I polished at a store for about 9 months for 8 hours a day and you
do develop some callouses with the heated pieces. I always use water
to cool things especially the silver as it heats quickly. Here’s my
2cents: For all you glove wearers that never lost a finger or got a
glove caught…you are lucky…while the odds might be with you…I
would rather have hot fingers than lose one. I agree NO GLOVES WHILE
POLISHING! For dirty fingernail, you can do the gardeners trick of
rubbing a bar of soap under your fingernails. When you wash your
hand, use the nail brush and the compound should come off. I use a
gardener’s soap that has scrubbing grains in it and that helps a lot.
If you are a jeweler, you work at a dirty job. Dirt is your badge of
honor 
Mary
Namaste
The list of tasks that my husband has failed to master is long,
from ironing a shirt to knowing the difference between a weed and a
flower when mowing the lawn. But then, he is blond... (though he's
dynamite with a computer!)
Noel, you could have been speaking about my husband - apart from the
fact that he’s grey not blonde!!! That gave me a giggle, as did
Hans’s post.
Helen
UK
Here are a couple of tricks I use when polishing which save wear and
tear on the fingers.
-
A large paper clip to hold the piece as most pieces have some
type of loop which it can be attached especially good for small
parts and earrings.
-
Use a old worn out buff. Hold it against the piece from the back
it works great when doing flat areas such as backs.
Dave
Lots of good advice tendered in this thread. One point I wonder
about, I hope that the ultrasonic is not active, ie. ‘vibrating’
when you put your finger tips into it. This can cause serious
problems, lack of feeling and nerve damage. Also do not look closely
into large powerful ultrasonics as there have been rare cases of
retinal detachment.
David.
jewellerydavidcruickshank.com.au
Helen
gets rid of any ammonia on my hands. I find it preferable to using
bleach, which clings to your skin for quite a while.
Please, please, please don’t use ammonia or bleach on your hands. We
work with so many toxic items as it is. There is a soap I use called
“Miracle Soap” which is 100% natural (& I think organic) that removes
any trace of rouge or tripoli & won’t poison your blood stream or
ruin your lovely hands. & there is alway “Goof off” & “Goop” if you
shy away from the natural stuff. Be well, do good work & treat your
hands better! 
Cristine McC
"Miracle Soap" which is 100% natural
Good grief. Have you read the inventor’s (or should I say recipient
of divine revelation) story about this stuff? God personally wrote
the recipe on the bedroom wall! It even cures cancer!
http://miraclesoap.net
Al Balmer
Sun City, AZ
Also do not look closely into large powerful ultrasonics as there
have been rare cases of retinal detachment.
References? This sounds just plain unlikely to me, since the
ultrasonic energy should stay in the solution, not transmitting in
air much at all. To detach retinas, you’d have to have the
ultrasonic energy not only leaving the cleaning solution or tank,
traveling through air, and then transmitting enough energy into the
fluid of the eye to do damage. Maybe I’m being naive, but that
doesn’t sound likely at all, and if it were possible, I’m betting
that long before it could detach retinas, it aught to cause extreme
pain. Or am I missing something here?
Peter Rowe
"Miracle Soap" which is 100% natural
Don’t forget Peach pit extract is also 100% natural, so is Foxglove
petal tea.
Hope you enjoy your last cuoppa
Kay
I would much rather know what chemicals are in it thank you…
Greetings,
there’s been a lot of talk about the hand protection when polishing.
About a month or so ago I decided to approach this issue of hand
polishing from a position of time required to hand polish.
I had seen a book Tumble Finishing for Handmade jewelry by Judy Hoch
in the Rio catalog for quite some time. I figured that at 48 pages
he really couldn’t have much to say about what is a somewhat complex
subject. Realizing though that I was putting off polishing my work
more and more, I decided to take the(very) inexpensive initial
plunge and buy the book. I could not have been more pleasantly
surprised. It is actually a cram packed book(let) of It
has more detailed and books many times its size.After
reading it about three or four times I decided to try tumble
polishing with just a barrel tumbler first. EBay had some very good
deals especially one small company in particular. (You may consider
just a Vibratory Tumbler initially also) Then, following the book,
and some by the tech people at Rio Grande my barrel
tumbling has begun.
Like many complex things you can only ask so many questions until
you realize you must experiment yourself and find what works best for
your own size and type of jewelry work.
I am midway at finding success with tumble polishing the large
silver cuffs that I make.
This “mass finishing” method should resolve questions anyone may
have about “hand safety when polishing” and solve my concern of the
time it is been taking me to hand polish, especially my complex
pieces. So, if any of you out there are concerned about speeding up
your production and hand safety and don’t mind spending some bucks to
do so, the above book is the way to start.
zev
ps if you are interested in what Rotary tumbling machine I bought
and why you can e-mail me directly
Peter,
References? This sounds just plain unlikely to me, since the
ultrasonic energy should stay in the solution, not transmitting in
air much at all...
Just don’t imerse your head in the ultra sonic. Fingers also not a
good idea.
jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand
Sorry I may have been over the top. But I was told in one w/s.
However the finger warning is serious.
David
jewellerydavidcruickshank.com.au
Just don't imerse your head in the ultra sonic. Fingers also not a
good idea.
Yeah, Jeff, I KNOW that. But the post I replied to suggested danger
just from being close to the machine, not immersed. I was questioning
the truth of that part…
Peter
Dr. Bonner’s soaps are also natural and available many places. They
also come with labels heavily adorned with scriptural messages in
tiny print!
Mike DeBurgh
Peter,
Yeah, Jeff, I KNOW that. But the post I replied to suggested
danger just from being close to the machine, not immersed. I was
questioning the truth of that part...
I knew damned well what you meant. Maybe just a silly phase in my
life but if I see too many paranoid concerns about the hidden dangers
in a jewellery studio. There are dangers but my odds of a bad
encounter with a truck are far worse. I might just take up knitting.
No wait, those needles can be sharp.
jeffD
Demand Designs
Analog/Digital Modelling & Goldsmithing
http://www.gmavt.net/~jdemand
Dr. Bonner’s soaps are also natural and available many places. They
also come with labels heavily adorned with scriptural messages in
tiny print! I loved Dr Bonner’s soap. Made great shower reading-back
when I could easily read small print & liked to smell like a
Eucalyptus tree. The reason I recommended “Miracle soap” was because
of it’s phenomenal Tripoli/Rouge cleaning capabilities as well as not
being harmful to one’s self or the environment. I never noticed the
scripture on the label, I need to pay more attention-I can use a few
good laughs.
Be well, do good work, Cristine McC
my 2 cents:
Several years ago I was using a heavy duty drill press while wearing
gloves. A glove got caught. I pulled my hand back really, really,
really, fast, and it sucked the glove off my hand, thank god, without
any damage. There was no question in my mind how close I had come to
losing a hand, perhaps part of an arm.
I WILL NEVER EVER AGAIN WEAR GLOVES WHILE USING A POWER TOOL.
ok, for last time, these gloves were designed for jewelers also.
they aren’t heavy duty, they aren’t thick leather, they aren’t thin
rubber sterile gloves. they are sold to jewelers for jewelry work. If
they ripped off fingers and hands, do you think they would be the
hottest selling item of the year!??? I use them everyday! look ma! 10
fingers and they are all attached and working! Use your head when
polishing. No Chains or bracelets. I tell all my retail clients that
my hands aren’t worth anyone’s chain or bangle or Brac. If they’re
stupid enough to put them to a buff, then knock yourself out! But I
will swear by these gloves! geez! Steve