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Use a Rock Tumbler for More Professional Looking Polymer Clay Beads

“Using the vibratory tumbler has improved my work 10 fold.” ~Rob-K

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Today’s Spotlight article is all about Rob Keftoot (and his wife who runs their Etsy shop).  Rob is an active member here at the site. He has contributed a great deal of valuable information, especially in regard to polishing polymer clay beads using a rock tumbler.

Related links for this spotlight feature include: (1) Polishing Polymer Clay Jewelry Beads; (2) Shiny Polymer Clay Beads; (3) Rock Tumbler Tutorial; (4) Rock Tumblers; (5) Cornstarch and Polymer Clay Beads

Here is What Rob Wrote…

Cindy,

I started playing with poly clay 3 yrs ago, and it was just a curiosity to me and my wife. Then I started researching on the internet how versatile this stuff is and how easy it is to work with. Well, my wife got the jewelry bug a few years ago, and started her own company with her friend. I am a former kitchen designer (20+ yrs in that industry and interior design, so I have a decent eye for color), and my wife always asks my opinions on color combo’s and shapes of beads and what not. I said to them, what can we do that no one else is doing? They looked at me and said, can you make a lot of beads? Well, ya sure… needless to say, alot of my beads are requested from folks she has sold jewelry to at parties and craft shows.

I found your site Cindy and got the poly clay bead making bug. I pulled out my clay, which sat for a year or 2 and experimented away. Then I joined your site and realized that I can make less mistakes and make more professional looking beads. I cannot attribute one set of video to the bead pics I am sending, but a combo of all that I have learned from your site.

Just using corn starch has cut my sanding times, and using the vibratory tumbler (that long thread that I posted a ton of stuff in on the blog…), has improved my work 10 fold. I polish every bead to a high sheen using a jewelry bench polisher with a 6? cotton wheel, to kind of give a polished stone look.

I am currently out of work, due to my former job in the kitchen industry being tied to the housing market. My biggest problem is I am really hard on myself when it comes to this stuff, lots of people comment on how great some of it is, and I don’t like it at all. Same goes for my photography, another passion of mine.

I attribute all of my polymer clay successes to you Cindy (and a little to Donna Kato), thanks for a great video series and blog.

~Rob Kerfoot (Providence, RI  USA)

I just love your story, Rob. And those modified Planet Beads are out of this world! Pardon the pun…

Isn’t it so great everyone that Rob found a passion by being supportive to his wife?  Please leave a comment for Rob and let him know what you think of his beads, and thank him for sharing his ideas with us. I am sure he would love to hear from you all!


** If you have been inspired by my teachings and would like to be featured in an upcoming Spotlight Article, then please do write up something creative and email it to me along with a selection of your project pics. Make sure to send me high-resolution photos that I’ll be able to zoom in on to show the details of your work. If you don’t already have my email address, simply leave a comment below, and I will get it to you right away.

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  • Phaedrakat says:

    @Kathy: Thanks for the info, Kathy…such a huge help! Too bad about the eBay overpricing, but it’s great to hear you’re getting great results with your tumbler. Have you had it awhile, with no problems? (I’m just about ready to say, “SOLD!”) Thanks again! ;D

    Reply

    • @Phaedrakat: you know, I’ve only had it for a couple of months but it works great. I’ve read all about the problems folks have had with them and the gasket or the belt. No problems here…..knock on wood.

      ———————————————————————————————————————————–
      Just A Quick FYI…       there is currently a technical bug happening with the “Reply” function here at the blog. When you use it, your comments are temporarily held in the moderation queue, pending approval. This is not supposed to happen, and it will be fixed soon. But for now, it would be helpful if everyone could refrain from clicking on that little “Reply” link. Instead, you can simply reference others by manually typing their name… like @Phaedrakat [or] @Kathy G [or] @Cindy: [etc, etc.]. This way your comments will post in real time, without any delay. Thank you all. ~Doug
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      Reply
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