[Jewelry making - Article 00022] - Re: [Orchid] Tumbling Sterling Silver

[Judy Hoch]

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>       I purchased a rotary and a vibratory tumbler that I will dedicate
>     for burnishing and polishing, respectively. When is the best time
>     to use JAX blackner to antique my silver -- before burnishing or
>     before polishing? I fabricate my pieces and like to add lots of
>     texture, including stampings. I will be using stainless steel to
>     burnish and Dry Shine III for polishing. 

    Tracy - when you use the Jax or liver of sulpher - follow it with a
    mild abrasive run - such as the fine clean cut media from Rio, in
    your vibratory tumbler.  This will smooth edges and get rid of sharp
    sticky things in your textures.  The high spots will have the black
    stuff removed but it will stay dark in the depressions.  Then run in
    steel in your rotary. 

    If you were to apply the Jax and then immediately run in steel, you
    would beat the blackener into the whole piece and it wouldn't show
    much texture at all.  It's really miserable to try and get a polish
    on the high spots after beating the darkener into the silver. 

    I very seldom will run jewelry that has been treated with Jax or
    liver of sulpher in the dry shine.  It tends to dig in and remove
    all the darkened recesses.  I do use it for bringing up a high shine
    when I don't have the need to retain a contrast.

>         Is it OK to store my stainless steel dry or should it be left
>     in a liquid w/ 20% burnishing compound? Is this OK for long-term
>     storage and do I just rinse it off when I need to run a tumbler
>     load?

    You can do pretty much anything you want to stainless steel - it is
    stainless.  I store it dry. 

>     how should I store/care for my Dry Shine III (charged corn cob).
>     Can I leave it in the bowl of the vibratory tumbler until the next
>     batch I need to polish? How do I tell when a batch is worn out and
>     needs to be recharged or thrown away? Or about how long should I
>     expect each load to last? 

    The dry shine will lose it's effectiveness after two or three runs -
    but dont throw it away, recharge it with simichrome.  If you keep it
    covered tightly, it will go longer.  FYI - it only really works well
    when the media is warm - so run it for 30 min before adding your
    jewelry.  I like green buff better and use it mixed with wood pegs I
    get from Gesswein. 

    For further reference, you might want to get the book I wrote on
    tumbling -  Tumble Finishing for Handmade Jewelry, 4th edition. 
    Gesswein, Rio, Otto Frei and Elaine Luther have it in stock. 

Judy  Hoch, G.G.
www.marstal.com

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