Making Bullet pens

[jttheclockman]

I remember someone was talking about polishing bullet pens with a tumbler but do not remember the place it was talked about. Maybe someone can point me in the direction or maybe someone can answer a question. When making these pens is it necessary to have a polishing tumbler or can you polish them on a lathe. I want to try powder coating them. Thanks for the replys.

 

[ldb2000]

The tumbler will give you a satin finish , if you want a mirror finish you'll have to buff them , either on the lathe or better yet with a buffing wheel and white diamond compound . Just make sure you clean them real good after , there are waxes in the compound and the powder might not stick well.

 

[rherrell]

I sand mine on the lathe with 600 W/D paper (used dry) and then polish them on a cotton wheel dedicated to brass. I use a product called Dialux Blue for a polishing compound.
Be forwarned that brass will turn your wheels black so having one dedicated to brass is a MUST.

 

[Gary Max]

I sell a lot of casing and mine are tumbled-----you still need to polish them---we use 1500 mm and mothers.

 

[Sylvanite]

This has been discussed previously at http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=27075, http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24414 and at least one other time that I can't find now.

You can polish cases on the lathe. In fact, you'll get better results than in a tumbler. A tumbler is just more convenient for doing large batches.

Regards,
Eric

 

[jttheclockman]

That is one of the threads yes. Thanks for that link. The other one was just recently but that is fine. I think for now because I will not get too crazy right off the bat I will polish on the lathe. Thanks all.

 

[cozee]

You can also polish on the lathe using #000 or #0000 steel wool and then Brasso on a soft cloth.