The Kitiki Magnetic Polisher is ideal for small, delicate, intricate shapes that don't need a lot of finishing: jewellery, brass, bronze, copper, gold, silver, model parts, small treasures, and low-profile fingerprint keepsakes.

It consists of a motor base with four rotating magnets, a lift-off acrylic pot with a lid, 45gms of tiny magnetic-steel pins, and 175gms of cleaner. There's an on-off switch on the front with an integral red light.

It's quieter, quicker, and simpler to fill and empty than a conventional rotary tumbler. It's guaranteed for a year and, in the unlikely event of an accident or a fault, spares are in stock.

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Kitiki Magnetic Polisher.

Kitiki Magnetic Polisher Pins.

The fully-enclosed motor is rated at 230V 6W, so it can use a regular mains socket. Since the polisher uses less power than a fridge bulb, the cost of using it is about a penny a day. It measures 115mm x 115mm x 240mm, weighs about 2.5kg, and comes with a 1.5 metre cable ending in a UK 5A-fused plug.

The motor spins a heavy disc with four crescent-shaped high-power magnets. The rotating magnetic field makes the pins jump randomly and the collective tiny impacts gradually polish and burnish the surface. A fan, built into the motor, keeps the polisher body cool.

Rubber feet stop it creeping across the worktop and falling off when you're not there. The acrylic drum holds about six or seven average rings. It's quieter, quicker, and simpler to fill and empty than a conventional rotary tumbler.

Using the polisher is simple, so there's no manual. Quarter-fill the drum with water, and add the stainless-steel pins and your work. Add a fine sprinkle of cleaning compound, about a quarter of a teaspoon, put the lid on, and let it run for 20 minutes. Experiment with the amount of water, the number of pieces, and the running time, until you get the desired finish.

The motor, our own design, is fan cooled so will run for hours, although 30 minutes is usually more than enough. The motor base is quite heavy and has a substantial construction as it contains rotating magnets. Vents on three sides allow the fan to keep the motor cool. Don't stand it right next to anything metal or electronic.

They've been engineered and comprehensively tested for the UK, the EU, and most other countries. They're CE Marked and comply with EU safety standards.

The drum is made of clear acrylic. However, the continual impact of so many tiny metal pieces will eventually give the inside a matt finish: this is normal.

Although it comes with 45gms of pins, try about 35gms first. With some shapes, fewer might be better, so experiment. However, it won't take off scratches and unfinished edges or corners, so you need to make sure your work looks good first.

Most of the plain steel pins and stainless steel pins in the UK, and probably the EU, used to come from two or three suppliers in India. They were carefully made but, over the years, the quality has deteriorated, especially as magnetic and stainless steels keep increasing in price.

There are 112 different types of stainless steel, better called stain-resistant steel, at widely different raw-metal costs. Our pins are made for us in the factory that makes our pliers, cutters, tumbler shot, polishers, small kilns, and other tools.

They're made of an expensive stain-resistant magnetic steel wire. Cutting the wire into 5mm lengths needs a precision guillotine with a carefully controlled feed mechanism or the cut will shear leaving a point that will scratch rather than polish your work. The 5mm x 0.3mm size has been chosen, after considerable experiment, to best polish the diverse range of contours on jewellery.

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

Initially, the stainless steel pins will have straight-cut ends, so it's a good idea to run the polisher with some scrap metal for an hour to begin to round them off slightly. Either keep them in the water, or take them out and dry them. Some people lift the pot off to keep the pins away from the magnet when not using it.

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

The internet is packed full with inaccuracies: accidental or intentional. There are unsubstantiated claims that whatever is being sold is the best, the newest, or the cheapest, and it's being sold by the largest dealer or the premier distributor.

So, why buy a Kitiki magnetic polisher from Cherry Heaven?

We used to sell a magnetic polisher made in South Korea: it's the red one that some of you might have seen. However, too often the motor just stopped after a few weeks. It was almost impossible to replace the motor, and the manufacturer cared nothing for spares and guarantee-replacements. Several failed an electrical earth test, some of the rubber feet came off, some of the pots leaked, sometimes the pins rusted, and the packing was so bad that some arrived damaged.

After two years of wasted valuable irreplaceable life-time, I designed my own and had them made in the factory that makes our pliers, cutters, polishers, small kilns, and other tools.

It took months to design and make our own motor, try different magnets in different positions, test different acrylics, and experiment with different assemblies. We dropped it, knocked it over, let it run for three days, let the pins stand in water for a week, and tested it on a wide range of metals.

The combination of motor speed, magnet arrangement, magnet strength, and pin size has to be just right: otherwise the pins barely move or they're dragged round in a lump

There's actually not much competition, especially as mis-leading first-sight prices often exclude delivery and VAT. However, the Korean model is still sold by one retailer as the Mini-Mag, although it costs over £30 more. Other broadly similar models, the Le Ronka, Ace, and Waxco are inexplicably about £350, £410, and £605 more expensive. The US-made RayTech is around £700 more including shipping.

Best quality stain-resistant magnetic balls, planetoids, pins, and rods aren't cheap. However, there's no reason why some brands are three or four times as expensive as ours.

The Kitiki Studio provides a comprehensive Art Clay educational programme, as classes, masterclasses, workshops, and Art Clay Level 1 and Level 2 certification courses. If you're interested, mail or call.

This internet resource is provided by Cherry Heaven, an international distributor, on-line shop, and support centre for electric tumblers. It's not a bead, ceramics, crafts, glass, or metal-clay home-business, selling a few tumblers to a market niche.

As it's on-line, there isn't a paper catalogue or a price list. However, you can mail or call a technician about kilns, power supplies, public area safety, a special project, business ideas, home diagnostics, repairs, or reselling opportunities.

Cherry Heaven is a real shop in Corfe Castle village, in Dorset, South-West England. The castle, and parts of the village, countryside, beaches, and cliffs belong to the National Trust Estate.

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.

The on-line shop link is below the menu bar near the top of the page: you won't have to create an account, register, log on, look up your membership number, remember a password, sign up, join a club, or agree to be emailed. And the total won't be more than you expected because VAT and UK-mainland delivery are included.