I haven't done any tumbling for a few years now, but these three pieces deserve to be preserved. These were all found 2 weeks ago at the same site which is now being graded and receiving site services for new home construction. The older of the two horseshoes has an unusual shape to one end, I wonder why the farrier did this. 
I use a 45C Rotary Tumbler - I tumble with 3/4" polished gravel, a 1/2 cup of local beach sand and 1 - 2oz of liquid dish soap. Then fill the drum 3/4 of the way with hot water, then tumble for 24hrs at a time. I then rinse the mixture in a colander and repeat for another 24hrs. I'll then tumble for another 72hrs minus the sand, rinsing every 24hrs. I then rinse and let it dry before adding a coat of Conservator's Wax. The Lortone45C barrel turns at 64 RPM, but the larger the barrel the slower they turn. I read somewhere that RPM should be between 40-70 for the 3lb barrels. None of the Lortone tumblers I’ve seen have a variable drive.
I'm sure that electrolysis would be a lot faster and likely more effective. But with tumbling, I can just put in all the items and then walk away for a few days. I've also found with tumbling, that you can never over tumble iron, the longer you leave it in the better the finished product looks.
I love that the short length of chain has different link sizes, I'm thinking it was possibly an animal 'lead chain'?
Thanks for looking,
Dave
I use a 45C Rotary Tumbler - I tumble with 3/4" polished gravel, a 1/2 cup of local beach sand and 1 - 2oz of liquid dish soap. Then fill the drum 3/4 of the way with hot water, then tumble for 24hrs at a time. I then rinse the mixture in a colander and repeat for another 24hrs. I'll then tumble for another 72hrs minus the sand, rinsing every 24hrs. I then rinse and let it dry before adding a coat of Conservator's Wax. The Lortone45C barrel turns at 64 RPM, but the larger the barrel the slower they turn. I read somewhere that RPM should be between 40-70 for the 3lb barrels. None of the Lortone tumblers I’ve seen have a variable drive.
I'm sure that electrolysis would be a lot faster and likely more effective. But with tumbling, I can just put in all the items and then walk away for a few days. I've also found with tumbling, that you can never over tumble iron, the longer you leave it in the better the finished product looks.
I love that the short length of chain has different link sizes, I'm thinking it was possibly an animal 'lead chain'?
Thanks for looking,
Dave
