Tumbling/Shot

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Hi,

I'm new to this forum and fairly new to making silver jewellery and could do with some advice on tumbling. I have all the basic tools but am now thinking about buying a tumbler/barrel for polishing my pieces, possibly the 3lb Metal Barrelling Machine (code 999 6005) on the Cookson Gold website as it has some good reviews.

What I'd like to know is, what is best to use in it? I've heard stainless steel shot has a longer lasting result than steel shot, but I really don't have a clue what to get, plus it comes in different shapes/sizes... And do i need to put anything else in the barrel along with the shot?? As you can tell I am completely new to tumbling (and very confused!) so any advice would be very much appreciated!

Also, can anyone recommend where's best to buy it from (ie the cheapest place!)

Thanks,

Karen

[Dennis]

Karen, this subject has been covered several times over in the last two years and the best you can do is to put the key words (Tumbler, Barreling, Shot) into our search box on the top right in three separate goes. You will be overwhelmed by all the discussions there, but there is no quick answer.

To give you a start, you need mixed shot and a solution of barreling compound (soap). Stainless steel shot is best because you don't have to dry it after use. Regards, Dennis.

[silken]

I can 100% recommend using mixed stainless steel shot, never be tempted to get normal carbon steel as it degrades so quickly. Be sure to look for a shot mix that has a nice variety of different shapes. Mine has lots of shapes including long pin like pieces, balls, angle cut pins, planetoids, cylindrical pins. The more variety you have, the more likely the shot will burnish all those little nooks and crannies in your jewellery. I got my shot mix years ago and it's still going strong, I bought it from one of the jewellery supply shops in the jewellery quarter but can't remember which. It cost about 15 pounds at the time. In addition to the stainless steel shot, I put in a handful of plastic shot which is pretty much just small round plastic ball bearings like they use in plastic BB guns. I always find adding the plastic shot just brings out a nicer shine and it only costs a pound from the pound shop for a big old tub of it. For your barreling compound, you can use specialist barreling/burnishing soap which you can easily get from the usual jewellery suppliers or you can use normal washing up liquid. It's up to you, but the compounds are specially formulated for tumbling so they seem to perform better than plain old dish soap

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Thanks for your replies - silken that is really helpful, thanks

I realise this has been discussed many times and I have searched on here and some is really helpful but I find the more I look, the more confused I get with it, and the 'useful links' people have posted, i've found alot of the pages have now moved so aren't much use now which is a shame.

I'm now confused as to what size barrel i need and also how much shot I need to use for the size of the barrel? I was looking at a 3lb one, although not really sure what will fit in that? And now i've seen ones with two 1.5lb barrels - is there any advantage to having 2 smaller ones than one big one?

Sorry for all the questions

[Dennis]

I find it difficult to answer that except in general terms, but:

1.A cramped barrel can be a nuisance, because you want your work to tumble freely.
2.Too heavy a barrel will slip and not rotate well.
3.Two barrels might be useful if you want one without needles, but they could be used in turn, on a single machine.

Basically what size you want depends on your volume of work. I make one offs, so I only need a two pound barrel, with 500g of mixed shot. This with enough soap solution to cover it, is about as heavy as my smallest machine from Manchester minerals will turn. So, once you have decided, get the machine and barrel that are meant to go together.

Three other points: Despite what you read, soap is important and I would not be without my Burnishing Soap B, available on line. Also I would not have a plastic barrel with a plain unvented plastic lid, because it leads to all sorts of hassles you can do without. Lastly, fins or ridges inside the barrel enhance the tumbling and reduce the time needed, in my case, to about an hour and a half. Dennis

[ps_bond]

Having just blown the dust off my Beach tumbler, I would underscore Dennis' suggestion of not having unvented lids - mine are and they've already popped off once. This is why I run the thing in a shallow tray...
Oh, and apparently mice like burnishing soap. But it doesn't seem to do them any good. Oddly, they left the packs of borax alone.

[Wallace]

Oddly, they left the packs of borax alone.

lol - that made me go on a google hunt... apparently they don't like it on their feet - hhmmmmmm makes me think how they managed to ask them about it really! lololol

I have the same ultimate problem with mice (after the cat has brought one in) - leaves the cat alone!

hope you are doing well Peter, it has been ages since we spoke. Kindest, Wallace

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Thank you so much, really do appreciate the time you've taken to reply

Having read many more posts on here about polishing - tumblers, dremels, micromesh, etc - just wondered if you could clarify a couple of things...

Up to now I have mostly made pieces which are either textured, shaped, fairly intricate or chains and will probably stick with this kind of work for the time being. Would I be right in my original thinking that tumbling is the best way to polish up these sort of items? But if I was to move into flat and/or smooth finished pieces then something like a dremel would be better?

I've also read very good things about micromesh - is it advisable to use this before both tumbling and using a dremel?

I am also really interested in making pieces with a satin/brushed effect, I haven't tried this yet, but I have read using pumice can achieve this effect - does it need to be tumbled or anything afterwards? And I assume if so, this would be tumbled with ceramic media? Does the ceramic just give a matt effect or does it give it a 'brushed' appearance ie do I need to use the pumice beforehand or not?

Sorry for the endless questions, i just don't have a huge budget so for the time being can only really afford either a tumbler or a dremel (or any other make you can recommend!) so want to buy whatever will be of the most use initially. I promise I won't ask any more questions (hopefully!)

Oh and thanks Peter for the mice advice!

Karen

[Dennis]

Right Star, here goes;

The tumbler with shot, will burnish the surface of finished pieces, even ones with textures, but do little to correct blemishes, so blemishes have to be dealt with first, by filing and sandpaper etc. However note the comments about tiny pinpricks when needles are used. This is not obvious on wire and textures, but is visible on smooth flat areas.

Ceramic chips I have not used, but they will go further in deburring and removing blemishes. they would leave a matt finish, as will pumice or household scouring powder, but to my eye this is dull and uninteresting.

Micromesh is best described as like a rubber backed sandpaper. It comes in many grits and used in sequence (omit a few for economy) will produce a satin and finally a mirror finish on flat surfaces.

With your Dremel, Radial Disks in sequence can do the whole job on smallish pieces. Scotchbrite wheels (like the stuff of scouring pads) will remove shallow scratches and blemishes, leaving a satin finish. The green is coarse and the brown is medium, but they unravel quickly if used too fast.

There are many more options to try and as you can gather, the effect overlaps. So in the end what you buy is up to you and some you will consider a waste of money, when others swear by them. Dennis.

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Thanks Dennis for your help. I've decided to go for the tumbler as originally planned (just ordered it!) and see how I get on