August 07, 2019 / Educational

Why You Need a Jewelry Tumbler in Your Studio

A jewelry tumbler can save you valuable time in a studio. It can place a mirror finish on a piece in minutes and work harden findings so you ...

If you love mirror finishes a jewelry bench polisher is the ideal tool for you. But did you also know that it's an excellent tool to work harden your findings, too? In my opinion, this is one tool that every jewelry studio can benefit from.

A jewelry tumbler can save you valuable time in a studio. It can place a mirror finish on a piece in minutes and work harden findings so you can move onto other projects. Place jump rings, earwires, headpins or anything else that you need to work harden into the barrel, turn it on and walk away. This is one studio jewelry tool that can save you precious time at the bench.

Watch the video

In the video above, I show you how to set-up a brand new tumbler, how much stainless steel shot to use, and the amount of burnishing compound that it takes. Plus, I compare pieces that have been tumbled vs. ones that have not been tumbled. See the beautiful mirror finish on sterling silver and copper and see how you can achieve a gunmetal finish by dipping the material into a Liver of Sulfur patina first.

What you'll need:

To tumble jewelry it only requires three items and here they are:

  • Single barrel tumbler
  • Stainless steel shot jewelers mix
  • Shinebrite burnishing compound

Continue Reading about these other great jewelry tools:

Jewelry Bench Polisher & Attachments

What is a Flex Shaft - Why Jewelers Can't Work Without This Tool

Popular Cleaning and Polishing Flex Shaft Attachments Used at Your Jewelry Bench

Got questions? Email our studio coordinator Erica Stice at studio@halsteadbead.com. We'd love to hear from you. Sorry, studio support is not available by phone. Emails only please.

Written By: Erica Stice
Erica is the former Studio Coordinator at Halstead. She spent 14 years with the company across a variety of departments but fell in love with metalsmithing. Erica's top tip for new metalsmiths is: "Practice! Be patient with yourself and have fun with it. Don't be afraid to ask questions. All of us at Halstead enjoy helping people whether it's questions on products or technical help in the studio. We're here for you."

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