Big Boys Hobbies

Ground walnut shells in the tumbler?

wolfpaw518

wolfpaw518

Junior Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2011
Messages
92
Location
Faribault Minnisota
I was watching American Restorations on TV the other night, and he said something that caught my ear. They do a lot of sandblasting, he said they use ground up walnut shells because it removes everything but doesn't touch the metal... I was just thinking about all you guys that use tumblers, has anyone heard of this or tried it?

just a thought...
neil
 
I have used a combo of walnut shells and baking soda in a tumbler for nice polish on various items. Grab yourself a cheap flour sifter as well, to separate out the remnants.

-The Bossman :cool:
 
If you're blasting something at high velocity then walnut shells are great, but in a tumbler they will only polish coins and won't clean them very well. It's best to use white fish tank rocks. You can see that in my tumbler review in this section.
 
ACS said:
If you're blasting something at high velocity then walnut shells are great, but in a tumbler they will only polish coins and won't clean them very well. It's best to use white fish tank rocks. You can see that in my tumbler review in this section.
Click to expand...

I use walnut shells in my tumbler and it gets dirt off coins just fine.

G.
 
Bentfork said:
I use walnut shells in my tumbler and it gets dirt off coins just fine.

G.
Click to expand...

Must be some easily cleaned coins Gary! I'm sure if I left them in the tumbler for 3 hours the coins and the walnut shells together would do it, but I find the gravel cleans them much faster, usually 30 minutes to 45 minutes. As I recall from the time we hunted together, you put your coins in a bottle of soapy water when you dig them up and I'm sure that helps a lot. I might start doing the same myself.
 
ACS said:
Must be some easily cleaned coins Gary! I'm sure if I left them in the tumbler for 3 hours the coins and the walnut shells together would do it, but I find the gravel cleans them much faster, usually 30 minutes to 45 minutes. As I recall from the time we hunted together, you put your coins in a bottle of soapy water when you dig them up and I'm sure that helps a lot. I might start doing the same myself.
Click to expand...

I still use the spaghetti sauce jar with the dishwasher powder method. That's still my preferred method because I can do it without watching a clock or a tumbler. I'm always experimenting when it comes to clad crap though. You're definitely correct in that coins can't be terribly dirty (in the sense of highly corroded) when using walnut shells. If they are just dirty and you don't care about them being shiny then a few hours in the tumbler with walnut shells will knock the dirt off them. Even the aquarium gravel method which is definitely the more desirable medium will only get highly corroded coins clean enough to run through a Coinstar machine after 3 hours. Once the cupro nickel plate has been eaten off dimes and quarters they really never shine up even after 24 hrs. I left my on that long just for the sake of experimenting.

I'm more or less for whatever works for a person. I heard of people that use beach sand. Never tried it and probably won't because I can't imagine that ever working.
 
Bentfork said:
I'm more or less for whatever works for a person. I heard of people that use beach sand. Never tried it and probably won't because I can't imagine that ever working.
Click to expand...

I actually tried sand when I first got my tumbler and you're right, it's really not very good for cleaning coins.
 
ACS said:
If you're blasting something at high velocity then walnut shells are great, but in a tumbler they will only polish coins and won't clean them very well. It's best to use white fish tank rocks. You can see that in my tumbler review in this section.
Click to expand...

Would pea stone work? I'm just remembering there is a couple barrels of it outside my house. Figured it's there so may as well take advantage of it if it may work?
 
I'm not sure what pea stone is. If it's hard, small and the size of a pea then that should work fine. I prefer fish tank gravel because of the rough edges. They tend to eat at the dirt on the coins better. I don't wash my coins before tumbling them.
 
mws_1984 said:
Would pea stone work? I'm just remembering there is a couple barrels of it outside my house. Figured it's there so may as well take advantage of it if it may work?
Click to expand...

I think he's meaning pea gravel. You can get aquarium gravel that is not the rough edged stuff. It looks like what I would call pea gravel. It would probably work - but not very well because it isn't rough edged.

G.
 
Depending on what coins you are using, the tank rocks may not be what you want. Most of the clad would be ok, but of you are planning on doing full silver, gold or brass items softer media wont soften the finer details of the minting like stones can. (IMHO)

-The Bossman
 
Using anything harder than plain water on coins is anathema.

It's true that 99% of the coins we dig up are only worth face or melt, so it wouldn't matter if you cleaned them up with a belt sander and then polished them with steel wool and brasso.

But it's a bad habit to get into since there's always that one coin that pops out of the ground every once in awhile that has numismatic value FAR in excess of face or melt, and cleaning these coins destroys that numismatic value.

Coins aren't jewelry, they're historical artifacts, each and every single one of them.

What may look "pretty" to the inexperienced eye looks like a train wreck to every coin collector on the planet.

Run them under water to get any earth off and that's the end of it; they're ready to be added to your collection.
 
I don't think anyone here was considering putting collectable or silver coins in a tumbler. We've been around awhile. :lol:
 
Unless it is extremely rare a person isn't going to get much for a dug up coin. Especially if it has been cleaned. I wouldn't buy it. And PCGS, NGC, or a dealer if they are any good can tell if it has been dug up and cleaned. Most coins that have been dug up are "book fillers" and don't bring much in the market. And if you do clean a rare coin and submit it for cert and grading rather than let PCGS or NGC's conservation service do it, then shame on you. Know your coins before you clean them. If you can't tell what date or mint it is then you have a dilemma. A dug up 45 Merc is worth $2.50 all day long - clean or not. And a 29 wheat penny is worth 3 cents. A nice uncirculated Barber half that's been dug up won't get a PCGS grade. And a person that buys it with the intent of having it graded is going to be disappointed. I see this frequently in coin forums.

G.
 
wolfpaw518 said:
I was watching American Restorations on TV the other night, and he said something that caught my ear. They do a lot of sandblasting, he said they use ground up walnut shells because it removes everything but doesn't touch the metal... I was just thinking about all you guys that use tumblers, has anyone heard of this or tried it?

just a thought...
neil
Click to expand...

Yes, I have. Walnut shells are softer than metal so it will not scratch it while removing a false patina or dirt. However, the same is true for aquarium pebbles, which work as well. I don't use walnut shells.
 
ACS said:
Must be some easily cleaned coins Gary! I'm sure if I left them in the tumbler for 3 hours the coins and the walnut shells together would do it, but I find the gravel cleans them much faster, usually 30 minutes to 45 minutes. As I recall from the time we hunted together, you put your coins in a bottle of soapy water when you dig them up and I'm sure that helps a lot. I might start doing the same myself.
Click to expand...

Wow, 30-45 mins? Those coins must be basically clean. How do you do it? I use pebbles and dishwashing detergent and must wait 8-10 hours or more for clad quarter and dimes to clean. Nickles are difficult too. The only coins that clean quicker for me are the pennies. I initially used burnishing powder, but it is so expensive that it would not compensate for the amount of clad.
 
How about a dug up 1799 bust dollar with a hole in it?
Click to expand...

I guess you are referring to a Draped Bust with Heraldic Eagle Reverse?

They will probably certify it if you specify and pay for it, but it will likely be a "No grade". It might even be returned without certification. NGC can be very twitchy about damaged coins. They don't like to grade coins with rim damage either. And I personally believe PCGS is a tougher grader. The rarer the coin the more likely they are to grade it. But if the coin already has a graded population of collectable specimens out there and your coin doesn't enhance the rarity, the more likely it will be a "No grade".

Then again, I may be incorrect about it being a "No grade". Coin grading services do some unexpected things sometimes.

G.
 
Bentfork said:
I guess you are referring to a Draped Bust with Heraldic Eagle Reverse?
Click to expand...

Bah, that was obviously just a lucky guess! :lol:

But yeah, that's what I'm referring to: http://metaldetectingforum.com/album.php?albumid=542&pictureid=19560

They will probably certify it if you specify and pay for it, but it will likely be a "No grade". It might even be returned without certification. NGC can be very twitchy about damaged coins. They don't like to grade coins with rim damage either. And I personally believe PCGS is a tougher grader. The rarer the coin the more likely they are to grade it. But if the coin already has a graded population of collectable specimens out there and your coin doesn't enhance the rarity, the more likely it will be a "No grade".
Then again, I may be incorrect about it being a "No grade". Coin grading services do some unexpected things sometimes
Click to expand...

Gawd, they sound like the AKC!

No matter. I love my slightly less than sterling silver busty babe whether she has a pedigree or not!! :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

HeavyMetalDetectinPassion
Misroscope cleaning?
Replies
3
Views
427
hoser
hoser
HungryGhost
Cleaning buffalo nickels
Replies
9
Views
506
diggin4clad
diggin4clad
HungryGhost
More fun with electrolysis
Replies
3
Views
208
treasureguy56
T
HungryGhost
I tried electrolysis on a cruddy dime
Replies
5
Views
384
bottlecap4u
bottlecap4u
djramey1975
Best way to clean
Replies
6
Views
461
Rasyfromwayupnorth
R
Back
Top Bottom