Tumbling techniques

[gotthefever]

Was wondering what methods some of you guys use to tumble your glass. I have seen some really nice results and I have seen some less than perfect results. I see a lot of bottles that once tumbled still have an overall haze to the inside.

 

[RICKJJ59W]

Did you ever see a bottle that was destroyed by "Rick Lease" a so called tumbler of old bottles? Spread the word the guys a Bum with a capital B

Here is one of them, Mine!


I'll never forget

 

[andy volkerts]

ORIGINAL: gotthefever

Was wondering what methods some of you guys use to tumble your glass. I have seen some really nice results and I have seen some less than perfect results. I see a lot of bottles that once tumbled still have an overall haze to the inside.

[8D] Use common sense and caution, never over tumble and do not use fast cutters, they will destroy a bottle faster than you realize......

 

[buzzkutt033]

oh goodie. another thread on tumbling.......

here we go again..........


jim

 

[chosi]

I pretty much just follow the 1-page of directions that the Jar Doctor included when I bought my tumbler from him.
I rarely have an overall haze left on the inside of the bottle, and when I do, an additional tumble with aluminum oxide polish usually removes it.

 

[JarDoctor]

What oxide you use and how long it is tumbled depends on the stain and the bottle. I have found that each bottle is different. My instructions are a general guide and work for the majority of bottles.
If it is etched/scratched, start with cutter (slow cutter) - not something like 600 or 1000. If there is still etching, then go to a more agressive cutter. After the etching/scratching is removed, then reverse the process and then the last step is the polish. Some bottles come clean in 3 - 5 days, some take months and still don't come perfectly clean.
If is is just something adhered to the glass, polish should take it off - but, it can still take awhile.
Always be careful to not start with something too aggressive especially around embossing.
Good luck.

 

[The Can Kid]

Sorry if I'm missing something, but what's wrong with that bottle? Aren't those just striations?

 

[andy volkerts]

[8D] I believe that Rick is unhappy with that bottle because all the embossing has been all but erased completely from the glass surface by over cleaning, one of the more egregious damages that can be done with a tumbler.

 

[bamabottles]

Personally, I never try to remove heavy scratches or pitting or case wear. To me, that is part of the character of the bottle and, more importantly, it is impossible to remove those without wearing down the embossing. Not worth it. I use only light cutters (1200 grit and 1500 grit). Even the worst case can generally be handled with 2 days, with the vast majority of mine handled with 1 day in 1200 grit. Then to either 1500 for 5 days or aluminum oxide for 3 days, depending on what it looks like when it comes out after the 1200 grit. Many don’t require the 1200 grit and 5 days with 1500 does the trick. Jar Doctor’s website says the heaviest of those (1200 grit) will take two weeks to begin wearing on the embossing. That leads me to one important piece of advice… I only use Jar Doctor cutters and polishes. Sure, you can get cheaper out there, but the fact is that the Jar Dr stuff is always consistent and that is important. Part of the learning process is knowing what polish does what under a certain circumstance. Changing around to save a dollar or two here and there on cleaning oxides will cost you in the long run. Now to the mistake that a lot of bottle tumblers make… notice that most bottles have more stain on the inside than the outside… that makes sense if you think about it. Dirt and water get inside bottles through rain or condensation when it is wet and then the moisture dries out… that happens numerous times over the course of 100+ years and therefore many times the inside has more stain/sickness. The problem is that most people tumbling do the inside and outside at the same time, so they over tumble the outside in order to get the inside clean. So, I tumble inside only first for a few days then I do inside and outside together. To do inside only without “wasting†use of a good canister, you can use a 3 inch tube and wrap the bottle in a towel with no stopples. If anyone wants the exact details, then I can provide, but this is already a long winded post so I will end here.