atldoug
off to a rocking start
Member since November 2023
Posts: 1
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Post by atldoug on Nov 20, 2023 11:40:37 GMT -5
My wife works with turquoise beads and strings and sells her own jewelry. She has started buying unpolished rock and wants to get a tumbler to process the cache of Golden hills turquoise she has purchased. I want to get her a Tumbler for Christmas but I'm finding them anywhere from $69 to $5,900. Is there a good mid-range say $500 or so that would be of sufficient quality to produce turquoise beads for sale in strong jewelry? Thank you in advance for any and all help.
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Post by pebblesky on Nov 20, 2023 12:08:41 GMT -5
I don't think a tumbler alone could produce perfect-shaped beads for jewelry. If your wife is okay with freeform beads, you could get a small Lortone 3A tumbler and a small trim saw so that she could form the rocks into an approximate shape. Should be with in $500 budget.
If she would like to have round round beads, you might need to get some sort of bead machine which is bulky, and pricey.
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Post by liveoak on Nov 21, 2023 7:16:54 GMT -5
Here's the specific "Bead Mill" to make round beads. But you'd still need a small trim saw to cut the cubes & round them off. I imagine turquoise being a little finicky to tumble or make beads, since it's soft and some of it not very stable. covington-engineering.com/equipment/bead-mill/Patty |
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 21, 2023 9:22:11 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum. Most turquoise is pretty soft and would need to be stabilized first. Otherwise, there may not be anything left intact when you open the barrel.
If you are doing small, stabilized rough nugget beads then I would go with a vibe tumbler, which will not round the stones and keeps more of the original shape.
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docharber
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2008
Posts: 716
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Post by docharber on Jan 18, 2024 18:06:12 GMT -5
I suggest you buy two tumblers, sized for your needs. The first would be a good rotary tumbler, the second a vibrating tumbler. Lortone, at the end of the day, is probably the best bet for most of us because the barrels are long lasting, the chassis fairly robust, and any parts you may need readily available. The latter point is probably the most important. I have bought rollers, barrels, lids, cap screws, motors (aftermarket,from eBay) for half Lortone's price, belts, and bearings and almost anything else that might ever need replacing. Thumbler's makes good machines, too, but they're more expensive.
The vibe is great for finishing your stones after the rough grind/smoothing- it's fast and efficient, requiring much less grit and polish. It won't round ff your stones like a rotary tumbler, and grinding rough rock can tear up the vibe's bowl if it's not rubber. The vibes can be noisy, though. I have a Raytech TV-5 that has served me well and an old Gyroc which is too large for my needs nost of the time. The Raytech runs under about $150 and is a well made machine.
Beware of cheap Chinese machines. The motors, belts and barrels are grossly inferior and won't hold up at all. I had a Chicago Electric (the same machine is sold as Leecol, and under other names) from Harbor Freight that didn't finish the first load before the motor failed. I rebuilt it using Lortone parts and it works fine now. The chassis itself was fairly robust.
So, you get what you pay for. Or pay for what you get. Either way, buyer beware. Good luck!
MSH
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Maybe you can post some pictures here