Easy Parts Cleaning (tutorial)

[GURU1911]

Attention: Mr. Eagle

A belt sander is incorrect for this specific application. What you use is a "orbital vibrating finishing sander" without sandpaper on the pad, you can also purchase the "homedics muscle massager" i suggested in the early part of this posting. Either way, the setup will work well.

Me, kenneth, & matt can attest to its effectiveness & very low cost for the results attained.

 

[Jspotto]

Wish I had though of this! I have been cleaning out the garage for the past two weeks and trashed the wifes foot massager that hadn't been used in several years and making a nice home for spiders! Not only did it vibrate, but it had a heating element and water jets too for circlulation. I wasn't thinking about cleaning guns at the time. I may buy a new one. Fairly cheap at WallyWorld.

 

[GURU1911]

Foot massager gun parts cleaner

Yes sir---the foot massager would have worked just fine, although the intensity of the vibrations might not have been as intense as the orbital sander or the homedics muscle massager. Maybe you can find another at a garage sale. Btw: The sonic jewelery cleaner at walmart works well if you are cleaning parts small enough to fit inside the plastic basket. I got mine for $2.00 at a yard sale about 5 years ago & it really works good !!!!!

 

[Kenneth]

Just so yall know, a belt sander will NOT work.

I was going to try that, but my bathing suit was at the dry cleaners. Anyway, I tried it (my 3/8 HP dual motion half sheet sander) on some berdan primed brass that I had saved the last time I was at the range. It worked pretty well, it took less time than soaking, and I was able to use a less concentrated mixture of cleaner.
I went out and got a palm sander at Harbor Freight for nine bucks plus the onerous New York State sales tax. The 3/8 HP dual motion half sheet sander is a tad too powerful for smaller containers. The stuff just blows out through the sealed lid. I could just go out and get some good Tupperware or Rubbermaid containers but what would be the fun in that?

but it had a heating element and water jets too for circlulation.

Sounds like gun cleaning heaven to me

I'm off to the local head shop to get some brass screens, because I don't feel like buying a Lewis Lead Remover....really I am!

 

[GURU1911]

Yo kenneth !!!!!

One of the main reasons i like the "homedics" massager, is that the intensity of the vibrations is adjustable from mild to wild !!!!

The one gallon size plastic pickle jars & the square containers that "claussen pickles" are packaged have worked well for me. They have a screw-on lid and not a "snap-on" lid. Give those a try !!!!

 

[Wareagle5.0]

lol i was just joking. this is a great idea though and cheap too. i am gonna try this out when i get some time. thanks alot for posting this sir.

 

[GURU1911]

Welcome mr. Eagle

Guru, matt, & kenneth welcome you to our thread called "home-made super effective, but inexpensive sonic cleaning method fan club"

please give it a try---all of us promise you will not be disappointed & your wallet will thank you.

I originated this method of cleaning in the early 1990's as an inexpensive alternative to the god awful expensive models. I then joined this forum & decided to post for the benefit of my fellow shooters. Matt offered to do the initial write-up, then kenneth tried it & became an enthusiastic supporter.

Michael (aka: Guru1911)

 

[Wareagle5.0]

Well I thank you for the wlecome sir. Ill for sure give this atry as I am in need of a case cleaner for range brass, and was recently thinking about buying a vibrating case cleaner. I think ill give this a ttry first though.

Again thank you for your in depth post,

Trae

 

[GURU1911]

Mr. Eagle:

You are most welcome sir !!! The vibratory cleaner & walnut media will clean & polish the cases somewhat. However, when you dump out the walnut & replace it with treated corncob media, the brass cases will look like 24k gold after a few hours !!!!!

The home-brew "sonic cleaner" will do an excellent job of cleaning, especially if you have some means of suspending the cases in a plastic or metal basket so the trash can fall to the bottom of the pan.

Rinse the cases in really hot water, blow off excess liquid with an air compressor jet tip & then dry with a hair dryer to speed the drying process. After the cases are dry, then put in the tumbler for a few hours if so desired.

Welcome to our world of wacky, cheap, but highly effective methods of parts & case cleaning !!!!!!!

 

[Kenneth]

I'm in the process of cleaning the dirtiest nastiest gun I've ever seen. Oiled but never cleaned,YUK!! Its an old '92 Winchester 25-20, by old I mean turn of century old. Anyway, my Harbor Freight palm sander worked pretty well, however some of the really crusty crud required manual cleaning with some RB17 and hard plastic picks. I considered taking the really cruddy parts to the hardware store and using the paint can shaker before taking them out to a field and throwing grenades at them:banghead:;however my sanity was restored after refreshing myself with some Canadian thinking juice (Molson Export 12oz. bottle chilled to 36F)and I proceeded with the aforementioned manual cleaning.

I may experiment with some ammonia added to the Simple Green in the near future. The ammoniated cleaners seem to work well. If any of youall try it before I do, remember to rinse and oil the parts right away, and don’t ever soak for very long as the ammonia can etch the metal.

One of the main reasons i like the "homedics" massager, is that the intensity of the vibrations is adjustable from mild to wild !!!!

I'm not sure if I could concentrate on actual parts cleaning if my vibratory parts cleaner had a "wild" setting.

I am so impressed by our ability to maintain this level of maturity while discussing homemade vibrating parts cleaners I am going to invite members posting on lubricant related threads to observe grown ups in action! We are a shining example to all!