justanolddigger
Well-Known Member
BarbaraORIGINAL: BarbaraInCalif
I was hoping to be deluged with advice and tips on using the tumbler, but for what ever reason there are lots of folks looking, but not many joining in.
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Hi Barbara, I am one of those watching, but I didn't really see where you were asking questions that needed to be answered. I have been tumbling for about 12 years now, but have never used the glass beads, so I was following the thread to try to gain some knowledge. It looks to me like you are doing very well in your first attempts. If I would offer any advice, it would to be more patient and let the bottles tumble longer without checking them. It is way too much work to load and reload constantly, just give them a little more tumble time. I know there are a lot more knowledgable people out there, and each has his own ways, so I hesitate to offer advice, but here goes. I pretty much use a three step process after I prep the bottle to tumble. #1 is inside and outside with a light cutting grit like 1200. #2 is to readjust the bottle to remove those nasty prong marks, I use polish or 1200 on the outside (depending on the amount of stain remaining), and polish on the inside in this step. #3, I polish the interior only, this last step gets the neck more evenly and reaches inside the neck that was blocked by my stopper during the tumble. I can usually pack 4 to 6 bottles in a tube during this last step. I generally tumble about 3 days in each step, but #2 could be shorter if desired. It is a long drawn out process, but the bottle will be really worth it, no neck haze, no prong marks, you shouldn't have to go back and work on it more later....good luck....Bill