You’ve heard of tumbling media for finishing jewelry; you’ve probably even used it. But there are many kinds, and each one has characteristics that make it better suited for one type of project, finish, or tumbler.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Tumbling media abrades against your jewelry to remove unwanted material. Applications include deburring, polishing, burnishing, and removing fire scale. Create your desired surface finish by choosing media based on characteristics like size, shape, and composition.
This handy guide, featured in From the Bench’s Repair Issue, will help you make the right tumbling media choice and achieve better results.
Explore more bench work and repairs by visiting the repair enter on stuller.com.
STAINLESS STEEL PINS
Stainless steel pins leave a semi-bright finish in a short amount of time, perfect for use right after casting. Use stainless steel pins with a magnetic tumbler, along with Stuller finishing soap.
TREATED WALNUT SHELL
Treated Walnut Shell, 10LB Dry
This media can be used on all metals to produce an excellent mirror finish. Use it in a vibratory or barrel tumbler.
WHITE PYRAMIDS
1/4" White Pyramids 5 lb
These plastic, pyramid-shaped media have a medium-cut surface and produce a very fine cut surface conditioning. They’re best for soft metals, to leave a smooth finish with little shine. Use these in a vibratory or barrel tumbler.
STAINLESS STEEL MIXED SHOT
10lbs. Stainless Steel Shot
Stainless steel shot is rust- and corrosion-resistant, requires no special storage, and is ideal for use in wet, flow-through systems. Used in a vibratory or barrel tumbler, this stainless-steel shot leaves pieces bright and clean, burnishing metals to a mirror finish.
PORCELAIN BALLS
1 mm Porcelain Balls 5 lb
Because of their shape, 2mm porcelain balls impart a single point of contact, leaving a very fine finish to almost any area it reaches. It’s very popular for delicate parts, fine-edge blanking, and precious metal burnishing. Use them in a vibratory or barrel tumbler to create a bright finish with less distortion.
BROWN PYRAMIDS
1/4" Brown Pyramids 5 lb
These plastic, pyramid-shaped media have a medium-cut surface and produce very fine surface conditioning. These pyramids are best for soft metals, to leave a smooth finish with little shine. Use them in a vibratory or barrel tumbler.
CERAMIC POLYHEDRONS
3/8" Polyhedrons, 20lb
Ceramic is the heaviest tumbling media and the fastest finisher. Its polyhedron shape is great for grinding and polishing hard metals. It’s also good for deburring machined, casted, and fabricated parts. Use it in a vibratory or barrel tumbler.
Explore tumbling media, other finishing tools and supplies, plus talk to experts and more during Stuller’s Bench Jeweler Workshop, March 27-28, 2020. Register by February 17 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.
EXTENDED CONTENT:
The Tools Tech Team experts are here for you. Give them a call at 1-800-877-7777 ext. 4300. Enjoyed this post? Read more in Stuller’s FTB publication.
