Have heard from a reliable source that stainless steel marine
washers make very good tumbler ‘‘shot’’ for metals. Where can such a
thing be found? Just love to get tips on where to find good metal
working tools and supplies that are originally manufactured for
another use. Just because we make jewelry doesn’t mean we have
unlimited funds for tools and supplies. I have a few to share and
would love to get all your input as well. Here goes:
Did you know???
baseball bats and wooden table legs make excellent bracelet mandrels
spiderline fishing line is a very good monofiliment for light
stringing and for crystals that are transparent- look for it at Wal
Mart a hardwood log (left to dry out sufficiently) is an excellent
sound damper for pounding metal pumice can be found at Ace hardware.
I’d love to hear all your input on this suject.
Take a look at mcmaster.com good source for hardware. There are many
different grades of stainless steel. Sometimes 316 stainless is
referred to marine grade. The McMaster catalog has comparisons of
material grades (Raw Materials, Metals, stainless Steel).
Stainless steel balls do not require drying to prevent rusting up but
i prefer the steel ones.I have magnetic strips with self adhesive
backing stuck on a board 20cm by 8cm area and pull the balls out from
the tumbled products - far easier than picking out 200-400 tiny items
seperatly.
Another tip - Broken drills stuck in a metal item that can not be
punched out or will damage the item -mix equal parts of ‘Sulphate Of
Aluminium’ and ‘Sulphate Of Potash’ in water and simmer on a low heat
for several hours with the item covered.
Cyndy- go to “Mcmaster carr” (or maybe ENCO) its an industrial
supplier you might do a google search for the web site i buy
fasteners in boxes of 100 from them (for my motorcycle hobby) i
usually buy cad plated, stainless is more expensive but experience
has taught me that experimentation is not all that cost effective -
goo
Have heard from a reliable source that stainless steel marine
washers make very good tumbler ''shot''
That’s probably true, but the metal parts they were tumbling where
probably larger than most jewelry items. To effectively burnish
smaller items, with nooks & crannies, in a tumbler requires media
that’s small enough to get into those nooks & crannies.
Stainless steel balls do not require drying to prevent rusting up
but i prefer the steel ones.I have magnetic strips with self
adhesive backing stuck on a board 20cm by 8cm area and pull the
balls out from the tumbled products - far easier than picking out
200-400 tiny items seperatly.
You may be able to get both the corrosion resistance and magnetic
pick up at the same time. Many of the 400 series grades of stainless
steel have magnetic properties along with the corrosion resistance.
Stainless steel balls do not require drying to prevent rusting up
but I prefer the steel ones.I have magnetic strips with self adhesive
backing stuck on a board 20cm by 8cm area and pull the balls out
from the tumbled products - far easier than picking out 200-400 tiny
items seperatly.
Another tip - Broken drills stuck in a metal item that can not be
punched out or will damage the item -mix equal parts of ‘Sulphate Of
Aluminium’ and ‘Sulphate Of Potash’ in water and simmer on a low
heat for several hours with the item covered.
Will this work with an antique brass drill bit holder that has a
drill bit stuck in it?