Must Have Tools
Beyond the tumbler itself, only a couple of simple items are needed for tumbling:
Stainless steel shot: in mixed sizes and shapes (at least one pound)
Dish soap: recommended to use original liquid Dawn dish detergent (the blue one)
Kitchen strainer: a small (very fine) kitchen strainer to dump the barrel into and to
rinse the shot and pieces. Be sure to have clean water each time. Make sure you rinse
off your shot thoroughly after each use.
Patti says, “the tumbler is typically the last step in jewelry design (other than a potential sealant, like Renaissance Wax) and the metal will be hardened. For me, this is an
important step especially for handmade findings, such as ear wires and clasps.”
Getting Started Using A
Tumbler
WHAT SIZE? - Ann’s advice for basic jewelry tumbling is to use a 3lb.
rotary tumbler.
ADDING SHOT & SOAP - Ann’s
says “you should put one pound
of mixed stainless steel shot, the
metal you want to tumble, a squirt
of (blue) Dawn (just a squirt) and
enough water to cover it plus an a inch. The metal should have enough room to
move. This is enough to get shine and work-hardening that you need on your metal.
Later on you can add variations to this, but these basics will get you started.
DON’T OVER FILL - Heidi’s advice is to make sure you do not overfill the tumbler
barrel with shot, water or jewelry pieces. If you overdo it, your barrel will not turn well
and you will burn out your motor. Plus having more space to slosh around in there
gets your pieces cleaner.
SEAL IT TIGHT - Before turning on the tumbler! Patty states - “I keep my tumbler
safely nestled in an old, plastic shoe box. That way, if the seal is not tight on the tumbler, my floor stays dry. I have not sealed the tumbler tightly only one time, but I still
remember wiping up my floor!”
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