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Post by toiv0 on Feb 16, 2020 18:55:05 GMT -5
I normally put silver bands and earnings in a vibe with steel shot. Was wondering if I can put rings with agate s in with them. They are bezel mounted and at least a 7 MOHS.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 16, 2020 18:59:36 GMT -5
I can't help with advice on vibe tumbling jewelry but all of my wire wraps and silversmithed pieces go into my rotary tumbler with steel shot after they are complete. The only ones I avoid are Petoskey stones or other really soft stuff.
Chuck
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Feb 16, 2020 19:35:10 GMT -5
I have never tumbled finished pieces, but I think Tela has. rockjunquie? |
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 16, 2020 19:53:27 GMT -5
I've only ever used a rotary on finished pieces.
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El JeffA
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2016
Posts: 353 
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Post by El JeffA on Feb 16, 2020 22:36:49 GMT -5
I have not tried it myself, but ...if the consensus is that they can finish in a rotary, they should be able to be finished in a vibe. My feeling is a vibe would be more gentle than a rotary tumbler. Good luck!
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Post by toiv0 on Feb 16, 2020 23:50:17 GMT -5
Thanks everyone, going to do it in the morning sometime. Will let you know the results. Going all the way and throwing everything in.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Feb 17, 2020 12:20:35 GMT -5
Wondering how long some of the rest of you tumble your jewelry for? I use a 3 pound rotary with one pound of stainless steel shot. Water about one half inch above the shot and a squirt of dawn dish soap. I run them like that for an hour or two.
I do shows a couple times a year and the week before a show I start running about 100 pendants in the tumbler to clean them up. I usually toss in 2 or 3 at a time. Lengthy process but cleans everything like new.
Chuck
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 17, 2020 12:51:50 GMT -5
Wondering how long some of the rest of you tumble your jewelry for? I use a 3 pound rotary with one pound of stainless steel shot. Water about one half inch above the shot and a squirt of dawn dish soap. I run them like that for an hour or two. I do shows a couple times a year and the week before a show I start running about 100 pendants in the tumbler to clean them up. I usually toss in 2 or 3 at a time. Lengthy process but cleans everything like new. Chuck For cleaning, I run silver up to 3 hours and more for copper. For new pieces that may need deburring or hardening, esp copper, I tumble up to overnight. But, for cleaning alone, I find the speedbrite to be a blessing. I will use the speedbrite after tumbling, too, to get off any deposits left on the piece.
I also tumble like Chuck does and add a bunch of those lentil shaped plastic pellets. I have tumbled everything and have only ruined a variscite and a malachite. The soft stuff or really soft matrix does not go in the tumbler, but pearls, crystals, ammolites- just about everything- excluding those mentioned and coated anything- go in the tumbler.
Having said that- when I was doing soldering work, I threw some unset silver settings in the tumbler and I left it in too long because it came out dented like it had gone through a hail storm. Won't do THAT gain.
I am wondering if a vibe will really work. The point to most of the tumbling action will be lost in a slippery slurry. Not sure that kind of action is gonna debur or harden. I'm interested to see your results.
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Post by toiv0 on Feb 17, 2020 13:34:43 GMT -5
Wondering how long some of the rest of you tumble your jewelry for? I use a 3 pound rotary with one pound of stainless steel shot. Water about one half inch above the shot and a squirt of dawn dish soap. I run them like that for an hour or two. I do shows a couple times a year and the week before a show I start running about 100 pendants in the tumbler to clean them up. I usually toss in 2 or 3 at a time. Lengthy process but cleans everything like new. Chuck For cleaning, I run silver up to 3 hours and more for copper. For new pieces that may need deburring or hardening, esp copper, I tumble up to overnight. But, for cleaning alone, I find the speedbrite to be a blessing. I will use the speedbrite after tumbling, too, to get off any deposits left on the piece.
I also tumble like Chuck does and add a bunch of those lentil shaped plastic pellets. I have tumbled everything and have only ruined a variscite and a malachite. The soft stuff or really soft matrix does not go in the tumbler, but pearls, crystals, ammolites- just about everything- excluding those mentioned and coated anything- go in the tumbler.
Having said that- when I was doing soldering work, I threw some unset silver settings in the tumbler and I left it in too long because it came out dented like it had gone through a hail storm. Won't do THAT gain.
I am wondering if a vibe will really work. The point to most of the tumbling action will be lost in a slippery slurry. Not sure that kind of action is gonna debur or harden. I'm interested to see your results.
I do use the vibe to harden silver bands and ears wires as I make them my self. |
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Post by toiv0 on Feb 17, 2020 16:53:35 GMT -5
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,588
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Post by jamesp on Feb 17, 2020 17:07:44 GMT -5
This may be of interest toiv0. I rotary tumbled bezel material. Brass, copper, white brass, german silver. To round the edges well before hammer finishing them. It takes a good while, like 5 days in SiC 60 to get full radius edges. Lots and lots of gas build up tumbling metals in water. From shear cut to this edge using 60 grit silicon carbide and a bit of water for about 5 days:   Tumbled about 5 pounds of base metal bezel material at a time. Just the metal, no agates, ceramics or stainless/glass balls added.:  Tumble rounded bezels were then hammer flattened/finished, and did not at any point require file touch ups on bezel edges to remove shear marks. Copper decorations were then soldered on, job complete.  |
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Post by toiv0 on Feb 17, 2020 17:34:56 GMT -5
This may be of interest toiv0 . I rotary tumbled bezel material. Brass, copper, white brass, german silver. To round the edges well before hammer finishing them. It takes a good while, like 5 days in SiC 60 to get full radius edges. Lots and lots of gas build up tumbling metals in water. From shear cut to this edge using 60 grit silicon carbide and a bit of water for about 5 days: Tumbled about 5 pounds of base metal bezel material at a time. Just the metal, no agates, ceramics or stainless/glass balls added.: Tumble rounded bezels were then hammer flattened/finished, and did not at any point require file touch ups on bezel edges to remove shear marks. Copper decorations were then soldered on, job complete. Interesting, our bezel material a person normally buys is .999 fine silver which is soft. Sime people here and myself for Castelated bezels make them ourselves. What you're calling a bezel looks like pieces of your various metals. Interesting though, looks like something I would and or probably do in the future. |
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Post by MsAli on Feb 17, 2020 17:51:08 GMT -5
I really like how that band turned out
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Post by rockjunquie on Feb 18, 2020 7:20:52 GMT -5
Thanks for posting that toiv0.  |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,588
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Post by jamesp on Feb 18, 2020 8:58:45 GMT -5
The serving ware metals were cheap toiv0. They provided a cheap education in hammering/finishing/soldering/annealing etc. of soft metals similar to silver. After hammering about a 100 rings and 100's of bezels I felt more confident in tackling silver ! As far as tumbling bezels and wires in mass: If the edges were left sheared they were real messy after being hammered. Lots of filing and sanding to finish them. Like going thru the steps using 80 grit-400 grit-1200 grit sandpaper. The tumbled edges never needed any filing or sanding attention before or after being hammered. A polished hammer face would transfer a polish to the copper/brass/german silver/etc. bezels. A nice and quick finish. The best metals for bezels were sheared from older silver plated serving ware. It is quite thick, cheap at thrift markets, malleable and of high quality. Especially the white brass and german silver silver plated serving plates. Some silverplate is silver plated copper, not as desirable but the copper alloy was of high quality. I would simply shear hundreds of bezel shapes from the serving ware and tumble them all in one big batch. Home made shear  Tumble finished german silver bezel wrapped with 12 ga wire and hammered heavily. Finish is mostly tumbled, no sandpapering or filing needed.  Hammered copper spiral, also tumble finished prior  4 minute rings  |
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Post by joshuamcduffie on Feb 18, 2020 9:17:29 GMT -5
jamesp - is that a cheater bar welded to a tin snip?
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,588
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Post by jamesp on Feb 18, 2020 9:27:26 GMT -5
jamesp - is that a cheater bar welded to a tin snip? Yep. A high quality US made shear purchased at a pawn shop. It cuts .020" to .080" soft metals like butter. It is also used to chop up hard banding steel used in banding freight into short pieces for disposal. The cutting section is 5 inches long. Also made some high polish anvils out of rail. Various ring forming devices. Used plain shop tools. Great metal smithing education on a budget. www.flickr.com/photos/67205364@N06/sets/72157639358940654 |
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Post by joshuamcduffie on Feb 18, 2020 9:29:01 GMT -5
That's a big boi
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,588
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Post by jamesp on Feb 18, 2020 9:38:38 GMT -5
It was an effortless fast cutter joshuamcduffie. Tumbling metals with water and SiC was a real gas maker though. I finally bought a slant rotary that was vented so gas was not an issue. The cap just lays in place. No slurry leakage. This Viking model is the ultimate heavy metal tumbler because the cap is not sealed. My wife uses this machine heavily to create sand blast finishes on lamp parts. Or tumble away chrome and galvanized plate to allow rust and acid finishes.. I crushed some 6 inch 80 grit aluminum oxide grinding wheels to 1/2 to 1 inch chunks so that grit would not get caught in the holes in the parts. She may only run it for a few hours. And may only run a few parts at a time.  |
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