[Jewelry making - Article 00019] - Re: [Orchid] Tumbling fine gold jewelry

[Judy Hoch]

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>          Main concerns are what type of tumbler is best for gold fine
>     jewelry, if any at all; as well as what type of tumbling media. 
>     We are currently using a vibratory tumbler and are struggling with
>     types of media to use.  Should we be trying to acheive a fine
>     finish from such a type of tumbler? ... Another route we have taken
>     is magnetic finishing with steel pin media.  This, however; seemed
>     to leave somewhat of a pitted finish, not what we were looking for. 


    The good news Nicholas is that the vibratory tumbler is perfect for
    what you are doing.  In finishing gold jewelry, I would suggest a
    two step abrasive process -- such as Rio's grey hone (10
    microinches) then the green hone (3 microinches). I run each of them
    for 8 to 10 hours. Please use the appropriate deburring compound for
    the media - soap looks good, but doesn't suspend the junk from the
    process and gives you a less than professional result.  Then
    depending on speed needed, you could use steel in a rotary tumbler,
    or the cheaper slower method is a mixture of organic materials - I
    like wood chips with wood pegs, charged with simichrome - and run
    for 12 to 24 hours.  This gives a good smooth bright finish which
    compares well to hand finishing. 

    If your castings are robust, alternately  you could use a disk
    finisher for much speedier results. 

    For more process detail, you could refer to the book "Tumble
    Finishing for Handmade Jewelry." The fourth edition expands on the
    finishing of many metals, and also reviews the use of many of the
    newer machines on the market.  This is a self serving plug. 

Judy  Hoch, G.G.
judy AT marstal.com


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