tumbling.

nope, this is not a picture of some alien landscape (even though it DOES look kind of cool).  it's actually a shot of the inside of my tumbler.  i have had issues with it since the winter - the rubber ring that holds the lid on and the water and stainless steel shot inside broke and i couldn't find a replacement for weeks, and shortly after that, all of the items i put in there to tumble would come out oxidized and dull.  i couldn't figure out for the life of me what was causing this.  however, with the help of the power of google, process of elimination and a little common sense, i figured out a solution!  a few tablespoons of baking soda in the water and i ran the empty barrel for a couple of hours and my problem was solved!  (interesting to note, and i should have known this beforehand - this solution causes gases to build up and let's just say, my tumbler was a little bloated when i went to turn it off.  so don't run it too long like i did.)  the stainless steel shot seems to now be clean and we are good to go again.  apparently you can also use flat Coke to clean the shot or some fancy tumbler solution but i'm on a budget, love my diet Coke too much to let it go flat, and the baking soda did just fine.  and here i thought i was losing my mojo.

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i heart my tumbler!

so i saved up and took the plunge and bought a tumbler - a Thumbler's Tumbler, to be exact! now, i kind of felt like i was jumping the gun, given as how i don't think i'm at the point yet where i would need one. however, i couldn't resist!

it took a month for my stainless steel shot to come in, and the whole time i was waiting, the tumbler sat in the box. every once in a while, i'd take it out just to see if i could figure it out, but i'd get a little scared and back into the box it would go!

once the shot came, i finally took it out, set it up according to the picture from the "instruction manual" and filled the rubber "tumbler" with water and one drop of dishwashing liquid. i then dumped a load of fine silver pieces that i had just fired and let the whole thing roll for about a day.

talk about SHINE! this baby polishes like nobody's business! i'm so happy i got this - and it has been inspiring because now all i want to do is make stuff to throw in! it was a little squeaky before, but after a little WD-40, it sounds like a little rushing waterfall in my basement.

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