Last week I posted a msg hoping someone had an Ace magnetic tumbler
as I wondered how old this model was. but no luck. Am ‘experimenting’
with one someone has for sale prior to buying and have no experience
with them. In running this tumbler for 20 minutes the shot is almost
too hot to touch inspite of there being plenty of liquid. Is this
normal?
The finish I get is nowhere near as good as my rotary tumbler and am
just trying this out with a few rings or earrings. So am wondering
if something is wrong.
i have a magnetic tumbler (and a rotary as well) and have mixed
feelings. the heat (i think) is normal more or less. i run mine for
an hour or two sometimes and there will literaly be steam coming off
the top. remove with tongs, if you’re looking for a mirror finish,
you’re not going to get it. I use it for pieces that I can’t possibly
get to with sandpaper without harming them. (or if a matte-ish finish
is acceptable, i run it in the magnetic and then rouge, sometimes
this works very well). Sometimes there are pieces that have places
too small for the shot to get to – the magnetic tumbler is awesome
for this - especially if you just keep running it. It is horrible for
pieces with large flat surface areas (you’ll get a river effect and
actually see the marks of the cylindrical shot). But it’s also good
for getting something close and then you can go in with silicone fine
and extra fine to get it to where you want it. I really enjoy mine,
but that may be a function of the nature of a lot of my work and my
need for semi-instant gratifucation. I love being able to put an
experiment into the tumbler for a half hour and get a reasonable idea
of what the finished product will look like. Patience is a virtue but
one I’m still working very hard at!
You may also want to adjust the settings – speed, number of changes
in direction, etc, if your heat is too great. I’m by no means an
expert, but that’s what I’ve learned with my own.
How hot is it? I use a barrel tumbler and a magnetic polisher, and
neither of them get “hot”. The magnetic gets warm, but no worse than
body temp. Is the model you are using heated, and is there a control
to turn the heater down? If you can’t stop it being hot, ask yourself
“Is it a problem?” Unless you are using it for very delicate,
heat-sensitive materials, then the temperature isn’t likely to be a
problem. Well, not unless it burns you when you put your hand in!
How hot is it? I use a barrel tumbler and a magnetic polisher, and
neither of them get "hot". The magnetic gets warm, but no worse
than body temp. Is the model you are using heated, and is there a
control to turn the heater down? If you can't stop it being hot,
ask yourself "Is it a problem?" Unless you are using it for very
delicate, heat-sensitive materials, then the temperature isn't
likely to be a problem. Well, not unless it burns you when you put
your hand in!
The heat is from the energy put into the shot and work from friction
generated by movement imparted by the motor. The higher the energy
the faster the work is done and the hotter it gets. I used to work
with a Centrifugal barrel finisher that was driven by a 5 HP motor.
The barrels when removed from the CBF had to be opened very carefully
as the steam in the barrel due to the high energy of the process
would burn you.
It’s too hot for me to dig my work out from. So I let it cool down.
Was only concerned that I might be burning up the motor. But since I
now own the machine if I burn it up, it’s my dime. There’s no control
on this model unfortunately.
Thank you everyone for your input. Experimentation continues and last
nite I wondered if ‘just by chance’ the amount of shot the original
owner used in this 4 x 4" bowl, was incorrect. So I dried out the
shot and had it weighed today. 150 grams—which if I am correct is
too much for this size bowl. I believe someone at Rio told me 100
grams. So am guessing that too is adding to the ‘hot shot’ and not
everything spinning around correctly. Will give it another go tonite.
From different peoples responses, I’m guessing that we are all using
a widerange of types of tumbler. Does anyone know how significant
the heating is to the process. How much longer does it take without
the heating switched on? Do all the tumblers just use physical force,
or do some use a mix of force and chemical reactions? I ask all this
because if the heat only slightly improves the process, then the
orginal poster could just open up their machine, disconnect the
heater, and then just run the machine for longer. Without the heater
running, it would be a lot less expensive to run,anyway.
then the orginal poster could just open up their machine,
disconnect the heater,
Just wanted to clarify there is no heater nor switch to shut off the
heat.
I decreased the shot to about 100 grams and the shot and machine
don’t seem to be heating up as much. Perhaps that was the
problem.although much of the shot still sits in the bottom of the
bowl in the center and doesn’t move in this particular model.
Thanks to all for your input.
Liane Redpath Worlund
I decreased the shot to about 100 grams and the shot and machine
don't seem to be heating up as much. Perhaps that was the
problem.although much of the shot still sits in the bottom of the
bowl in the center and doesn't move in this particular model.
I did not follow this thread to close, if decreasing the amount of
shot is reducing the heat it means that the motor does not have to
work as hard, and if there is shot sitting on the bottom not moving,
most likely the tumbler is not meant for steel shot, or far less than
what you are using. Over time the excess heat will cause parts to
break down faster than they would normally.
Lianne - it would appear that you are overloading your tumbler with
shot, it will get hot from the motor working too hard and too long.
There is seldom any reason to run steel for more that 45 minutes.
Anything longer causes surface grain development. If the shot won’t
roll with a smaller amount, you need to use a tumbler rated for steel
or change to a rotary tumbler or use ceramic polishing beads.