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Wednesday 14 January 2015

Is the tumbler a success ?




Hi Everyone
Today, I'm sharing success with my new toy ie the rock tumbler. I mentioned the arrival of the rock tumbler last Wed. and it took me almost a week to find enough time to have a go !!






I did quite a bit of research around how to use the tumbler and am quite pleased with the results. I used a sandpaper lining technique. I've read about plastic cones as a polish medium and am keen to give this a go. However, I'm looking for a source of the plastic cones and can only find them in the States. I will keep looking in the UK. I need to use the tumbler much more to see exactly how, I will use it long term. The results, so far, have been good.
I used a variety of bead sizes and shapes in my first try. All the beads came out OK and the process didn't destroy any shapes. Here is a look at how the beads look :





After the beads came out of the tumbler I left them to (thoroughly) dry overnight and then polished them with a wax polish. I'm not sure the photos show the extent of the shine. The polished beads definitely have a 'glass like' finish. I think a light translucent clay would be more so. I like the unpolished look too and can see this 'chalk like' finish would be good at times.
All in all, it's been a success. I need to routinely use the tumbler to see how I can incorporate the tool in my work.

Thanks for reading.

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