The bottom doesn't really matter...it's the gaps in the corners that would be a problem. The round peg in a square hole thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Tape the middle to preserve square edges in the middle of double length pieces maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Tape the middle to preserve square edges in the middle of double length pieces maybe? That's what I was thinking, but at some point it's easier to just do it by hand. You want to replace "per unit" operations with batch operations. Here's something that would only work if you were making a huge number of plugs. Make a bunch of "sockets", just scraps with mortices in them to accept the plugs. Cut the plugs, put them into the sockets, and put them in the tumbler. The socket protects the edges that you want to stay crisp, and they are re-usable. This only makes sense if you are going to make many batches so you'll re-use the sockets. If the plugs fall out of the sockets during the tumble, they'll be ruined, so that'll require some thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Vinn, Do you reload? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 I have that exact same tumbler. I just use it to clean / inspect 50 bmg casing before they go out for reloading. I really doubt it will do what your looking for, not really sure it will do anything at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wouldwurker Posted October 22, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 Based on the results I saw last night, I agree, the best the tumbler might do is ultra polish an already polished plug. K Cooper - I did, mostly 9mm, but sold the progressive reloader when I got the woodworking bug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ponderingturtle Posted October 22, 2014 Report Share Posted October 22, 2014 My thoughts is that if it was suitably aggressive it might well unevenly remove material with regards to the grain of the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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