Greetings All,
I am looking for a new, small rotary tumbler. I have used a hobbyist tumbler for awhile and it is time to upgrade. Before I go further I must say I have looked in the Archive and there isn’t much newer than 2006. Brother Rob has a Lortone QT 6 and that’s the direction I am looking. I use it for metal work rather than Lapidary. I make my own earring wires so I will tumble them in ceramic rods to debur the ends and put a glow on them before I put them in a pair of earrings. I will also use it with SS shot to dress up some finished silver bracelets and ornaments that have gotten a little dull.
Is there something new on the market I should consider? A better process? Tell me about magnetic pin machines. And am I on the right track?
Don
Don…The QT6 is my workhorse. I use it to tumble earrings. I have worn out the barrel. The smaller ones may only see SS shot to finish, bigger ones will be polished on the wheel and then tumbled. The biggest issue is whether or not I can safely hang on to them to polish. I have a magnetic pin finisher and use it on small pieces, but the finish is not what I like for a final finish. I too make my own ear wires. Both ends are balled with the pulse arc before the ear wire is formed and tumbled. I use 20 gauge half hard Argentium. Feel free to try out the pin finisher. There are newer tumblers on the market, but they all seem to work the same way. Be sure that the inside surface of the barrell has multiple faces and is not a smooth round surface…Rob
I have a basic Lortone 3A as well as an Arbe MGT-095. I rarely use the magnetic finisher as compared to the simple tumbler. I find pyramid media and steel shot much more useful on a daily basis. I use it for de-burring, cleaning, purposeful oxidation removal, and “shining” (I guess pre-polishing?) Even on the occasions where I think, oh! the tiny magnetic pins will clean this right up! I just tend to be disappointed.
When I was doing lots of shows, I bought a large vibratory tumbler and later a couple more so that I could keep the media separated. I had to run them in the garage because the noise was not very popular with the others in the house. The final finish was OK, but not always up to my standards developed from years at the wheel. As a result, much of what was tumbled went across the wheel too. These three tumblers sit idle, for the most part, in my shop as I don’t do a a lot of shows. I have been experimenting with different LOS textures using different media then a final run in SS shot. If you want to learn more about the science of tumbling, look for Judy Hoch’s book Tumble Finishing for Handmade Jewelry. Also look for Polishing and Finishing for Jewellers and Silversmiths by Stephen Goldsmith…Rob