Art Jewelry - Using a Tumbler to Polish Metal

[pyrotechnics100]

well first of all its not a rock tumbler its a ball mill used to crush rocks powder and make black powder but totally not for polishing metal

[holistichabits]

Thanks for the tips! It answers a lot of my questions

[junejay51]

What size tumbler are you using, and how many pounds of shot? I'm getting ready to purchase these, and don't know how much shot to order for a 3 lb. tumbler.Thanks!

[RosaButton]

@junejay51 you use 1lb of shot for a 3lb tumbler.

[allybruce08]

can i use the tumbler to polish polymer clay?

[artjewelrymag]

@allybruce08 A short answer from Jilla from the Art Jewelry forum: Yes you can. Line the barrel of your tumbler with 400-600-grit wet/dry sandpaper, using two strips to make one long strip. Check the direction the barrel turns, and overlap the ends of the strips so the beads will go with the strips, not against. Tumble 2-3 hours per grit, then work your way up. This will make the beads smooth, NOT shiny. BUFFING will make them shiny.

[GYMAW]

Hi, I have a tumbler and I use it polish my handmade smooth-finished jewellery, after being in the tumbler for several hours, the pieces come out shiny but with small indents... how can I avoid this?

[artjewelrymag]

@GYMAW That could be due to the shape of your steel shot pieces. If they have sharp edges or ends, they can create small indents. They are like tiny hammers after all. You can buy different shapes of steel tumbling shot from jewelry supply companies. A more rounded shape of shot may help. Good luck!

[aaaarrrgggghh]

@GYMAW don't use still but experiment with softer material, people even use crushed nut shells and whatever they have but ideally always softer material than the one you are polishing

[puppywoo72]

LOL at the fate of the little frog. I was wondering and waiting for him to appear when you strained the shot, and chuckled at the video notation.

[sonicfreak04]

is metal clay ceramic or actual metal?

[artjewelrymag]

@sonicfreak04 Metal clay is tiny particles of metal held together in a moldable organic binder. When you heat the dry, shaped clay hot enough, the binder burns away and the metal particles sinter together. So it's actual pure metal once it's been fired.

[TheFirearmEnthusiast]

How are you going to polish stainless steel?

[MrHairyNutz]

I got a necklace about 10mm thick 20inches long for $150 (jewler wanted $200) about 4 tears ago and i was wondering do they make stainless steel with the .925 markings or is this silver?

[macika99]

WHERE IS THE FROG ???? :(

[artjewelrymag]

@macika99 Worry not, the half-a-horned-toad didn't go anywhere. It was just a quick-change for video, kind of like when a tv chef places unbaked muffins in the oven and pulls out a freshly baked tray 5 seconds later. Scroll down through the comments for Jill's explanation.

But thanks to all you guys and your eagle eyes about the little "frog" we've added an annotation to the video. Hopefully no one else will need to worry about him in the future. :)

[chrnmx]

Can you use it with prong settings?

[artjewelrymag]

In theory, yes, it shouldn't be a problem. But it would depend on how sturdy your prong setting is, and what type of stone you have set in it. Then again, tumbling can be used as a sort of test for jewelry before its worn - if your prongs are sturdy enough to last through a lengthy tumbling, then they should be a-okay for the daily wear and tear of jewelry.

[chrnmx]

can you use it for settings with prongs?

[bigmike784]

you sound ignorant

[KINGC0LIN]

How long does a cycle take? Does it do a good job on stainless steel? cheers

[artjewelrymag]

Anywhere from about an hour to overnight, depending on what you'd like done.

Most metal shot in tumblers is stainless steel, so I'm guessing that it would polish itself very well. Experiment with some scraps to find out!

[Olyptorius]

Where can i get one of these tumblers?

Thanks! 5*

[artjewelrymag]

I think we bought ours at either Contenti, Otto Frei, or Rio Grande. (It's been a while, so I'm not sure which one.) Those companies also sell the steel shot needed to polish metal. You can search for rotary tumbler on the internet to find a store near you.

Good luck!

[RadiantJasmin]

@artjewelrymag I recently bought one of these used without the directions, so I really appreciate this video! I just need to buy a new belt and I can get started tumbling :-)

[freddytk421]

Those metal things ate the frog!!! what do you do if you want to keep the copper intact?

[artjewelrymag]

Dudes, no worries about the "frog" (which is actually the front half of a horned lizard that I made out of copper metal clay using a circa 1960s Creepy Crawler mold). Since I only had one of these critters, and we were shooting in real time, I had to use a different, pre-tumbled sample to show what the metal looks like after it's been tumbled for a couple of hours. Hope that clears up the confusion! Cheers, Jill

[billiom123]

really where is the frog?

[1axvn]

show us the frog

[htrfdes]

What happened to the frog?

[venusboys3]

Wow, it completely dissolved that copper toad!