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Vibratory/Tumbling deburring

N

naivator

I'm New Here
I just spent a solid hour deburring every tiny part of one stabilizer rib,. While I appreciate the meditative work, I could not help but thinking, could parts like that not be deburred in a vibrating container with abrasive material? Like so. (0:17s - 0:40s)

I cannot be the first one thinking about this but the forum search did not yield...being the newbie that I am I am really wondering why this is not a thing?

If I want to prime the part anyway, it will be nice if it comes out with a 'sanded' surface. Also, if the material is small enough it could even help to deburr these hard to reach #40 holes inside of the flanges.

What am I missing?
 
If you spent an hour on one rib, you are really going way overboard. A rib should only take a few minutes. I usually hit the edges with a deburring tool to get rid of the sharp punched edge, do the same around any holes really quick, then take a quick pass over the edges with a worn out piece of sand paper to just rub out any remaining sharp edges. That's if the part is too awkward to run over the scotch brite wheel on the grinder, which makes the process even faster. The point is to debur. Are you working on getting rid of burs? It sounds like you're probably polishing the life out of every edge.
 
skelrad said:
If you spent an hour on one rib, you are really going way overboard. A rib should only take a few minutes. I usually hit the edges with a deburring tool to get rid of the sharp punched edge, do the same around any holes really quick, then take a quick pass over the edges with a worn out piece of sand paper to just rub out any remaining sharp edges. That's if the part is too awkward to run over the scotch brite wheel on the grinder, which makes the process even faster. The point is to debur. Are you working on getting rid of burs? It sounds like you're probably polishing the life out of every edge.
Click to expand...
I am going over it with a file and then with scotchbrite on the dremel tool. But the #40 holes are hard to reach and the relief holes of the flanges too. But good to have some sort of idea how long it should take a pro.
 
naivator said:
I am going over it with a file and then with scotchbrite on the dremel tool. But the #40 holes are hard to reach and the relief holes of the flanges too. But good to have some sort of idea how long it should take a pro.
Click to expand...
I'm far from pro :ROFLMAO:, but you'll get the hang of it after a while. Just for reference, these are what I tend to use:

Deburr handle with blades - great for lightening holes and edges
Hex tool - get a low torque (cheap) cordless screwdriver. One time around a hole with this does it. You can also get the In/Out single pass tools for holes, which are pretty slick
Edge deburring blade - great for long skin edges, knocks the square edge off, then a light hit with sandpaper smooths it out

If you don't have one, I'd highly recommend considering getting a bench grinder. A large Scotch Brite wheel on a bench grinder is well worth it. They're pricey wheels, but one wheel has lasted me an entire build and could probably get me through a second plane.

I honestly don't use a file a tone for deburring. I use it, but just very little compared to other options.
 
If it took you an hour, you're doing something wrong. Simplest solution is this or a similar tool for holes:

SPEED DEBURRING TOOL (8") from Aircraft Tool Supply

SPEED DEBURRING TOOL (8") - 8 overall length. Deburrs holes fast & easy with speed handle. 100 degree deburring angle. 3/8 diameter. Replacement tip is P/N SP375-1. New dogleg design.
www.aircraft-tool.com www.aircraft-tool.com

Sand the flange edges just enough that a fingernail won't catch.

Isn't this in the Van's instruction manual?
 
Naivator,

I feel your pain, I too take my time deburring. The ribs have what I call "Grandma's Teeth" that really take some time to do properly in my opinion. For those areas I used strips of 3M flexible sandpaper. I agree that some portions of the aircraft require work that appear to be thankless but have to be done. It can be quite disappointing to work all evening and end up with just a pile of parts that look worse to the inexperienced onlooker than they did when you started.

I don't have an and answer to your question, but your frustration is understood.

Fred
 
I use a vixen file for the first pass to knock the big stuff off if there are lots of long straight edges. Then go to the grinder for a scotch brite wheel - medium then a finer grind wheel on the edges to make them feel like a baby’s behind. Might use the occasional dremel for the hard to reach areas. Occasionally I will whip out several grades of skotchbrite pads if it is a small area. 5 to 10 minutes?
 
naivator said:
I am going over it with a file and then with scotchbrite on the dremel tool. But the #40 holes are hard to reach and the relief holes of the flanges too. But good to have some sort of idea how long it should take a pro.
Click to expand...
skelrad said:
Deburr handle with blades - great for lightening holes and edges
Hex tool - get a low torque (cheap) cordless screwdriver. One time around a hole with this does it. You can also get the In/Out single pass tools for holes, which are pretty slick
Edge deburring blade - great for long skin edges, knocks the square edge off, then a light hit with sandpaper smooths it out
Click to expand...
Deburring should not take a long time. Use the link provided by skelrad and start from there. They created these tools to debur sheet metal and you should only use a file as a last resort. Even using 100 grit sandpaper is better and much faster than using a file. Have you visited another builder to watch how he built his airplane? I picked up a lot of tips visiting the local builders when I started my build.

For priming, have you considered using AlumiPrep which is an acid etching to prepare the surface for priming. This really speeds up the surface prepping compare to using only scotchbrite sheet. If you are using epoxy primer, you don't even have to use the chromate conversion coating.
 
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I got mine from Cleveland. It was a pretty penny, but I've used it a bunch and more so now that I'm working adding holes for things on the completed center section in between the seat ribs. The 3 flute deburrer screws right in and i just use my hands to twist the angle attachment.
 
For hard-to-reach holes that need deburring, I just put the threaded deburring bit into my 90-degree air drill, turn the pressure way down, and just very, very carefully go at it. Super easy to do, probably also super easy to overdo if you're not careful.

Also, please look at the Shaviv deburring kit (or a similar thing) - I got one late in my build, but wish I had it earlier! Being able to change out the deburring heads, having a more comfortable (adjustable length!) handle - it's night and day better for most deburring jobs. There is a wide variety of deburring cutters you can then get - things designed to debur the back side of a hole, the front side, plastic, and everything in between.
 
You're going to love the wing kit....
I've always said that if Van's offered to, or deburred "in the flat", it is a service many would gladly pay for.
I suppose that was one of the attractions of laser cutting, as it basically creates burr-free edges.

For the tabs and other relief cuts, take some abrasive cloth, rip it into narrow strips, put some under the edge/tab/slot, and pull the cloth trough the area while your finger applys the pressure. Kind of "zip" it from under your finger. Harder to explain than to demonstrate.
 
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