Tumbling 22K with steel shot?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Is 22K gold too soft to be tumbled with stainless steel shot in a
rotary tumbler? Some folks have told me “yes”, and some said "no."
Anyone with experience doing this?

Larry Heyda

2 
Is 22K gold too soft to be tumbled with stainless steel shot in a
rotary tumbler? Some folks have told me "yes", and some said "no."
Anyone with experience doing this?

Like many thing the answer is “it depends” if your tumbler is a
powerful one then you may find that it will leave the work with an
orange peel surface from the impact of the media. A gentler tumbler
will not sling the shot with as much force and will not mark up the
work quite as much. The best answer is to give it a try on a test
piece.

James Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts

3 
if your tumbler is a powerful one then you may find that it will
leave the work with an orange peel surface from the impact of the
media

i tumbled 24k gold keum-boo peice and it came out with and orange
peel surface. and that was in a mini electo mag polisher. the funny
thing is it i didnt guess why untill i read this!

Chris

4

Larry - no problem at all - in fact it is a very good thing to do -
it obviously retains the high karat but adds a small bit of surface
hardness. I’m not fond of shiny 22k and usually prefer a matte or
brushed surface.

The book will be back from the printer next week.

Judy Hoch