Stevie - You can work harden almost anything in a rotary tumbler with stainless steel shot.
Orchidians: Does anyone have any experience using vibratory tumblers
for work hardening? I picked up a copy of Judy Hoch’s book
"Tumble-Finishing for Handmade Jewelry, but it does not address this
question directly. Neither did a quick search of the Orchid Archives.
he book recommends rotary tumblers for applications like this. Which
is fine except that I do not have a rotary tumbler. But I do have a
MINI-SONIC vibratory tumbler, and I am wondering how to use it in as
many applications as possible. I’ve got stainless steel shot. Can
anyone offer any suggestions as to how long I should run this tumbler
to work harden fabricated pieces of 18Kt gold? They do not have much
detail, in fact they are just pieces of 12 ga. wire with the ends
melted into 1/4 inch balls. The tumbler has 3 hoppers, each with a
capacity of 3 cups.
Thanks,
Michael Conlin
Michael Conlin
President, Conlin & Associates
1-703-391-2521