Tumbling Video - Aluminum Oxide Amounts

acls · Mar 25, 2013

I have decided I am going to start tumbling the insides of some of my ACL soda bottles. I have been researching how to tumble bottles for a few weeks. I found a video on youtube that I thought was helpful that I wanted to share.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t97-sGy_Cg

acls · Mar 25, 2013

I had read here on the forum that some people recommend 1 teaspoon of Aluminum oxdide for the inside of bottles. On the video it looks like Ronnie adds a tablespoon and then another teaspoon. His results look good to me. My question is are there any dangers of adding too much Aluminum Oxide? What about too little?

diggerdirect · Mar 25, 2013

To Little = To Long
To much = Have to order more to soon.

Most have their own 'recipe'. How much also depends on a several factors, the size of the bottle, machine speed, medium used, ect. , even the 'hardness' of the water can effect time/quantity of polish.

After awhile you'll get to know what works for you, keep notes as you go.

Al

acls · Mar 25, 2013

It doesn't sound like there is much to worry about. Would too much Aluminum Oxide polish leave a white film on the glass that is hard to remove?

tangomango · Mar 25, 2013

Thanks for sharing the video . . . I am in the process of building a tumbler myself and have done quit a bit of research prior in attempt to find what works well and what doesn't. I have not seen this video, thanks again . . . . As far as the amounts of aluminum oxide, I have read that too much oxide and copper with an insufficient amount of water will tend to leave a haze which is difficult to wash. Just as a side note, have read, actually in some threads here, that glass beads work just as well as copper with several benefits, first the weight is much less but still heavy enough to clean, which reduces the chance of bottle damage and secondly the cost is a fraction of the cut copper. Kind of interesting, that glass beads used are actually beads used in doll making as stuffing. I started to cut my own copper, takes a lot of copper and a loooooong time, I am going to try the glass beads first. If your interested in the glass beads, I can kind the web-site as pass it along to you.

tangomango · Mar 25, 2013

ACL - Did you build your tumbler? Would be interested on how you did the top stopple. I started with the bottom stopple, thinking it would be the toughest, but wasn't that bad, kinda just feel together as I went. But now kind of stumped on what to do for the cone on the top stopple. Have seen a couple of good ideas, but curious what you did. I started mine with a 3" tube wish I would of used a 4" now, The bottom I made is interchangeable, but I bought all 3" stuff now to start. Just working on the stopples now, the machine itself shouldn't be that tough (I think) as long as you work the RPM's out right. I guess actually if your just doing the insides, you probally don't have to worry about the stopples. Interested on would you put together. . . . .

T D · Mar 25, 2013

Matt, I have not done any of the insides of my ACLs, but I have been tumbling just the inside of other bottles. You don't even really need stopples to hold the bottle in place, just some kind of plug on either end of your tube. Do basically like the guy on the video says for the inside, and no you can't use too much oxide, and take a ground down cork from a wine bottle and cap the end of it. Take duct tape and secure it then wrap the bottle in enough towel where it is tight in the tube. Spin away. I've got a bottle in the tumbler until this weekend but I'll try a good ole milky looking Louisiana ACL
next. I'll take before and after...

acls · Mar 26, 2013

I am using a rock tumbler like the one epackage posted about in a previous post. I ordered it in the mail last week and am waiting for it to arrive. Since I am only doing the inside of the ACL soda bottle, I am going to cork it and wrap it in a towel inside a PVC tube just like Tom suggested. I'll try to document how it goes here on the forum. The machine itself has a limit of 6lbs and the RPMs are a little slow, turning between 40 to 50 RPMs. I think it should work for what I am doing, though.

Tumbling Video - Aluminum Oxide Amounts

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