Do You Really Need A Tumbler For Jewelry Making?

[@GomeowCreations]

Here is what I used in the video: 2 Lb Stainless Steel Shot - amzn.to/3fffHOw Tumbler Search - amzn.to/3i20ceK If you are looking for more tools and materials that I use, well you're in luck! I made a page on my website just for that and I'm updating all the time so bookmark it to stay up to date: GomeowCreations.com/tools-and-materials GomeowCreations.com/partners-discount-codes *If you buy any of the tools or materials from my list I will make a small commission at no extra charge to you and it helps support the channel* ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If you would like to directly support the channel you can do so in a few different ways. 1. Like, comment and share my videos 2. You can make a one time donation via Paypal of any amount www.paypal.me/gomeowcreations 3. You can sign up a monthly donation via my patreon for as little as $1 per month www.patreon.com/GomeowCreations 4. Just watching my videos helps out too and I'm happy to see that I have been able to help some may people get into jewelry making.

[@satay31]

I love my tumbler and have been using it for about ten years, it’s really great for work hardening handmade earwires, and head pins and a must have for anybody working in metal clay! Looking forward to the video about different materials you can use to get finishes on metal as I have never heard of a tumbler being used in this way! As always a great informative video, thank you!

[@maggiefriedrichs3078]

Ooo! Thanks for pointing out the washer trick! Great video, as always. Thanks for everything you do to help this community. 👍

[@GomeowCreations]

Any time! 😁👍

[@juliel6254]

I have that exact same tumbler and I love it! Word of warning though, I made some ear wires with 5mm bezel cups soldered on. After I pulled them out of the tumbler I found one of the bezel cups had a round piece of shot stuck in it and I never could get it out! Is there a way to avoid that when tumbling small pieces? I was thinking maybe using a little mesh bag might work, but would it really polish my pieces? Would love your opinion!

[@GomeowCreations]

I have had that happen too in the past and it was a pain in the ass to get them out. The only way you can keep this from happening that I know of is to only use shot that is not the same size as the parts that it can get stuck in. I know that is kinda a big ask seeing that shot is not cheap to just have different sizes but if you get some really small stuff I think you can make it work. 😁👍

[@almapizarro647]

Thanks for the video. My only question is: is it harder to set the stone after tumbling?

[@GomeowCreations]

It does make the bezel harder but for most of my bezels I use fine silver so it is still solder than sterling

[@hanamoreton6543]

I really really want one of these! In fact that’s the exact model I’ve been looking at, but trying to find suppliers in the UK is stupidly difficult 🤷🏼‍♀️ It’s a bit bizarre because ask any British jeweller what the best tumbler is and they’ll say Lortone, however their less likely to say where they sourced it! 🤦🏼‍♀️ Thanks for this vid, it’s been super useful, especially as I didn’t even consider not placing set stones in them... D’oh!

[@GomeowCreations]

You might just have to order on from over seas and wait for it to be shipped 😅 I know that kinda sucks and you have to pay VAT on it over in the UK.

[@GODDESS16118]

You would have had to use silver care products with some distilled water, then it would have become like new. Greetings from Germany

[@amccaffrey1443]

Thank you so much for this video. It’s been very helpful. What I was wondering is does the Tumbler take the place of some of your sanding, buffing and/or polishing steps you’d do with your rotary tool? I have both a Tumbler and a rotary tool. But I’m not sure how much of the finishing steps you need to do before tumbling your piece? Thanks again for all of your content! I’m a huge fan of your channel. You do a great job of explaining things step by step so newer silversmiths like myself can easily follow along. 😊

[@beaddemon2572]

Hi Randy, Good to see you're able to put out videos again. I actually have a large size tumbler made by Coleman. Gun enthusiasts who make their ammunition and recycle the casings will tumble the casings to clean them. Even though it's way bigger than I need, I like mine because the lid twists on and off, and because the base has a settable 3 hour timer. It was about double the cost of the Loratone but it came with shot, a sifter and a strainer. I love having a tumbler and will often throw in the jewelry I'm wearing to shine it up. Great video.

[@Ozzy2341]

Would it be possible for you to make a video to introduce yourself (off cam) and tell us how you got into making jewelry and how you got so good at it ?

[@bskilla4892]

I use a Dremel, but is there a significant difference? Does the tumbler work better?

[@financialchimes4546]

I want to try an make a pair of matching wedding rings myself because they'll have more meaning and be more affordable if I made them myself. I don't have any of the necessary tools, can I get a high polished look with just a tumbler? Or do I need to manually finish them?

[@GomeowCreations]

You can get a good finish on stuff in a tumbler but you will need some polishing wheels and compound to really get a full bright polish.

[@rippy4freedom]

Yes, I will be using my rock tumbler for jewelry too, i did buy an additional barrel so I can store my stainless steal shot. Thanks again Meow 🐱

[@josephinehuangs]

Can i use this for sterling silver straight out of casting? My surfaces are rough after casting and polishing it manually with abrasives is really time consuming

[@isabbogmz]

Thank you for making these really useful videos!

[@TaMeuBem]

Does it always take a long time to tumble shine your pieces? Can I use a tumbler with alternative speeds to quicken the process? for example, the faster the turn the quicker the shine? great video!

[@GomeowCreations]

it takes like 2-4 hours normally. I honestly don't know id speeding it up will help or hurt your work.

[@GIlleland-y3c]

So it looked like shit after two hours

[@GomeowCreations]

No?

[@sylviaprudhomme5417]

Always make it interesting and learn some new idea. Can’t wait for new ones. Have introduced a new friend to your videos. You are her go to guy

[@GomeowCreations]

Well thank you and I have been trying to up my video quality so I hope that will keep people wanting to watch the videos seeing that you can see things better.

[@sagegoldtooth]

Is there some kind of solution you use to put in there? Like a white powder?

[@CeToxihuitl]

I've had a tumbler for a week and I'm so in love with it

[@nicolerenee2521]

Ive seen reviews for other black rubber barrels mention the black rubber coming off onto metal during the tumbling process. Do you find that this is the case?

[@GomeowCreations]

Nope, this has not been a problem for me at all.

[@nargis_musawwir]

Possible for me to hand polish first and then throw the pieces into a magnetic tumbler? Or should I just pick one method?

[@GomeowCreations]

You can do both if you like. Let's Say you have some spots that you need to buff out tooling marks you can take them out by hand and to save you time just throw it into the tumbler. The times you don't want to use the tumbler is if you have a stone set in your work. It can be damaged or dulled and you want to hand polish that.

[@Pbrady711]

I’m curious to see the difference between this and the magnetic tumblers/finishers with the really tiny pieces inside. Thanks for the video

[@GomeowCreations]

I don't have one so I have no idea yet 😅

[@Pbrady711]

GomeowCreations hopefully a company can send you one to compare , and you can do a similar patina piece

[@GomeowCreations]

Yeah I could try that. Right now I'm about to post a lot of company tools videos so idk if people will be to happy with that right now but in the future I wouldn't mind doing that. Do you know of any good companies?

[@Pbrady711]

GomeowCreations Otto Frei has the Arbe and Ikohe options , there’s also one called Best Built. The smaller ones are 90-100 something mm / Ikohe seems to have some options people making a lot of castings or pieces at once. I still have neither the rotary or the magnetic but am looking into wether the magnetic is worth the price. I will say the media used with the magnetic is so small, it’s like tiny bits of very thin mechanical pencil graphite. It really gets in every nook and cranny. I am eager to see your videos with the casting machine and wanted to say thanks again for the great content and guidance for this of us trying to build up a workshop

[@EJguitar1]

I also have a magnetic tumbler and between the two I prefer a magnetic tumbler, it works better as well as faster. My pieces come out mirror finish, when they’re done I do a quick polish with Zam and they’re impeccable quality. They’re a bit more expensive but there’s no comparison, for me anyways! I know some jewelers prefer a regular tumbler.

[@Margaret10141995]

Sorry if this was already asked, but are you able to reuse the steel shot forever? After tumbling, do you have to clean the steel shot/add new water? Is there a special way to clean the steel shot! Thanks!

[@GomeowCreations]

You can use it over and over again. All you need to do is wash it off with clean water and you can use it again. If you are not going to use it for a long time you can just wash it off and let it dry. Just lay it all out flat to tray. After that you can store it in a dry container.

[@ajbiahus6768]

you mentioned that it would save time. so you had to wait 4 hours before you it came out more or less looking the same. if you wanted to clean up a piece like that i would literally take you 5minutes.

[@GomeowCreations]

Well one, nothing said to take 5 mins actually takes 5mins 😁 Also yeah I could clean this up faster with out the tumbler but it wouldn't have the same look I was going for. Also you can put more than one piece in here at a time. If I wasn't wanting the patina it would have been don't in 2 hours. In that time I would also be free to work on other things and not have to worry about clean up. It's not the best example with only one piece but this was just to make the video about it.

[@Stephanbitterwolf]

What happens if you use grit?

[@keelygreen6455]

Have you ever used a magnetic tumbler? What can you tell me about those

[@GomeowCreations]

I haven't so I have no experience with the to tell you about, sorry

[@Anarasha]

Do you NEED rubber for jewellery with steel shot? No, but it's highly recommended. I am here to tell you that yes, you can absolutely tumble jewellery in a homemade tumbler with a glass jar like for pickling or gourmet chocolate. Just beware that if you aren't already deaf, you WILL BE pretty soon. I made one for free(except maybe a few pennies of plastic on my 3D printer) using stuff I already had. I am still paying 215€ for a Lortone despite the fact that my homemade one works great. The noise alone is a great argument for Lortone. I used my glass drum DIY monstrosity maybe 3 times and actively avoided tumbling because of the noise.

[@Envizion_n]

I just revisited your polishing video from a year ago actually and it's nice to see this video next! Do you prefer this method over hand polishing?

[@GomeowCreations]

This doesn't really replace hand polishing. It can help get get it done faster seeing that it can get to spots that are harder for the hand polishing tools but you will not get the luster that you can get from hand polishing.

[@shannonmisquadis]

Thank you

[@amifeller2261]

This was really good info! Thank you! Have you ever done aluminum? I am making adjustable aluminum rings. After listening to your demo I’m concerned that it will harden them too much. They are supposed to be adjustable. Any thoughts greatly appreciated. Thanks again

[@lenastiward8657]

Beautiful!❤ what was the cost of this tumbler and is there a model number? I need this!

[@francescapoteet5481]

I had a tumbler a long time ago when I was a teen. When I used up my powders and things because I had no idea where to source more because it came as a set including some finding me and stones from a catalog. It was a few years before the internet! 😅 I guess it got thrown away. I’ve always wanted another. I used it to polish creek stones and even gravel from the driveway!

[@aggiraffelover13]

Hi!! love all your videos! ok so I use my tumbler all the time with steel shot, love it. what are the other types of shot though, I know that folks use a softer shot, but I don't know what all the differences are?? what do they do or look like with end result? thank you!

[@jimbettridge3123]

Thanks Randy!

[@AmericanCoinHunting]

Good video Randy , I have three Loritone tumblers and they all work great .

[@GomeowCreations]

Thanks and yeah it's a great little tumbler. Oh just a heads up seeing that I know you are not a fan of sponsored my videos. My next 5-6 videos will be sponsored and that will get me all cough up and the videos I had to make for them but they should all be out this week so it will not be 6 weeks if sponsored videos 😅. That being said once I get that done I can get back to doing my own things again. I don't like having to do the sponsor videos all the time but it's one on the ways I can pay the bills or have the ability to share my feelings about high-end tools so people can see if they want to get them or not. I'm trying to pay attention to my viewers feedback 😅👍

[@AmericanCoinHunting]

@@GomeowCreations I hope you can request a Wire draw bench from Pepe's and do a review on it for us . Seems like Durston has a 39" model available for about $600 shipped.....I hope the Pepe's one is more affordable ! ...I understand you have to do what is nessesary to pay the bills and I do not fault you for that at all Randy. I am also a sub to your competetion O.L.J.A., and he does sponcered videios of Pepe's competition accross the pond. Not only is (Durston) more expensive. But he could have been sponcered by Pepe's as well as you , and he is in the US as well. Seems his last several videos are sponcered by (DURSTON), and I for one am tired of that , and ready to unsubb him . Not you though Randy, I really enjoyed and still enjoy your helpfull videos. And when you get sorted out. I hope you'll get back to your old school videos.

[@Adrian-yc9yz]

can you just keep reusing the steel shot?

[@GomeowCreations]

Yeah you can use it over and over again.

[@Adrian-yc9yz]

@@GomeowCreationsAwesome thanks, appreciate your videos man.

[@GomeowCreations]

No problem and I'm editing a new one as I type this haha

[@bangitoutdesigns1559]

I love my Lortone! Any chance you would do a maintenance video?

[@hectortrejo4477]

Should you give fire first and use picked or sulfuric acid and drop to tumbler for like 30 mints come out shine

[@suzannehofer3867]

Nice video! Does the LOS discolor the water while tumbling and did it have to be changed at all? Any idea if Black Max would turn out similarly?

[@GomeowCreations]

Thank and yeah it made the water a little gray and I just cleaned it out once it was all done. I have know idea if Black Max would do the same thing or not but you can always test it 😁👍 If you do please let me know.

[@suzannehofer3867]

Thanks Randy!

[@edienorris9268]

Love ur finished piece

[@socialjusticejewelry]

Don't suppose you want to sell or give away the big tumbler barrel.

[@GomeowCreations]

Nope sorry

[@socialjusticejewelry]

@@GomeowCreations What's the saying? The worse that can happen is they say no. Cheers. Looking forward to your next video.

[@thedazzlingape2006]

honestly this doesnt seem very useful, in 2 hours it did less than what you could do in 5 minutes with a rotary tool or toothbrush. maybe if you used some ceramic grit with polishing compound...but the steel shot and soap...I'm not impressed.

[@GomeowCreations]

Yeah it's true it's not quick on its own or if you're just doing one piece.

[@GomeowCreations]

But if you're doing a lot of pieces and just want to throw them in there as you're getting other work done they will come out looking much better they're not going to be polished but it will be really cleaned up

[@thedazzlingape2006]

@@GomeowCreations id consider it if I was making like 20 pieces a day. but I make about 1-3 pieces a day. I mean it aint free to have it running for 2-4 hours. how much power does it cost?

[@Dan-ji4db]

Harbor freight is a good place to get a tumbler, i got a double cannister one for like $50. Also Rio Grande sells a nice burnishing liquid that works a bit better than dish soap and you only need a capful per tumble. Nice video, i saw those reverse shots from inside the can 😁👌

[@AmericanCoinHunting]

I have had a Hobo Freight tumbler now about 10 years and it still works good . I used mine for cleaning up coins I dug with a metal detector and it worked great for that purpose . But when I stared polishing rocks and got in to making and polishing jewelry.Someone suggested I get a Lortone ,the same one Randy is using. Reason being the square sides inside the tumbler works better to turn the media ,and rocks or jewelry to be cleaned and polished. I can say that the Loritone barrels do a better job of it . Hope that helps.

[@GomeowCreations]

Yeah that is another option for them 😁👍 Also thanks, I have been playing with how I can make my videos more entertaining to watch so I thought that would be a good shot haha

[@virginiaa126]

What do you do for pieces that have gemstones?

[@kimbain4368]

Thanks for the tips!

[@GomeowCreations]

No problem 😊👍

[@MarcosReynaHerrera_m1r30]

Tiene que blanquear el metal antes de meterlo al tambor por eso no le salió el acabado correcto

[@sherrystevens9076]

Having my pieces cast at a casting service and trying to cut costs. Can I just have them tumbled or do I need to pay for a polish? Can I polish and antique finish them myself? Basically, do I need to pay for a polish? Thanks, Sher

[@audreyh6628]

You can do everything yourself - all of those things are easy if you get the right tools/equipment. You will save yourself a ton of $$ (and they will pay for themselves) in a very short amount of time

[@marylusky2224]

Beautiful piece

[@GomeowCreations]

Thank you 😁

[@monaradu3034]

NOOO

[@GomeowCreations]

No what?