I decided that it was time to start cleaning up some of the rusty parts that have accumulating since I started working on things, especially 'the53'.  A sandblasting cabinet would be great, but just not practical.  It's not the cabinet itself, it's the sound level of the air compressor required to operate one.  After thinking about for a bit I decided to go the Tumbler/Vibrator route.  A thread on the MG UKBBS came along recently and gave some very good leads.  Ideally, the best bet would probably be to purchase a system from Eastwood for about $200.  Most of the times that I purchase things from Eastwood I wind up being flabbergasted at their shipping and handling costs.  Through the BBS thread I ended up searching out other sources.

 

  Just about that time I received another one of the endless catalogs/flyers that I get from Harbor Freight.  This flyer had an ad in it for a Vibratory Tumbler System (Item #93252) for $49.99.  They also offered 5 pounds of Abrasive Media (Item #93832) for $16.99.  Shipping was only $8.99, totaling $75.97.  It arrived today, 8/21/08.

                                        (Images below are thumbnails, just click on them to enlarge)

 

Here's what I got for the money:

The opening is 8" in diameter:

The media that came with it looks like this:

 

I decided to give it a try, so I dug up a few rusty parts from 'the53:

 

and loaded them in:

 

After 1 hour I found this, not a lot of progress: