How To Use a Tumbler for Chainmaille Jewelry

Far more eloquent people than I have explained the magic of tumblers for chainmail jewelry. 

[So I’ll just add a lot of pictures to distract you from the repetitiveness of it]

CUT BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY LONG. AND PIC HEAVY.

This is the rubber barrel. It holds your shot, jewelry, soap, and water. Apparently sometimes the inside can get dirty and it turns your jewelry black, but that’s never happened to me so I can’t explain that. 

Here is your stainless steel shot.  Now, you absolutely want to get stainless steel because it lets you be lazy about taking care of it. You don’t have to worry about it rusting and you can let your tumbler run all night long. It runs from $20-30 and it’s totally worth the money.

You’ll want to get the ‘jewelry mix’. There’s another mix that has pins, and apparently these are a bitch and a half to deal with because they get stuck easily in any crevices. Since chainmail is nothing but rings, you can see how this would quickly get very annoying.

[Spheres]

[Half cylinder things?]

[Er, UFOs?]

I managed to get the shot dirty once by letting the tumblr run too long. The dirt and grime came from the jewelry and stuck onto the shot. So the next time I let it run, the jewelry came out nasty and not at all sparkling clean. I ended up soaking the shot in vinegar overnight and then letting it run in the tumblr once on its own. It came out clean and that’s really the only time I’ve had trouble with it.

And here is my colander. Mine is stainless steel which is nice because I can let the wet shot sit in it without having to worry about it rusting. (I’m lazy with my tools, okay? xD;) You want to be careful with the holes. My first colander had holes on the side that were just big enough that the pieces of shot could slip through. You do NOT want to get shot down the drain. You’ll have to call a plumber to fix it. And that’s no bueno.

I’m tumbling a batch of copper jewelry here. We’ve got a love knot chain, three shaggy loops, a byzantine, and something with a japanese 12-2 in this picture.

Next we fill it up halfway with water. You really just want to make sure everything is covered. But you can’t fill it all the way up, otherwise it’ll be too heavy to run. 

You also want to put a few drops of soap in. The official guide for the tumbler says no more than a drop but fuck that shit. I put in as much as I want, however much I feel it needs, however dirty the jewelry I’m cleaning is. It really won’t hurt it. Dawn dish soap is recommended but I’ve used other soaps with no problems. You do want to get a blue one though. I can’t remember why exactly though but I’m sure there’s a good reason. 

This is the rubber lid. Mine is a little warped on the sides due to wear and tear. But it still works just fine.

And we push it down into the barrel. Make sure it goes down. We don’t want it to come apart while we’re tumbling it.

Here’s the next lid. You want to fit it right over the little screw and press it down again. 

Like so.

Here’s our washer. And we slip that right over the screw.

And here’s our nut. 

You want to screw this VERY VERY TIGHTLY. I’m serious. This keeps it all together. But don’t you dare think of getting a pair of pliers to do so. Because it will be a pain in the ass to get off again, trust me xD;

And here’s the base of the tumbler. Mine has been chugging along for at least two years now and it’s still going strong. (Ignore that glob of soap and metal dust; one of my tools fits nicely into the slot so I’ve ended up using it as a resting space.) 

Set the barrel on the tumbler. The nut fits right onto that little silver bit.

Soap! So much soap!

Then we rinse it off and let it dry.

And bam! That’s how to use a tumbler for tumble polishing your jewelry. 

Bonus tip! This is a pocket oiler. You’ll want to get some oil to keep your tumbler running smooth. Does it help? Honestly, I dunno man. I oil mine once a month and it seems to work. I only use a couple of drops a month and it wasn’t that expensive. I think I ran my tumbler for a few months before I got it, so your tumbler won’t collapse on you if you don’t get it right away. 

(Also sorry my desk is a mess. I claim artistic license. My creativity works best in a messy zone now quit judging me :p)

Other links to some aforementioned people who explain it much more eloquently than I:

http://www.urbanmaille.com/_blog/Serenity/post/Tumble_Polishing_Jewelry/
http://www.hodgepodgerie.com/tumble-polishing.html
http://akacontrariwise.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-adventures-in-jewelry-making-rock.html