Hello, Can anyone help me?
My question is: Can cast-in-place CZs be put through a normal
tumbling process to finish the piece or are they (the CZs) abraded,
and therefore ruined, in the process?
Thanks for any insights.
Regards,
Rob Jupp
Australia
CZ is far too brittle for what you propose. It scratches and chips
VERY easily. Even in normal wear in a ring, it is surprising to see
them last for more than a very few months.
Wayne
CZ is far too brittle for what you propose.
Huh. I tumble CZs in stainless steel shot all the time with no
problem.
Mary Ellin D’Agostino, PhD
www.medacreations.com
I tumble CZs in stainless steel shot all the time with no problem.
Really? Look at them with a loupe and tell me that.
Wayne
Look at them with a loupe and tell me that.
I don’t find any problems under 10x magnification. Perhaps it has to
do with the amount of time tumbled? Type of shot? Luck?
Mary Ellin D’Agostino, PhD
www.medacreations.com
Interesting. My guess is that whatever fluid or cushioning you are
using prevents much of an impact from the steel shot; but then how
would it burnish or polish?
Wayne
Even though your response to the inquirer was many years ago, I’m so happy to have found your post regarding tumbling CZ’s! I am making my first claw setting and wanted to tumble it after I finished. Thanks so much! I will come back and report the outcome once I am finished with my earrings. 
Tammy
I don’t see why it would be necessary to tumble a setting after the CZ or other stone is set. If you tumble before setting, your media will likely get into all the recesses around the setting, sides of the prongs, bottom of the prongs, etc. I would tumble after preparing the setting, notching, etc., and then after tumbling and setting it is only necessary to do a very little cleanup with a mizzie wheel or similar. If you use polished prong pushers, there may not be any marks at all. If yours are kept matte to encourage some grip, you might need the mizzie wheel. Since you don’t get your tools very near the stones, you won’t have to get near them with any touch up. If stones touch in a tumbler, they can abrade…whether that is noticeable or not, I can’t say, but why take that risk? Setting is pretty traditionally the absolute last thing you do. Just sayin’…
Hi,
i was just wondering…what is your goal for the tumbling process?
it is such a broad category…what are you wanting it to achieve?
what type of tumbler are you using? (rotary, vibratory, magnetic, etc), ?
and what type of media are you using? (steel shot, plastic, steel pins, porcelain, shell, etc)
on a side note, long, long ago, while researching tumbling machine options, i stumbled upon a great video…it was embedded in a mass finishing website…i did not save it, and am sorry i did not!
it basically discussed rotary tumbling, and what dynamics are in play, and how to achieve the best case scenario of media movement for the best results…
it talked about the barrel fill needing to be 50%
(and i found it odd that many smaller tumblers are sold with a motor capacity weight rating lower than what was needed to fill the barrel 50% with steel shot…)
basically the goal is to achieve a perfect sliding S wave motion of media…enough to maximize media movement/ efficiency, while reducing the potential for “part on part” impingement…
(of course, the number of items being tumbled relative to barrel/ media capacity is important to determine…)
the media rides up the side of the barrel and then slides back down (as high as possible without passing the point where media “rains down” versus sliding back down) i think this is a function of barrel rotation speed(?) and needing barrel walls that are flat sided (like a hexagon) rather than smooth.
anyway…i thought it was a great video and i wish i had saved it! if anyone recalls a video like this, please post it, thank you!
julie
I’m still learning and this was my very first prong setting I ever made so I wasn’t sure how well I’d do. I knew if I accidentally scuffed the metal while setting the stone my barrel tumbler would polish it out (after proper sanding, of course). I do understand the proper way is to have everything perfect and polished before setting the stone but, again, like I said I am still learning and sometimes the proper way doesn’t work out for me. LOL! I tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist so I’ll get there eventually. 
I do appreciate all of the input. Positive criticism is a good thing and is very helpful in teaching beginners like me. Thanks so much!