# Glass beads for tumbling



## appliedtop (Mar 3, 2007)

Regardless of what others have said about using glass beads for tumbling I have had very good luck and good results from using them. I have tumbled all different types of bottles, different colors and the results have been great. I will take some before and after shots.  Here is a picture of a Smiths Green Mountain Renovator that I just removed. It had a medium to light haze with some scratching on it.  Looks like new now although the pics might not show it as the lighting wasn't too good here in rainy Washington State. I bought a 10# bag of glass beads for $20 which is enough for two 4-inch canisters.  It is much lighter than copper so it may take a bit longer but with cut copper now at $7 per pound it was a huge savings. It takes about 45# of copper for the same 2 canisters.  That is over $300 compared to $20.


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## appliedtop (Mar 3, 2007)

Another shot.


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## Bottleman (Mar 7, 2007)

I donâ€™t know if I would trust using glass on glass but it seemed to work out aright for you. I am just curious how big the beads are too. Can you take a picture of a coin with the beads sprinkled around it so I can get an idea of what size they are? 

 Thanks, Tom


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## zanes_antiques (Mar 7, 2007)

I myself would like to see more of what's in the display cabinet! Sweet! I'm going to have to mention those beads to my brother. He's got a tumbler. I wonder if crushing your own glass would work also maybe you can save even more money by using scrap?


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## capsoda (Mar 7, 2007)

Hey Scott, you using blasting glass or something else? Where do you get them?


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## appliedtop (Mar 7, 2007)

I attached a picture of the beads next to a penny.  I get them from CR's Crafts (item #98013) and they are listed as 1.5 to 2mm which is approx. 1/16th inch I would guess. They are used for stuffing. $15 for 10 pounds which is about enough for 2 four inch canisters. I get my grit from a rock tumbling supply company called therockshed.com.  They have all the grit you would need, other types of pellets or tumbling medium also. I was hesitant at first to try this but copper has went through the roof. I used scrap bottles and it worked so I have been getting more courageous and doing nicer bottles with good results. It does take a bit longer than copper. But I also think it isn't as abrasive because it's lighter.


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## bottlediger (Mar 8, 2007)

thats awesome man, have ya had any problems with the glass at all?


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## probe zilla (Mar 8, 2007)

have you tried using them with 1200 grit cutter, or just polish


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## appliedtop (Mar 8, 2007)

So far no problems.  I haven't used 1200 but I have used 1000 grit and then an aluminum oxide polish.  So far great results. To tell you the truth I am much more comfortable using glass beads on more delicate thinner glass bottles mainly because the weight of the medium is so much less than copper. As a kid growing up I always had a rock tumbler.  Of course in them you have rock on rock with the various grit so I always wondered why one couldn't tumble bottles with glass on glass. After all it's the grit and polish that does the work and the medium is just the carrier of the grit and polish. So far OK.  I'll do a before and after shot when I get my latest bottles out of the tumbler.


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## Bottleman (Mar 8, 2007)

Thanks for the excellent close-up picture of the beads!!  They are much smaller than I imagined and if you are having good luck with them keep doing what you are doing. 

 ~~Tom


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## appliedtop (Mar 9, 2007)

A before and after to show how well it works.  Not the best pics but  at least you can see the difference. One heck of a kick-up on this thing. Anyone know the origin? The seal says DEGUILLIE ELIXER. The bottle appears to be paddle rolled and has no seams whatsoever.


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## GuntherHess (Mar 9, 2007)

> DEGUILLIE ELIXER


 

It doesnt read L'*ELIXIR* De *GUILLIE * does it? 

 My high school French is pretty rusty...
http://cgi.ebay.fr/Bouteille-Verre-souffle-Ecusson-Elixir-de-Guille-19eme_W0QQitemZ180089192968QQihZ008QQcategoryZ38680QQcmdZViewItem


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## tombstone (Mar 10, 2007)

I'm willing to give it a try.  Here's a link for anyone else willing to gamble:

http://www.crscraft.com/products/product.asp?pid=98013&L1=2&L2=11&L3=0&L4=0&L5=0&cat=bear+suppliess&sub=Stuffing&class=&searchOffset=x


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## stinger haut (Mar 11, 2007)

I have tried using glass beads on several bottles and have had excellent results.
 The smallest size that I could buy were a tad bit larger than yours, but it didn't make any difference.
 I started out in a soda because they 're tuff, great results. Tumbling time was the same as if I had used coppper.
 The last bottle I tumbled was a half pint historical flask and it came out every well. This one took a day longer than with copper.
 RPM's ranged from 45 to 20 per minute.
 They appear to be a good tumbling medium, you can't beat the price. 
 I wonder how long they will last compared to copper?
 Stinger Haut


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## tombstone (Mar 23, 2007)

My beads arrived in the mail a couple days ago.  Due to the size and weight of the pellets i believe that chipping a bottle with them is nearly impossible.  A couple drawbacks i noticed right away, they tend to stick to the sides of the bottle and anything you store them in.  They are also so small that cleaning them between tumblings will be difficult.  Of course, cleaning between tumblings isn't absolutely necessary, and the polish is still white in the tumbler after three days.

 Although i still haven't finished a bottle with the glass beads, all indications are that this is certainly a cost effective alternative to copper and i'm giving applied top a big thumbs up for this suggestion.

 THANKS


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## appliedtop (Mar 23, 2007)

I appreciate the feedback. I built my own tumbler (past post) and I just couldn't believe that it would take over $300 in copper to fill 2 four inch canisters.  So I tried this with some throwaway bottles. So far so good. As for cleaning the beads, when I switch from cutter to polish I just put them in a large plastic bowl and let the water rinse them clean. Seems to be easy enough and quick. And as you'll notice it doesn't turn all black and gunky in the canisters without the copper. Doesn't get foamy either.  To me it's an easier more economical method and with the weight being much much less it should mean less chance of breakage.


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## tombstone (Mar 24, 2007)

Thanks for the cleaning tip, i'll try that.  I was stuck on the screen spaghetti strainer and wondering how to keep them from falling through the holes.

 One other thing, with the canisters being lighter it will save wear and tear on the tumbler.  This also means being able to expand your capacity since the motor will be able to handle more canisters because of reduced weight.


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## LC (Mar 24, 2007)

Hello, I am in the process of building a cleaning machine for bottles myself.  I fouind it interesting as for the input for using glass beads over copper. Will try this myself once I get the machine up and going. I have spent one hour or so at a time trying to cut pieces of copper wire to use in the cleaner, and believe me, I am getting no where. It must take a tone of wire to get enough clippings of it to be able to use to clean a bottle. Definitely makes more sense to go out and buy it, than try and cut it ones self. The cost of buying it is quite high as you mentioned.


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## stinger haut (Mar 24, 2007)

I had the trouble with the wet glass beads sticking to everything. So, I bought enough beads to always some dry beads ready to use instead of fussing with the wet ones.
 I also use a strainer to wash then and then let then air dry.
 It takes longer for the glass beads to tuble because of the being lighter than copper and they tend to stick to the sides of the canisters. So, I tired combining about a qurater of copper in with my glass beads. This made my tumbling time much shorter. However, remember that once you combine the two, separating the two is very hard, plus the copper wears the beads down quicker.
 They definitely work well and are much cheaper than copper.
 Stinger Haut


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## tombstone (Mar 24, 2007)

Oh,  I almost forgot, another great advantage the beads have over copper is the noise.  The beads are much quieter.


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## appliedtop (Mar 24, 2007)

Thought I would reply to the post about cutting copper.  This is for anyone who wants to use copper and wants to cut their own. This is what I have made. I cut a piece of half inch pipe about 5 inches long and a smaller length piece about 3 inches. Cut a hole in the longer piece about 1/2" in diameter and weld the shorter one over the hole at a 45d angle. Then drill a small hole in the side of the longer piece, just big enough to easily slide wire into it. Then get a drill bit that fits fairly tightly into the pipe as shown and as fast as you can shove wire in it will cut it and spit it out. The slower you feed wire the smaller the pieces. 
 Beats the heck out of using pliers and you will have fingers at the end of the day.


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## stinger haut (Mar 24, 2007)

Tombstone, yes your right about the glass beads being quieter than the copper. Especially when you turn up your rpm's to tumble round bottles.
 Stinger Haut


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## hemihampton (Jul 24, 2012)

I've tried the glass beads with no luck. The glass beads with Aluminum oxide polish frost's my glass. Has anybody else gotten a frosted glass problem using glass beads? LEON.


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