I’d use fine & finer & finest sand paper on sticks before any rotary
tools.
M’lou
For thirty bucks at Harbor Freight you can get a little tumbler made
in China. For another twenty or so you can get a pound of stainless
steel shot (Rio Grande and others.)
Run your metal pieces in this with a bit of detergent and some water
as detailed elsewhere (Google is your friend.) This will soften your
tool marks and even remove tiny ones, and the Big Bonus is that you
will get a FABULOUS shine on your silver pieces.
And of course you now have a tool that will be useful to you for a
long time.
John
Pentaluna Jewels
Indiana
I'd use fine & finer & finest sand paper on sticks before any rotary tools.
You sure you’re not my teacher in disguise? 
I agree the stick is often undervalued.
Use the stick as far as you can go then finish up with a Dremmel
stitched mop, then loose mop for that mirror polish 
Regards Charles
I’m not that familiar with Dremels other than that they spin too
fast and have little torque. But if that’s what you got you go with
it. Fast wheels don’t give you a lot of leeway as far as mistakes go,
one slip or linger too long and now you might have something worse
than tool marks. I would suggest you use soft blue silicone wheels on
a suitable mandrel. Maybe follow up with pink. The flexibility of the
silicone wheels will offset the tendency for a fast hard
bit/tool/wheel to chatter or dig in.
I’ll take it you don’t have a buffer so its possible to rub
polishing compounds on a flannel cloth and finish by hand. Stay away
from red rouge, leaves streaks.
I'll take it you don't have a buffer so its possible to rub polishing compounds on a flannel cloth and finish by hand. Stay away from red rouge, leaves streaks.
This is interesting, I have a Dremel Stylus variable speed 5,000 -
25,000 RPM, is that too fast? There’s no foot control, which I miss
from using one in class, but it can be handled quite dexterously.
I spoke with my teacher, and his opinion was that I should buy a
motor, and a hand piece, as anything not common in the industry
should be avoided in preference to the common.
I thought this fair comment. I think he may have been thinking of
the older style Dremels that are quite chunky, I’ll take it in anyway
an give it a try, although I really like a foot peddle.
We use red rouge where I am learning, we use them on lathes, is it
still a good idea not to use red rouge?
Regards Charles
For thirty bucks at Harbor Freight you can get a little tumbler made in China. For another twenty or so you can get a pound of stainless steel shot (Rio Grande and others.) Run your metal pieces in this with a bit of detergent and some water as detailed elsewhere (Google is your friend.) This will soften your tool marks and even remove tiny ones, and the Big Bonus is that you will get a FABULOUS shine on your silver pieces.
Oh, please! Steel won’t make any tool marks go away. Further, if you
run any tumbler with just detergent and water, you deserve what you
get. Dirt and metal junk is just pounded back into your jewelry.
To remove tool marks with a tumbler, you need some kind of abrasive
media. Steel only burnishes. The marks will still be there.
The better answer to removing tool marks is - don’t make them.
Judy Hoch
This is interesting, I have a Dremel Stylus variable speed 5,000 - 25,000 RPM, is that too fast? There's no foot control, which I miss from using one in class, but it can be handled quite dexterously.
Charles, I have a similar Dremel (Model 395) and found a foot pedal
online that you just plug in and go. Very convenient. There’s nothing
wrong with Dremels that have variable speeds. They tend to be the
newer ones and have both sufficient speed and torque for anything you
might need. I even bought a hanger for it which is now attached to my
bench so I can easily use the flexshaft attached.
Michele
MikiCat Designs
www.mikicatdesigns.com
Oh, please! Steel won't make any tool marks go away. Further, if you run any tumbler with just detergent and water, you deserve what you get. Dirt and metal junk is just pounded back into your jewelry. To remove tool marks with a tumbler, you need some kind of abrasive media. Steel only burnishes. The marks will still be there. The better answer to removing tool marks is - don't make them.
So what does a tumbler actually do? My assumption was that the act
of polishing was an abrasive action.
I’m not that good yet, to not leave any file marks, but I am getting
better
Regards Charles
as anything not common in the industry should be avoided in preference to the common. We use red rouge where I am learning
Funny dichotomy of thought if I may say. On the face of it I would
generally agree with the first statement. The problem is it can lead
to the “we’ve been doing it this way for 40 years” type of
stick-in-the-muddiness
Ok here goes why I dislike and discourage red rouge
It leaves streaks.
Its nasty to breath in especially at filter cleaning time
It fouls the shop and eventually the showcases
It leaves pits which the uninitiated will want to overpolish the
piece thinking its their own fault and just make it worse
It takes longer to tripoli and rouge than to just get the job done
with zam
Personally, I plan on using Zam for the next 40 years.
Charles,
A Dremel is not satisfactory for general jewelry work. Get a flex
shaft.
Jerry in Kodiak
Judy,
Oh, please! Steel won't make any tool marks go away. Further, if you run any tumbler with just detergent and water, you deserve what you get. Dirt and metal junk is just pounded back into your jewelry. To remove tool marks with a tumbler, you need some kind of abrasive media. Steel only burnishes. The marks will still be there.
It’s rather dependent on just what you call a tool mark. Steel shot,
unlike the little pins in a magnetic burnisher, in a rotary tumbler,
don’t just lightly burnish. There’s a bit of an impact aspect too.
So it ends up part burnishing, and partly almost planishing. Teensy
little hammer marks, if you will. You can proove this to yourself by
tumbling a silver item with deep harrow grooves, the tops of which
have sharp corners. Or something with raised square wire-like
shapes. The idea is sharp corners the shot can only reach from one
side, not all the way around the corner. What you’ll see after
tumbling is that the tumbled side of that corner has distinctly and
noticably mushroomed over. In short, there can be a good deal of
actually compressing/working that metal surface. This won’t remove
deep large too marks like from badly used searrated pliers or hammer
marks, or coarse files, etc. But the marks from, say, a number 4 cut
needle file? They’ll be gone. So will any remnant of marks from 400
sandpaper or light scratches from anything else. It’s relative.
Steel shot will remove minor tool marks. heavier marks, those will
need more aggressive measures before tumbling. Just for reference, I
used to use steel shot to prefinish a line of cast rings. The rings
would get sprues filed off, along with mold marks, etc. A number 3
cut file finish or 220 emery paper was all that was needed before
tumbling. Overnight in the tumbler, and file marks were invisible.
The stuff then got hand polished for the final finish, but usually,
rouge was mostly all that was required after the tumbling. This was
cast sterling silver, so pretty soft stuff. Harder metals might not
be so worked by the steel shot, and of course, how long you leave it
in the tumbler has a big impact too. So does the type of tumbler.
Rotary seems more aggressive with steel shot than do vibratory
tumblers. Perhaps there’s more of an impact effect.
For the record, burnishing by hand can also remove marks. It’s the
classic way for engravers to fix a slip of the graver. With carful
burnishing with a hand burnisher, you can pretty much eliminate a
minor graver slip in silver or softer golds.
Peter Rowe
Charles, I have a similar Dremel (Model 395) and found a foot pedal online that you just plug in and go. Very convenient. There's nothing wrong with Dremels that have variable speeds. They tend to be the newer ones and have both sufficient speed and torque for anything you might need. I even bought a hanger for it which is now attached to my bench so I can easily use the flexshaft attached.
The Dremmel Stylus is cordless, so a foot pedal is a big ask for
this model.
It’s good to know that it could be a cheaper substitute.
I’ll take it to my next class and give it a trial. I can always save
up for a hand piece and a motor later.
Regards Charles
So what does a tumbler actually do? My assumption was that the act of polishing was an abrasive action.
Tumblers are used in several ways. The classic rock tumbler uses a
sequence of finer and finer abrasive grits, leading to a final stage
with polishing compounds, to polish the stones. With metals, one can
also use graded abrasives in “wet” tumblers. Usually what’s used are
the plastic cone types, or similar, rather than loose grit, but
again, it’s abrasives to remove the marks of the prior stage up
until the final polish stage with polishing compounds on some sort of
media. But tumblers used with steel shot are different. No abrasive
action at all. No metal is removed. The shot is tumbled with the
metal items and a (usually) soapy lubricant. Here, the action is
simply burnishing, or rubbing the polished steel shot against the
softer metal via the tumbling action. To a significant degree,
especially with rotary tumblers, there is also a bit of impact
effect, much like many very tiny hammer marks. The resulting action
compresses, work hardens, and brightens the metal surface. done
right, it can give you an almost high polished surface, good enough
for a final finish on some work. This type of tumbling is more
properly called burnishing than polishing.
Peter Rowe
I spoke with my teacher, and his opinion was that I should buy a motor, and a hand piece"
Just FYI, a motor and handpiece with foot control can be found at
Harbor Freight for less than fifty bucks. I’m sure it is made in
China. I expect it would at least be a good starter machine.
Usual disclaimer.
John
Indiana
So does the type of tumbler. Rotary seems more aggressive with steel shot than do vibratory tumblers.
This is totally dependent on the size motor used in the vibratory
tumbler. I have a 1/2 hp small commercial tumbler running 50 lbs of
shot that will beat the pants off a rotary barrel tumbler in both
speed and surface quality. When I worked at the casting house we used
3/4 hp vibratory machines that were still a little on the small side
for commercial vibratory tumblers, they needed to be bolted to the
concrete floor to keep them from wandering off when operating. Most
tumblers sold by the jewelry supply houses are ok for abrasive media
but way underpowered for any quantity of steel shot. They just can’t
move it enough to do the work. So for small studio use the rotary
barrel tumblers are almost always better but take a long time,
properly sized vibratory machines are way faster and give as good or
better surface finish.
Jim
James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
I thought red rouge was used as a final polish? I tried using some
after I got my marks out using tripoli. The red rouge would not buff
off once it was on, for some reason, and I was using a dremel with a
felt wheel. Funny enough, the tripoli left a nice finish, between
satin and shiney.
I cannot use a tumbler because these are wire wrapped beads.
Liz
Oh, please! Steel won't make any tool marks go away. (...) To remove tool marks with a tumbler, you need some kind of abrasive media. Steel only burnishes. The marks will still be there.
Sorry, but this is not true. It is many years ago since I last used
a tumbler, because I have no need for it, but I know that steel shot
does take away tool marks - Peter Rowe just explained this, so I
will not comment on it further. I also used ceramic abrasives and
rouge impregnated wood. I was satisfied with both: the rouge polishes
the metal very well, although it takes a lot of time, while the
ceramic abrasives accentuated file and coarse sandpaper marks, which
is exactly what I was after at that time.There should be no tool
marks on metal if you do not want them to be there. Marks left by a
hammer can be hammered out and file marks can be removed with a file
(8/0 needle filesare great) and sandpaper. It should not a problem.
Leach
So for small studio use the rotary barrel tumblers are almost always better but take a long time, properly sized vibratory machines are way faster and give as good or better surface finish.
True, but they also cost a lot more… 
Peter
The red rouge would not buff off once it was on, for some reason, and I was using a dremel with a felt wheel.
Don’t use so much. If it caked onto the metal, you used way too much.
Also, likely you had not yet removed all the scratches. You might
try, rather than a felt wheel, a small muslin / cloth buff, or a
small bristle brush. Both will cake up the rouge less.
Peter
I use red rouge as a final polish, and don’t have a problem removing
it. I do use the “water soluble” kind I got from Gesswein, and it
comes off nicely with a mixture of dishwashing soap and ammonia and
an old toothbrush, and it leaves a lovely shine.
If you’re wrapping glass beads with silver wire, a steel-shot
tumbler is probably safe. I’ve never had a problem with glass or
enamel in a tumbler. More delicate stones, like lapis, amber,
untreated turquoise, etc. might be damaged, however.
Amanda Fisher