Polishing Jewelry or Small Parts with Jewelry Mix
Kevin Hart
Abbott Ball Company
January 19th, 2018
Want to know how to get
scratches and burrs out of used, worn, and new jewelry? Try using stainless
steel jewelry mix. Stainless steel jewelry mix is, in short, a burnishing
media, but its primary purpose is to polish and work harden jewelry. Manufactured
in the USA, this jewelry mix is widely used throughout the jewelry and
silverware polishing markets. Additionally, this media works exceptionally well
with small stamped pieces, and screw machine parts.
What is Jewelry Mix?
Stainless steel jewelry mix
is a burnishing media that is a combination of several different stainless
steel shapes that offer high corrosion resistance, fast action, and durability.
This jewelry mix is a standard tool used by many jewelers to eradicate scuffs,
scratches, burrs, and plier marks out of most soft metal jewelry (i.e., gold,
copper, and silver, etc.). Most importantly,
jewelry mix works perfectly when it is employed in a tumbling barrel or
vibe machine. (See Fig 1.)
Fig
1. The
composition of jewelry mix is a combination of 40% 5/32 Eclipse, 40% 1/8”
Diagonal, and 20% 1/16” x ½” Steel Pin.
When used in conjunction with each other these shapes are designed to
accommodate to any jewelry part.
Shapes
To
understand how the jewelry polishing process works it is essential to
understand the different media shapes involved in the process. Each media shape
for the stainless steel jewelry mix is specifically designed to complement any
part of a piece of jewelry product. By performing a separate yet essential task
in the polishing process. With each piece combined in a rotary or vibratory
machine, the act of polishing a product becomes an utterly effortless process.
(See fig. 2.)
Fig Fig. 2. Pictured above from left to
right, Eclipse, Diagonal and Pin Shaped stainless steel jewelry media. Each shape is specifically designed to
complement a separate piece of jewelry, and when used together in a tumbler,
the result is a complete polish of a jewelry product.
Eclipse. The
5/32” Eclipse shape, is a ball with two flat ends on either side of its
poles. The round form of the eclipse
assists in creating a smooth polish and is widely used amongst most burnishing
applications. Despite its irregular shape, this burnishing tool works equally
as well as a round sphere shape yet, the costs to produce the item is
significantly reduced. The price reduction is due to the decrease in required
processes necessary for the media’s production. These flat ends are safe for
any product.
Diagonal. The diagonal shape is an ideal
shape for reaching the corners of objects, while its cylindrical form is
designed to span a wide area.
Pins. Due to its tapered ends and
elongated body shape. Pin-shaped media is ideal for reaching into hard to reach
grooves, holes, and recesses. As a result, pins are suitable for intricate
pieces of jewelry.
How it Works
When used in conjunction with small
rotary and vibratory tumblers, stainless steel jewelry mix works by repeatedly
contacting the jewelry to give it a shiny and polished look while smoothing out
any annoying burrs in the metal. The unique mixture of shapes allows for
complex designs and even chains to be cleaned and polished. This effect is
called burnishing.
Fig. 3.
Fig 3. Here is an example of a delicate
piece of jewelry run through a burnishing cycle of mixed media.
Benefits of Stainless Steel Jewelry Mix
Polishing. There are several benefits of
using jewelry mix. Most importantly jewelry mix is a safe and effective
burnishing media for jewelry. To understand how jewelry mix polishes jewelry,
it is essential to understand the process of burnishing. Burnishing is the
action of rubbing or sliding two objects against one another to cause a
deformation in the material which transforms a rough exterior surface into a
shiny one. (*Note: This process does not remove material from the object). As a
result, the mix works efficiently at polishing jewelry. (Engineers Handbook,
2006; Hodgepodgerie, 2015).
Fig 4.
Fig 4. Pictured above is an example of the before and after
results of running a ring through a jewelry mix tumbler. As you can see, there
is no deformation of the object and there is no material loss in the rings.
Work hardening. As
an added benefit to the effect of burnishing, jewelry mix can also harden soft
metals making the material more durable. This effect is described as work
hardening. As stated by Hodgepodgerie, work hardening, also known as strain
hardening, occurs when there are “dislocation movements and generation within
the crystal structure of the material” (para 3). Therefore, when the material
is work hardened, it becomes saturated with increased dislocations which
prevent nucleation or resistance to further dislocation and plastic
deformation. As a result, there is an increased and observable strengthening of
the material. Thus the content is more durable and better able to retain its
shape. As a result, jewelry products
processed with steel media will have a sustained cycle life and higher immunity
to wear as a consequence of this compressive stress effect. (Abbott Ball
Company, 2017; Bell, 2014; Hodgepodgerie, 2015, para 3). (See fig. 5).
Long lasting. Stainless steel (300 series) is an
extremely durable and long-lasting material that has a high amount of corrosion
and wear resistance. As a result, the product can be used multiple times
without fear of corrosion or need for replacement. Another benefit to this type of material is
that storage and maintenance is effortless because the materials are naturally
resistant to corrosion. As a result of its high corrosion resistance, stainless
steel jewelry mix can be useful and efficient for a long time. (Free, M. L.,
& Scientific American, 2001). Lastly, As an added benefit to the products
expanded lifetime, the product can be estimated as a capital depreciation
expense. Therefore the cost of the product can be dispersed across several
periods.
How To
Home use. What
you will need for polishing jewelry from home is a clean tumbler, stainless
steel jewelry mix, and some mild soap. (See fig. 6). When attempting to polish
jewelry with stainless steel media, it is vital to include mild dish soap and
clean water. Dish soap is necessary because it will collect any of the grime
removed from the object during the tumbling process. The amount of solvent to
use for this application is dependent on how large the tumbler is. Only about
half a teaspoon of soap will be necessary for a small tumbler (3lb.) and a full
teaspoon is required for larger tumblers. Depending on the size of the tumbler
the tumbling time should be about 2 hours or longer. (Hodgepodgerie,
2015).
Fig 6. Pictured above is a standard tumbler used in home
applications along with mild soap, and stainless steel media.
Industrial use. For
industrial use, the process is mostly the same. There is a wide array of
different polishing compounds that can be used for this process, so it is up to
the user to determine which one will work best. When used in conjunction with a
tumbler the desired results can be achieved. Industrial applications of steel
media generally involve large quantities and larger machines than the at home
usage. As a result, customers may feel uncomfortable with dropping money on a
product that they haven't yet tested. Because of this, the Abbott Ball Company
offers free testing to help its customers find the right mix for any
product.
Let us test your part
“Send us your unfinished parts with
a sample part having the desired finish. We'll evaluate your parts in our laboratory
and recommend the appropriate mix of media shapes, density, compounds, type of
machinery and process for optimal results with Abbott steel media.”
Offer only valid for large volumes and industrial
applications.
References
Abbott Ball Company. (2017). Why Steel Media?
- Finishing Media - Steel Burnishing Media - Tumbling Media - Abbott Ball
Company. Retrieved from http://www.abbottball.com/steel-finishing-media/why-steel-media.html
Bell, T. (2014, September 30). How Does Cold Working
Strengthen Steel? Retrieved from
https://www.thebalance.com/what-is-cold-working-2340011
Engineers Handbook. (2006). Burnishing Finish
Machining Processes - Engineer's Handbook. Retrieved from
http://engineershandbook.com/MfgMethods/burnishing.htm
Free, M. L., & Scientific American. (2001, March
12). Why doesn't stainless steel rust? Retrieved from
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-doesnt-stainless-stee/
Hodgepodgerie. (2015). Tumble Polishing. Retrieved
from http://www.hodgepodgerie.com/tumble-polishing.html
