# Tumbling with plastic pellets



## grdigger35 (Jan 28, 2008)

Can anyone tell me if tumbling using plastic pellets requires more time in the tumbler than using copper. Thanks in advance for any help.


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## GuntherHess (Jan 28, 2008)

I have heard of using glass beads but not plastic pellets. Anything that has a lower density than copper is going to take longer due to less frictional force.


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## JGUIS (Jan 28, 2008)

I've heard tumbling time is around one month per bottle.


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## appliedlips (Jan 28, 2008)

I heard of a gentleman in Indiana who uses them on delicate items but it can take several weeks, a month,or more.Some friends spoke highly of his work,so it must do the job.I think it would be silly to use them,unless scared of breakage.


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## grdigger35 (Jan 29, 2008)

I had a amber whiskey bottle in 1500 grit for 6 days. It looks like it could go another 6 days. It looked like it was about half way done. The only reason I'm experimenting with it is that a 5" or 6" cannister filled with copper gets pretty heavy.


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## GuntherHess (Jan 29, 2008)

Have you tried glass beads, they are slower than copper but lighter and a lot cheaper. (and they dont float)


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## grdigger35 (Jan 29, 2008)

That's next if these don't work. They seem to be doing the job but at a slower rate. I only use half the water so they don't start to float when the cylinder is upright.


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## JGUIS (Jan 30, 2008)

Anyone ever try tumbling medium?  I've run it at very slow speeds, but haven't tried it full blast yet.


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## buzzkutt033 (May 27, 2008)

greetings,

 the idea of mixing glass beads and copper sounds like one i should try. can anyone ( Matt ) tell me what size beads to buy and where to get them locallly?? is this an arts and craft store item? thanx in advance for any help.

 Jim


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## bottlediger (May 27, 2008)

Plastic pellets are not really a smart idea, they will get the job done but after a LONG LONG time. Say it costs 1.00 to buy a couple lbs of plastic pellets and a wopping 8.50 to buy a lbs of copper, and say it costs a dollar a day to run your bottle tumbler (probly more today with high prices). If it takes Ill say at the very lest a month to tumble a bottle with plastic pellets thats gona cost you over 30 dollars in just electric, where it usally takes 5 days to tumble a bottle with copper. In the long run its much cheaper to use copper even though the front end cost is more. However, Glass beads are the way to go if you want a cheep tumbling media that doesnt take much longer than copper to tumble a bottle real good and they are much lighter. Usally takes 2 or 3 days longer than copper when using glass beads. Hope that helps

 Digger Ry


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## buzzkutt033 (May 27, 2008)

i see you're down in York. that should be super bottle digging territory. the question of the day was        what size glass beads should i use and where would i get them ??    the suggestion was a mix of glass and copper to save money. 

 I'm here about 20 miles north of Allentown. I'll touch base w/you before the York show and maybe we'll take a lap around the show..............

 Jim


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## bottlediger (May 27, 2008)

Jim, never mixed copper and glass beads so I cant comment on that. You can buy glass beads from Crscrafts.com If I remeber correctly the item number is 98013 and they come in 1.5-2mm in 10 lbs bags. The last time I checked the priced jumped up from 15 dollars to 20 dollars It might have gone up even more since I last looked. I think mixing copper and glass beads would work great just might be a little messy. Ill be at the York show we'll have to link up. 

 Digger Ry


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## buzzkutt033 (May 27, 2008)

that's a pretty darn good memory you're carrying around there Ry. order #, website and price all right on. thanx for the info.

 Jim


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## bottlediger (May 27, 2008)

any time bud

 Digger Ry


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## GuntherHess (May 27, 2008)

The glass beads are used to stuff teddy bears.
 Be careful with them, they get all over the floor easy and are a hazard to walk on.
 They arent as grimy as copper but are harder to wrangle.


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