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I made a cuff bracelet and tumbled it in my tumbler with round steel shot and the ones hay are like rounded diamond shapes.
After about an hour it was nice and shiny but up close looks kinda pitted all over. Personally I like this affect as it holds the oxidising solution well for a nice effect.
But if I wanted a high shine, will the pitted effect always happen in a tumbler, do I need to tumble for longer??
If you search the forum there are lots of posts on this matter. Here are a few to get you started:
http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/sho...ghlight=pitted
http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/sho...ghlight=pitted
http://www.cooksongold.com/forum/sho...ghlight=pitted
Thank you!
Having read through the other threads I see a lot of people had to remove the pins from their shot. But I have already done this..
Does anyone have any recommendations on how long I should be tumbling a piece for?
The problem I think is that this sort of marking is inevitable with tumbling. The irregular shot is the worst offender, but if you remove that, then round shot alone will not reach the angles and crevices, leaving you with shaded areas, as will shorter periods.
Some members have changed to magnetic tumblers and say that no pitting occurs, even though these use only fine needles. The cheapest of these is the Bumblebee, but others are quite pricey. I have been wary of throwing more money at the problem, so only tumble those pieces where I can accept the effect.
The minimum tumbling time is about 90 minutes and you can then inspect and continue if you wish. Dennis.
Thanks for the info Dennis, I do quote liked needed anyway.. I shall try 90 mins or more and see if it's any different.. Otherwise, I will hand polish if a customer desires a mirror shine.
If it's any help, I can't think of the last thing I tumbled for less than two hours, and my norm is to leave things in overnight.
Ah thanks, I think I have a fear of losing detail on pieces when I tumble them! Will be brave and try for longer :)