Barrel Washing, is it ok to put set stones in?

[Charlotte]

I always polish everything before I set a stone, but the pusher always ruins the finish so I end up having to polish up the setting AGAIN. I know different stones are stronger than others... but which ones are barrel proof (because I use all sorts)?

At the moment I'm setting a diamond in my engagement ring and I'm pretty sure a diamond will survive... but I just had to ask before I went for it:o I've got the diamond nerves HELP!:confused:

[ps_bond]

But... If you're tumble polishing, you'll have work hardened the setting, surely? I prefer to set in annealed metal, personally (mostly flush setting).

I'd not be all that enthusiastic about putting a stone of any sort into a barrel polisher - I'd worry about the crown facets taking a cleaving knock.

Have you tried using silicone pumice wheels and following up with a bristle brush and compound? Depends on the setting as to what is appropriate.

[Charlotte]

Thanks ps_bond... you totally saved me, I couldn't understand what the problem was but my setting was too hard, so I've annealed it again... I feel like such a noob sometimes. Its still slow going but I'm getting there, I'm totally going to have to refinish it, but I don't have much in the way of polishing, its an area that I need to get to grips with. I'll manage with my ultra fine papers and cloth for now (since its for myself I just want to wear the damn thing now!;)).

So you don't think even a diamond is up to the barrel washer?

[ps_bond]

Thanks ps_bond... you totally saved me, I couldn't understand what the problem was but my setting was too hard, so I've annealed it again...

I'd love to be able to say I never forget to anneal before setting... Wouldn't be true though.


So you don't think even a diamond is up to the barrel washer?

If I give you the context that I'm probably overly twitchy about soldering with diamonds in place - I would regard the barrel polisher's millions of tiny little hammerings of the piece as asking for trouble. I could be completely wrong, it may well stand up to the treatment quite happily... I wouldn't hammer a setting punch onto a stone (intentionally!) either - I remember far too much about crystal cleavage planes.

The wheels & brushes I mentioned are the small ones for a flex shaft, BTW - quite inexpensive. The abrasives in the rubberised wheels aren't all that hard on the Moh's scale; test that first, obviously.

[Charlotte]

Thanks again ps_bond! I finished my ring last night and polished it by hand. I do have a drill thing which I use for sanding/grinding/drilling... I did try a soft wheel once with a bit of rouge but it made my ring go black... I have no idea what happened, but I might buy a new set of brushes and compounds and just have a lot of practise.

I'll take a photo of it at some point!

[ps_bond]

Black as in crud on the surface? That's just polishing residue which washes off in hot soapy water (a toothbrush is useful too).

Black as in exposing firestain...? More sanding required, sorry!

The abrasive rubber wheels don't need a compound with them if I've misexplained. Brushes get into (and sometimes snag in) nooks & crannies more easily than mops.

Photos are good - ought to put some of mine up at some point. I'm very bad for not taking photos before sending pieces on their way - it really needs to be part of my workflow.

[mizgeorge]

I would also be wary of putting anything with a delicate setting into a tumbler/barreller, but only because of the risk to the setting, not the stone.

As a simple rule, stainless steel has a hardness of about 5.5 on the mohs scale, so any stone (and this probably applies more to beads, though I also happily tumble bezel set stones) that is harder will be fine, as is most glass. Obviously, porous stones and pearls shouldn't go in if it can be avoided.

[ps_bond]

I'd still be concerned by the impacts. Copper is much softer than glass and won't scratch it - yet I can still pressure flake glass using a hand-held copper rod...

I use stainless in setting softer stones to avoid the risk of scratching them.