I've spent a lot of today making loads of STS jump rings using my new Koil Kutter and tumbler. I did read somewhere that if you were going to tumble the jump rings then you should put a wire through the coil and twist the ends together before you cut them. I tried that but the results weren't pleasant!
Then I thought I would just thread them after I'd cut them but I got worried about the ends of the wire sticking into the inside of the rubber barrel.
So now I'm separating about 700 jump rings from 1kg of stainless steel shot by hand - it's pretty tedious!
Would love to know how you guys thread the rings before tumbling or however else you manage to avoid this job.
Thanks in advance

George gave me a great tip for this part of the process - stretch magic!! Hubby cuts all my rings, I do all the tumbling and making!! He threads the stretch magic through the coil before cutting and then knots it twice as he picks it up out of the block! I then add a dab of nail varnish to the knots for extra security, let it dry then bung them in the tumbler.

oh fab tip Alison

Oh brilliant Alison. Thank you.
Wish I could persuade my hubby to do the cutting - it's pretty scary!

Does he tie the ends together to make a circle or does he tie each end separately to make a worm? Sorry to be a pian but I need specifics!!

No probs, Maura, and really it's all down to George's fab tips, doubt if we'd ever got out of the starting blocks without her assistance.

You tie the stretch magic into a circle, i.e. both ends together.

In my Chains by Becky book she says she tumbles AFTER she's made the maille piece.

Yep, stretch magic (or cheap stringing elastic/thread). Anything that's about 1mm thick will work with even very small ring sizes.

I thread mine through as soon as I've coiled and knot loosely. The elastic then actually stretches round the Kutter base, and helps keep the coil in place while you lubricate it - then a second knot after cutting and before tumbling. If you're cutting lots of different sizes, you can use different threads to identify which is which as well.


Mary - I tumble everything after making it as well, but new jump rings must be tumbled before use to make sure they are deburred. They don't always match up perfectly if they're left.


Maura - just a little thing, but if you're using a standard size tumbler, than 1kg of shot is about double as much as you need. When you load up, including rings/finished pieces, shot, water and burnishing soap, the tumbler should never be more than about 1/3 full, or there isn't enough room for everything to move properly!

george

George - thanks for that. I have got an Evans Metalsmith tumbler with a rubber barrel, which I'm sure in the instructions tells you to fill it to between half and 2 thirds full. However, with all the shot and the rings it was still only about a third full, certainly less than half. I will need to check those instructions again, but it all seemed to work fine and if you say never more than 1 third full then that makes me feel better.

Thank you all

Enjoy your new tumbler Maura. They make such a huge difference. I remember the first time I used one - I was thrilled with the results (and still am!)

I think if a barrel was 2/3 full of shot and rings/finished pieces it may be too heavy for the machine.

Happy tumbling!

Thanks for the advice all of you! I can't wait till I start cutting mine now!