"Ignoramus20711" wrote...
I brought home a Nova Finishing vibratory tumbler. It is a 1/2 cubic
feet, 1/3 HP model. I have a few uses in mind, but here's the first
one. I have a pipe vise that looks rather rusty. Can I disassemble the
vise and use the vibratory tumbler to just tumble the parts that are
small enough and should I expect them to look nice and shiny
afterwards?

If you're not in a hurry, I'd recommend electolytic rust removal - I was
pretty sceptical, so tried it on a small drill chuck that was rusted solid,
a couple of days in a washing soda (sodium carbonate) bath, chuck connected
to the -ve of a 12v DC supply (max. 5 Amps was all I had around), an old
steel exhaust clamp to the +ve as the "sacrificial" anode, and it's a) rust
free; b)freely rotating; c) back to the original steel surface (apart from
the pitting that was already there - nothing can replace the steel it
lost!).
Once it's cleaned up, oil/wax as normal after a bit of oven time to dry it
off, as the surface will be vulnerable to rust otherwise.

I did find I had to clean the crud off the anode fairly regularly, a quick
wire brushing every time I passed, but much more pleasant than messing with
strong acids etc! I'm told that a carbon rod works just as well but doesn't
fur up, so when I can find some I'll try that instead.

HTH,
Dave H.
--
(The engineer formerly known as Homeless)

"Rules are for the obedience of fools, and the guidance of wise men" -
Douglas Bader