# tumbling question



## judu (Jul 24, 2012)

got a tumbler and still in the learning process....some of the bottles are coming out great, just cloudy..like a milky cloudiness on the glass.or a fog......do i need to run the bottle again with a polish?.....


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## chosi (Jul 24, 2012)

Probably yes.

 When I use 1200 Grit, which is a fairly coarse cutter, the bottle comes out resembling a frosty mug just out of the freezer.  To remove the "frostiness" I tumble a 2nd time with Aluminum Oxide for at least 2 - 4 days.  2 days is usually enough, but if you take it out after 2 days and it's still frosty looking, you may end up tumbling it a 3rd time and that's a lot of work.  On the other hand, if you tumble it too long, it tends to get very "mirror-like", and some people don't like that effect. 

 When I use 1500 Grit (a less coarse cutter), I find that if I just let it go for 3 or 4 days, I don't need a 2nd tumble.  The Jar Doctor claims that 1500 Grit will start out as a cutter for the first 24 hours and then end up as a polisher.  That doesn't seem to work for everybody, but it almost always works out for me.


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## judu (Jul 24, 2012)

thanks for the advise chosi... ill try using the 1500 and see how that turns out..


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## AntiqueMeds (Jul 25, 2012)

dont forget to clean your copper and everything else well when you go from a cutter to polish.


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 25, 2012)

Tumbler? did some one say tumbler!!!??? !@#$%^&*[][:-]


 Moe Larry the sleaze  Moe Larry the sleaze !!!


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## Diggin4Togas (Jul 26, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  chosi
> 
> Probably yes.
> 
> ...


 I agree, But you may find it varries with different colors of glass. Takes a lot of time and documentation.  Randy


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## AntiqueMeds (Jul 26, 2012)

The hardness of glass can vary from the formula of the glass and the annealing process.

 I was thinking about a way to tell if a bottle has unsafe stresses in it before spinning it (avoided the T word).
 You should be able to look at the bottle through a polarizing lense and see stress points in  the glass which would make it unsafe to polish.


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## buzzkutt033 (Jul 26, 2012)

that is very interesting matt. i've never " broken " a bottle spinning it, but there are a couple times that small, round " pressure " cracks developed. they are usually on the shoulder of the bottle where the glass is thinnest.

 you really think we could see stressed area using polarized lenses ??

 jim


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## chosi (Jul 27, 2012)

> ORIGINAL: AntiqueMeds
> You should be able to look at the bottle through a polarizing lense and see stress points in the glass which would make it unsafe to polish.


 
 If you have some glass with stress points, is it possible to take a photo of it through a polarizing lens, and teach us how to recognize such a thing?


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## RICKJJ59W (Jul 27, 2012)

Moe Larry the cheese!!!


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## AntiqueMeds (Jul 27, 2012)

I havent fooled around with it much yet but it should be something you can do.
 THe tricky part is you have to illuminate the glass with polarized light.
 In a lab this would be done with a laser. If you have a laser point great. If not you can use an LCD computer monitor set to just show a blank white screen. LCDs are polarized so the light will be polarized.
 Put the bottle in front of the screen and look at it with a polarizing filter. Polarized glasses might work but a peice of polarizing filter would be better.

 Here is an example ...
 http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfredolouro/3776194149/


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## druggistnut (Aug 12, 2012)

Hey Dan,
 Try this. Instead of pouring half a bottles worth of copper in, just put a "string" of copper in.  It should be no wider than your index finger. Use the normal amount of polisher. If it is bad enough to cut, do that first.  Rotate the bottle after 2 days, run it the other way.
 Let me know if you still get the cloudiness. Try it on a bottle that shows the cloudiness, already.
 I think some glass is way too soft and the weight of all the copper causes miniscule chips, which is your cloudiness. The ribbon of copper makes contact and polishes, without the weight.
 Bill


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## druggistnut (Aug 12, 2012)

Followup-
 The reason this was tried is because I can use the exact same copper on glass like a milk bottle (manufactured in machines and also much harder) and it does not leave the cloudiness. That leads one to believe dirty copper isn't always the answer.
 Bill


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## judu (Aug 13, 2012)

hey bill, do you mean that i just need to use a little bit of copper , dont fill the bottle up?...i should still fill the bottle up to the shoulder with water, right?...


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## druggistnut (Aug 13, 2012)

Yes Dan,
 Use the same amount of water but cut back dramatically on the copper.
 Bill


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## andy volkerts (Aug 13, 2012)

> ORIGINAL:  chosi
> 
> Probably yes.
> 
> ...


 The 1500 works well for me also I feel that it is the best all around, safest grit to use, as bottles are not all the same hardness, the 1500 is the best, the other major variable is time in the tumbler, speed and direction all helpful, you have to take notes and start on worthless examples till you get acceptable results before cleaning-polishing a $300.oo dollar or more bottle........


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## JarDoctor (Aug 29, 2012)

Bill is correct that if it is soft glass sometimes copper will cause pitting - only on soft glass and the ribbon trick will solve that.  The way to tell the difference is - is the cloudiness only on the sides and not on the base.  If that is the case, the ribbon trick will work.  If not, you do need to run with the aluminum or 1500 to polish the frosting left by the 1200.


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## RICKJJ59W (Aug 29, 2012)

I should have used the "jar Doctor" then I still would have my AWESOME bottle that Rick Lease broke.    broke broke  busted


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