Tumbler?

[Mervione]

I've pretty much gathered that I need a polishing tumbler for my jewellery because:

1. I don't know how to polish jewellery by hand.
2. I think polishing by hand would be very time consuming.
3. I can't afford a flex shaft yet.
4. Buffing wheels scare me.
5. Buffing wheels can rip your fingers off.

So now I've started to look around for a good thumbler. I want something that is reliable but I have no clue about what brands that are good and how to know if something is good or not. We all know that expensive isn't always the best but how is it with tumblers? Can you get a good high quality one for less than maybe 120 pounds?

I have been looking at this one:

http://silverclay.co.uk/shtu.htm (the third one from the top) any comments?

And I have also been looking at this one:

http://www.therockshed.com/tumbler4.html (first one from the top)

I'm not very interested in magnetic tumblers or vibratory tumblers because they seem to be more expensive.

(As for Ganoksin, the forum system is very confusing and that's why I'm posting here instead, please delete if it doesn't belong here.)

Thanks.

 

[knotty panda]

It all depends on your work. If you are using metal clay, you need the magnetic one. If you are polishing stones and metals, the Lortone 3A should work nicely. Make sure you have stainless steel shot and a good quality dishwashing detergent. Don't use an off the wall brand. It really does make a difference in the shine. Go figure!

 

[barbie biggs]

So Knotty:
Have you noticed? Mervione is listing all the reasons why she needs a tumbler. Not the reasons she could get out of needing one. I think she's hooked don't you? One little class....
barbie
You're doing great Mervione, keep it up!!

 

[Mervione]

Knotty, I think you misunderstood me, the first link is to three tumblers, and I want the last one on the list, which is rotary.

Is dishwashing detergent the same kind of stuff as the expensive stuff you can buy at riogrande? Sorry for all the stuffs.

Barbie: I was hooked on the first lesson, it's dangerous! It's so much fun. I'm going to order some tools I need tonight (finally) so I should be able to work at home now. Going to teach my boyfriend as well since he seems interested in it. It will be fun.

 

[knotty panda]

You are correct. I did misunderstand. The third one looks fine. Barbie has a really good point about the tools. Don't buy that Rio Grande stuff! Got to cut some cost somewhere. A tumbler isn't a cheap investment and you can't scrimp on the shot. I think you need to have a need for it on a daily basis to make it cost effective. But that's just me.

 

[Mervione]

So I'm still thinking about getting a thumbler, but I just can't decide on a size. They usually say that they have 3 lb capacity for example, or 6, but that's not really interesting. How do you work out how big they are, how much volume they can take, rather than how much weight they can take?

 

[la_corsetiere]

So I'm still thinking about getting a thumbler, but I just can't decide on a size. They usually say that they have 3 lb capacity for example, or 6, but that's not really interesting. How do you work out how big they are, how much volume they can take, rather than how much weight they can take?

You might want to look at the tumblers on www.cooltools.us. Three lbs seems to be pretty standard capacity for hobby work, PMC, etc.

Sheri

 

[knotty panda]

Before I get confused again, are we discussing tumblers or thumblers? I'm not familiar with thumblers, but I know there is such a thing.

You have to eyeball it and learn with experience. A 3# barrel takes 1# of shot. The rest is water and the material you are polishing, up to 3/4 full. Can you give me an example of what you want to polish?

 

[Mervione]

Sorry Knotty, I meant tumblers. My Swedish heritage makes me spell things wrong all the time. Out of curiousity, what's a thumbler?

What I'm planning to polish is jewelry that I'm making. I mainly make fairly small things like rings, pendants and earrings. I doubt that I'll make a pendant longer and wider than 7-9 cm and they wont be very deep/thick since I don't really work with 3 dimensional stuff. (If that makes sense?)

From your explanation, I guess that one way of finding out the volume of the barrel is to look up the density of steel and do some other stuff I learnt in math and chemistry classes...

 

[Mervione]

Corsetiere:

I watched the video with the tumbler that was on the site you linked to, and I think it have helped. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was. Thanks.

 

[GemGeek]

It sounds like you're getting a handle on the tumblers now. I think you can do a lot with a small one. I have the vibratory kind that has corn husks embedded with rouge. Works great so far.