WHAT NOW HAPPENS INSIDE your "Magnetic Tumbler" ? => 13 photos

 This is what happens when the 'Magnetic Tumbler' is doing the tumbling? These pictures have not been plagurized from any other source. All of these interesting photos were taken at my bench.

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This water isn't dirty, it is just mixed wtih the 'tumbling soap' which aids the steel pins interacting with this lubricant.

 These small steel pins will get inside, and GENTLY hit against all of the delicate areas of the jewellery.

 

 The beaker should NEVER be filled up with the top, only halfway. When the solution is rotating, the liquid will climb up the sides of the beaker and easily overflow.

 You can easily see the swirling of the liquid. This is caused by the magnetics inside the 'cleaner' as they are acting against the 'pins' in the beaker.

 This simple action is the basics of the cleaning & shining process. 

 Instead of polishing with Tripoly all of the jewellery, these pins are able to make direct contact with all areas of the rings.

  Always be careful that no little pins get stuck in the holes or recesses of the jewellery.

 In this spectacular photo, you can easily see two steel pins that got lodged inside an 'unset gemsetting hole'. 

 This occurs occasionaly with these fine pins, you see that every part of the jewellery has been touched by the pins.

             

   I'm not worried about putting antiques into this 'Tumbler', as it is quite gentle in its operation.

 (This yellow 18kt. gold ring is over 90 years old and is our English family heirloom.)

 If there are too many steel pins in this basket, the magnets won't be able to rotate the pins. Thus, preventing the complete process. 

 Finally, all of the jewellery has being removed and now washed.

  

 I examined all these objects and the drying is now to take place. I don't want any two objects to touch, in case of scratching. 

I prefer to place my collection a soft clean towel.

 Just pat dry the jewellery to remove any water that will leave stains on the metal.

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 This is the finally step of 'what happens inside your 'Magnetic Tumbler'. I sincerely hope that this was an enlightenly essay for you?

How does the "Magnetic Tumbler" work? => 6 photos

 Finally, it's time to see this fantastic process with much detail. There are many sizes of these machines available on the market, it is for you to decide which is best for your shop.

 I bought the smallest machine, as I use it only a few times a month. Even in this smallest size, it still works wonders for me, as it will work for you.  

 I'm using an assortment of jewellery that I keep for photographic purposes as sample. 

Just remember these few notes:

1) The 'tumbling action' will not ruin any jewellery that is inside of the plastic container => flask.

2) The 'continuous tumbling' will make your (dull looking) jewellery shine as if it was bought a few days ago.  

3) DO NOT PUT LARGE PIECES OF JEWELERY IN TOGETHER WITH SMALLER ITEMS.

This is my "Magnetic Tumbler-Finisher"; you can see steel pins in the flask being 'agitated in a circular motion'.

4) There are a series of magnets inside the bottom plate that are  rotating at a constant high speed, which in turn move the pins in the flask.

5) These strong magnets, in conjunction with the metal pins, are the key in what makes this machine work.

 This particular 'tumbler' has a timer for the tumbling action. As you see that the flask has instructions as to where the 'water level' should be. 

 

 Do not fill the liquid to the top of the flask, as the rotating liquid will surely overflow.

 Here is a good photo of the delicate steel pins that do the cleaning. 

 These very large metal balls and thick pins are basicaly used with non-jewellery items. 

How does the 'Sonic Cleaner' clean your jewellery? =>7 photos (#1, of 2 essays.)

  I've covered in the previous essays what is a 'Sonic Cleaner'? Now I'm going to explain how this mechanism cleans your jewellery. I will use just one word..."WOW" 

  What you are seeing here is a wire rack with my assortment of rings & heart-shaped pendants.                    

 I am always mindful of my earlier experience when I was starting my profession, I had numerous items touching each other. I discovered that the vibration left pitted marks on them all.  

 DON'T ALLOW ANY PIECE OF JEWELLERY TO TOUCH EACH OTHER. What you must do now is to repolish each and every one of them again. Labour and time LOST.

  In this photo, I made a concerted effort in keeping my jewellery distanced from each other.

 Inside this tank of cleaning solution are two sound-emitters as in a radio. They produce a high pitched sound which makes the water vibrate at a constant frequency. The sound waves in the water  literally make the jewellery vibrate...interesting, eh?

 Here is how the jewellery should be placed on the wire racks. If  there any touching of pieces there will be little scratches on both items. => Look at the four items on the rack on the right side! THIS IS NOT GOOD! <=

=>Avoid any accidental touching of jewellery with the other items! <=

Keep your jewellery completely submerged in the cleaning solution. Turn on the 'sonic cleaner' and let it sit in the vibrating water for an estimated 5-8 minutes. You will see all remanants of refuse float away from the jewellery.

 

 Rinse off all of the cleaning solution. The "Magnetic Tumbler" won't thoroughly clean as well as the "Sonic Cleaner".

Remove all traces of the 'cleaning solution' with ordinary water.

 

 Once that all of the remnants of the 'day to day' dirt has been removed, then it is the time to prepare for the 'Magnetic Tumbler'. This will be fully displayed in the next tutorial essay.

What is a "MAGNETIC TUMBLER"? => 4 photos #2, of 2 essays.

 The tumbling action of the steel pins constantly rub against the jewellery item at high speed. The resulting 'hitting action' shines the metal to a very high lustre.

 You can see the tiny metal shots spinning around the beaker. The are now 'tumbling and hitting' the pieces of jewellery.

 This is a photo of large pieces of steel pins. Some 'tumbling shots' are made of plastic, but in my estimation steel pins work best.

 When you are storing them, you can either dry them, or keep them in a liquid, as I do.

 This is is an additional photo of another magnetic tumbler, but with a larger capacity for larger jewellery items.

 

Why you should use a thin Flat graver? => 12 photos

  Some stone-setters profess and promote a very thick metal cutting blade. I'm not going to explore this thick Flat graver, as in my 66 years of Diamond Setting would I ever use a "chisel" thick blade.

 This is the epitome of a well-sculptured "Flat graver". This blade will allow me to 'cut and carve' contours that some setters think that my cutting was CAD created.

 This blade was incorrectly sharpened & shaped for just one purpose. It is an example of 'inferior graver refurbishing' it would not be suitable for any serious metal cutting.

 What would I use it for? Easy answer, I wouldn't use at all!!!

 The front of this blade displays that the very tip got softened by not cooling the steel while being shaped on the "bench grinder". The steel tip got overheated and rendured the metal nearly useless.

 (The steel turned brown and got soft, this is an indication of lack of attention in the shaping process.) WOOPS!

 These are my own Flat gravers, you can see just how thin the front of the gravers are. I can use these particular gravers for any fancy metal sculpturing as in "Fish-Tail"..

  These are my Flat gravers. The 'wine' coloured handle is reserved for a wider blade #41, if and when needed.

 This photo displays how the Flat graver looks after the 'modification' has taken place.

  This graver has been used so often, that the blade is getting thick at the front. It needs to be recut & reshaped again, as soon as possible.

 This is the same blade, now you can see just how thin it looks. I can now cut with confidance to all  kinds of intricate patterns, as I will show you in the following photos.

 I'm now ready to cut into any precious metal and any pattern that is required.

 I've selected an assortment of photos from my 'blog-library', that will show in great detail where these Flat gravers were put to use.

 This is where my Flat graver will do its fantastic metal carving.

 

 There is no other graver that can carve a smooth continuous line as shown here. I used a #40 wide Flat graver.

 The 'angled inside cuttings' were all carved with a #39 Flat graver.

How to 'reharden' your Burnisher, ver.#2, of 2 instructional aids. => 8 photos

   As this is the beginners level tutorial on "Metallurgy", this essay is only about "HOW TO HARDEN STEEL". I will limit my text writing, as photos speak better than words.

 This is my mini-torch and it works very well, regardless of its operating size.

Heat the tip of the burnisher.

The hot area has to work itself halfway down the shaft.

The tip is starting to glow RED hot.

KEEP THE FLAME AIMED CONSTANTLY AT YOUR NEXT WORKING AREA. 

We want the tip to be well softened by the flame.

Maintain the heat and move the flame downward.

Don't let the flame wander away from the tip. It has to remain HOT.

 When the burnisher is 'RED hot', drop it into cold water. This process hardens the steel, again! You can see the bubbling of the water, as the steel is rapidly cooling.

You have succesfully hardened your Burnisher.

 Your 'refurbished & hardened' Bead Burnisher is now ready for more weeks & months of continual use.