Electric Tumblers are ideal for creating an even, smooth, polished surface on Art Clay, BronzClay, CopprClay, and PMC metal clays, buried treasures, coins, glass, jewellery, metals, minerals, rocks, shells, silver, and stones.

Cherry Heaven TV has made a short on-line slideshow featuring these popular tumblers: click the Cherry Heaven TV player above. To learn more, use the links below the menu bar near the top of the page.

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Anyone who has found shiny fragments of glass, beautifully rounded pebbles, or highly polished shells on a beach, has seen how continual fine random abrasion can shape and polish even the roughest surfaces. These beach treasures have probably been in the sea for years.

Fortunately, electric tumblers are a thousand times quicker, and a lot more convenient. Broadly, there are three types: rotary tumblers, magnetic polishers, and ultrasonic cleaners.

The photos show the bodies, not the shot, grits, and cleaners that make up the kits. To look at the photos, hold your mouse over the appropriate zoom button below. The photos are 480px x 360px and about 80KB. If you're not on broadband, they'll take a short while to download.

The Kitiki Tumbler Body 1 And 2

The Kitiki Tumbler Body 3 And 4.

The Kitiki Magnetic Polisher.

The Kitiki Ultrasonic Cleaner.

If this is your first interest in tumblers and polishers, the practice of cutting and polishing stones, minerals, and gems, is called lapidary.

Rotary tumblers are sometimes called lapidary tumblers, jewellery tumblers, or stone tumblers. Magnetic polishers are sometimes called vibratory polishers or oscillating polishers. Ultrasonic cleaners are sometimes called jewellery polishers or jewellery cleaners.

All the tumblers, polishers, and cleaners use water. However, as pure water is a poor cleaner, small amounts of special detergents are usually added. These detergents are called barelling compound, gallay compound, drum cleaner, or just tumbler cleaner.

A rotary tumbler has a motor base, and a removable revolving barrel part-filled with water, mixed stainless steel shapes or abrasive grit, and cleaner. As it rotates, the metal shapes or grit particles repeatedly fall onto the material to be polished and the collective tiny scratches and impacts gradually polish and burnish the surface.

Generally, electric rotary tumblers are used for Art Clay, BronzClay, CopprClay, and PMC metal clays, buried treasures, coins, glass, jewellery, metals, minerals, rocks, shells, silver, and stones, although there are archeological, engineering, and geological applications.

Whichever one you choose, you'll need a motor base, a barrel or drum, mixed stainless steel shapes or various grades of abrasive grit, and some cleaner. These can be bought separately but it costs less to buy a complete kit. Although described as kits to simplify the descriptions, there are component variations shown in the on-line shop.

The Kitiki Rotary Tumbler Kit 1 is a home-use rotary tumbler, ideal for metal clays such as Art Clay, Bronze Clay, Copper Clay, and PMC, jewellery, and silver. It consists of an electric motor base, a 700gm plastic barrel, 1000gms of mixed stainless steel shot and shapes, and 175gms of barrelling compound to keep the drum clean.

The Kitiki Rotary Tumbler Kit 2 is a home-use rotary tumbler, ideal for buried treasures, coins, glass, metals, minerals, rocks, shells, and stones. It consists of an electric motor base, a 700gm plastic barrel, 200gms of 80 grit, 200gms of 220 grit, 200gms of 400 grit, 150 gms of cerium oxide polish, and one pack of plastic pellets.

The Kitiki Rotary Tumbler Kit 3 is a studio-use rotary tumbler, ideal for metal clays such as Art Clay, Bronze Clay, Copper Clay, and PMC, jewellery, and silver. It consists of an electric motor base, a 950gm rubber barrel, 1000gms of mixed stainless steel shot and shapes, and 175gms of barrelling compound to keep the drum clean. The motor base is longer than that in Kits 1 and 2 and can hold two 510gm rubber drums, but not two 700gm plastic drums.

The Kitiki Rotary Tumbler Kit 4 is a studio-use rotary tumbler, ideal for buried treasures, coins, glass, metals, minerals, rocks, shells, and stones. It consists of an electric motor base, a 950gm rubber barrel, 200gms of 80 grit, 200gms of 220 grit, 200gms of 400 grit, 150 gms of cerium oxide polish, and one pack of plastic pellets. The motor base is longer than that in Kits 1 and 2 and can hold two 510gm rubber drums, but not two 700gm plastic drums.

A magnetic polisher has a motor base with a removable stationary drum part-filled with water, stainless steel pins, and cleaner. A rotating magnetic field makes the pins jump randomly and the collective tiny scratches and impacts gradually polish and burnish the surface.

Generally, magnetic polishers are used for small, delicate, intricate shapes that don't need a lot of finishing. They hold less, and are more expensive, than rotary tumblers, but are quieter, quicker, and simpler to fill and empty.

The Kitiki Magnetic Polisher is ideal for Art Clay and PMC metal clays, copper, gold, jewellery, and silver. It consists of a magnetic oscillator base, a lift-off acrylic drum, a plastic lid, 80gms of tiny stainless steel pins, and a spare fuse.

An ultrasonic cleaner has a fixed stationary chamber, part-filled with water and cleaner: no shot, no grit. Electronically generated ultrasonic waves create minute bubbles which, during the low pressure part of each wave, grow until, during the high pressure part of the wave, they're compressed and implode. The energy released cleans the objects inside.

The Kitiki Ultrasonic Cleaner is ideal for cleaning jewellery and other objects, restoring their sparkle. It won't put a shine on a rough surface. However, they're inexpensive and very quick. It consists of a container base and a lift-out basket.

Most of the stainless steel shot in the UK, and probably the EU, comes from two or three factories. Over the years, the quality and shapes of the pins, planetoids, rods, and spheres, has gradually deteriorated. We now have our own shot made: better quality, better shaping, and a better mix, chosen to deal with the diverse range of contours on jewellery.

To give you some flexibility, the 1.0kg of shot comes in two parts: 0.5kg of mixed pins and rods, and 0.5kg of mixed balls and planetoids. If your pieces have a lot of fine detail work, or you're using a magnetic polisher, try the pins. However, once you mixed them, you won't be able to un-mix them easily, so you might want to use two drums.

Although the shot is 100% rust-resistant steel, don't leave it lying around wet: either leave it immersed in the tumbler mix of water and cleaner, or rinse it and dry it carefully.

If you need to replace the shot, don't economise and buy plain or mixed steel: unless you're meticulous about cleaning and drying it every time, it'll soon rust, make a mess, and ruin your work.

Grit is the generic name for the abrasive particles used to grind and polish. Generally, it's silicon carbide: a hard, sharp, angular material which gradually fractures into smaller angular particles, making it an effective abrasive. However, unlike shot, it does need replacing eventually.

80 grit is classed as medium, 220 as fine, and 400 as very fine. However, you'll soon learn which grits to use, and for how long, for different materials, shapes, and finishes.

If you're intending to tumble a lot of glass and stones, four drums make cleaning and storing easier, especially as the three grits look similar and the polish must be kept grit-free. However, it makes more sense to use a larger tumbler so that you can use two drums, with different abrasives, at the same time.

If you want to do shot-tumbling and grit-tumbling, you should use two barrels: marked so that you don't mixed them up. One stray grit particle caught in the drum will scratch your shot-tumbled work: the scratches are quite hard to remove.

A silicon lubricant is used during the manufacture of rubber drums. Before use, clean the drum with a scouring pad and some washing-up liquid.

The Kitiki Studio currently offers jewellery-making classes, demonstrations, masterclasses, and workshops, and Art Clay Levels One and Two courses taught by Aida-certified teachers, in the pretty village of Corfe Castle, in Dorset, England.

There are also classes for related products and techniques, art events, craft demonstrations, guest-teacher classes, the local arts weeks, studio open-days, and general jewellery-making opportunities. If you're interested, mail or call.

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To learn more about kilns, transfer now to Electric Kilns using the Electric Kilns link above the menu bar near the top of the page.

This internet resource belongs to Cherry Heaven, a shop in Corfe Castle village near the National Trust Estate. Cherry Heaven sells a diverse selection of exclusive essentials and luxuries for you, your family, and your home.

Cherry Heaven is an EU distributor for Paragon Kilns made in Texas, USA, and has been commended for an outstanding performance as one of Paragon's top-selling distributors over 2007 to : a pleasing outcome since the UK is only one third the area of Texas and one fortieth the area of the US.

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The on-line shop link is below the menu bar near the top of the page.  Alternatively, visit Cherry Heaven in Corfe Castle.