[Jewelry making - Article 00416] - Re: [Orchid] Tumbling / vibro polishing

[Kathy Johnson]

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>         I foolishly purchased steel shot to save a little money only to
>     find what a maintainance nigtmare it is! 

    I learned a neat trick from my mentor, whose shop equipment I
    purchased. Included in that equipment was about 13 pounds of steel
    shot which I *thought* was stainless until the first time I didn't
    dry it out well. She showed me how to take care of it easily. 

    Before emptying the tumbler, lay out three large, old beach towels
    on a flat surface, stack the towels one on top of the next. (I use
    the top of my clothes dryer since it's next to the sink.) Empty the
    tumbler into a colander or strainer that is big and heavy enough to
    hold the shot. Rinse it well and let it drain for a couple minutes.
    Dump out the strainer onto the top towel, quickly pick out the
    tumbled pieces, spread out the shot into a thin layer, and blot it
    with a 4th smaller towel. CAREFULLY pick up all 4 corners of the
    towel, making a bundle of shot. Lift it up, and pour it *carefully*
    onto the next towel in the stack. Spread it out, repeat the blotting,
    and pour onto the 3rd towel. By this time it's barely damp, and will
    finish drying in only a few minutes once it's spread out thin, with
    no rusting. 

    It takes about 5-10 minutes at most, and then the shot is dry and
    ready to put away until the next use. The big trick is not leaving it
    to sit on a damp towel for more than a couple minutes before shifting
    it to a dry towel again. 

    And the one time our shot did rust, we simply threw it all into the
    tumbler with some water and burnishing liquid and ran the tumbler for
    an hour. The shot came out clean. We dried it as above, and it's been
    fine ever since. 

--Kathy Johnson
Feathered Gems Pet Motif Jewelry
http://www.featheredgems.com

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