What I love about my tumbler is that it really and truly takes the place of a huge, messy polishing lathe for most of the work that I do.
Having a place to store, mount and use a large lathe with a hood poses a problem for many small workshops like mine. In fact, for a short time, I was completely without a workshop and hence jewelry making, because I had no place for one,
anywhere.
The little baby shown here was inexpensive. I ordered 5 pounds of
stainless steel mixed shot to go in it. I emphasize
stainless steel because a friend bought a tumbler and she forgot to specify
stainless steel mixed shot. She ordered something cheaper and her results were disastrous.
Stainless steel mixed shot requires only a solution of water with 3 drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid covering it by about one inch. That's it! I store it this way when not in use and it never rusts! To clean the shot, I use the same method I use when making basmati rice...........fill and rinse until the water runs clear. I do this occasionally.
My only objection the the tumber above, which is a rotating one, is the cover is a bit tricky to get on. It has a rubber O-ring that fits snugly around the cover. It feels like it needs three hands to put it on but after some use it stretches slightly and the process gets easier. Had I known I may have bought the vibrating kind, but my results are so great that I can't argue with success.
I know there is a lot of hoopla about which liquid to use, which grit, which shot, etc. etc. This simple method will make your jewelry super shiny. It won't remove large scratches so make sure those have been filed and sandpapered off. If the piece is t
oo shiny, I use a satin finish buff (shown here) in my flex shaft to take it to a matt finish.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who would agree/disagree with me and if you have other ideas, suggestions, etc......please feel free to comment.
What I love about my tumbler is that it really and truly takes the place of a huge, messy polishing lathe for most of the work that I do.
Having a place to store, mount and use a large lathe with a hood poses a problem for many small workshops like mine. In fact, for a short time, I was completely without a workshop and hence jewelry making, because I had no place for one, anywhere.
The little baby shown here was inexpensive. I ordered 5 pounds of stainless steel mixed shot to go in it. I emphasize stainless steel because a friend bought a tumbler and she forgot to specify stainless steel mixed shot. She ordered something cheaper and her results were disastrous.
Stainless steel mixed shot requires only a solution of water with 3 drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid covering it by about one inch. That's it! I store it this way when not in use and it never rusts! To clean the shot, I use the same method I use when making basmati rice...........fill and rinse until the water runs clear. I do this occasionally.
My only objection the the tumber above, which is a rotating one, is the cover is a bit tricky to get on. It has a rubber O-ring that fits snugly around the cover. It feels like it needs three hands to put it on but after some use it stretches slightly and the process gets easier. Had I known I may have bought the vibrating kind, but my results are so great that I can't argue with success.
I know there is a lot of hoopla about which liquid to use, which grit, which shot, etc. etc. This simple method will make your jewelry super shiny. It won't remove large scratches so make sure those have been filed and sandpapered off. If the piece is t
oo shiny, I use a satin finish buff (shown here) in my flex shaft to take it to a matt finish.
I'm sure there are plenty of people who would agree/disagree with me and if you have other ideas, suggestions, etc......please feel free to comment.
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