A student give me a 5'' piece of Agaet and said he use's it to burnish I tryed it and it works,though I'd pass that tip along.
J.J.
J.J.
Agate or burnishing
- Thread starter JJ Roberts
- Start date
Tako,I found the Agate is very useful burnishing tool when doing bulino engraving, animals & birds.I got the idea of burnishing bulino with a steel burnisher from English engraver Allan Portsmouth we been email back & forth but was just introduced to Agate this passed week also good for removing scratches. J.J.
i always wondered about those, jj. i never tried one, as i always felt they would be of little value. anothe trick learned. tyvm
Hello,
I mostly use Steel polishing burnishers.
They are also available for rotary handpieces in a variety of shapes from goldsmiths tool shops.
Ideal for closing pores/holes,
densing gold/silver surfaces before polishing (shine gets finer, smoother surface) .
You can make them also from broken Drills/burrs in the needed shapes and use them in (setting-)beeding tool handchucks for detailing .
Though, steel burnishers needs re-polished from time to time, agate is harder!
I use them with a little oil (wintergreen-, or engine-oil, 20w50, Lol!), for even better smoother results.
Greetings
Tako
I mostly use Steel polishing burnishers.
They are also available for rotary handpieces in a variety of shapes from goldsmiths tool shops.
Ideal for closing pores/holes,
densing gold/silver surfaces before polishing (shine gets finer, smoother surface) .
You can make them also from broken Drills/burrs in the needed shapes and use them in (setting-)beeding tool handchucks for detailing .
Though, steel burnishers needs re-polished from time to time, agate is harder!
I use them with a little oil (wintergreen-, or engine-oil, 20w50, Lol!), for even better smoother results.
Greetings
Tako
thanks, i learned another trick. i never thought about using a lube when burnishing. when you re do the dental burs, what is your final grit size when doing these ?
Hello,
@ JJ. Sure,
agate works even better on harder materials like steel!
I use the steel burnishers for jewelry (silver,color-gold,whitegold) only.
Agate is very tough and holds the fine polish long.
Disadvantage of the Agate is, you cannot just fast&easy shape to your special needs & repolish it by the "normal" metal-workshop tools. You`ll need a lapidary or a gemcutter who do it for you!
Yes certainly, there is no comparison in appearance !
A just polished/matted surface of a piece, by maschine, or using additionally a handburnisher (for polish) and a hand tool (for matting) for the detail-work!
It cost more effort & time (and time is cost),
but if You see the result, it is worth to spend!
@monk
I shape them with a silicium carbide wheel on the micromotor handpiece,
followed by sandpaperwheels (from goldsmith-toolshop, or (on own risk!) selfmade; sawblade split old burr, fix sandpaper rolled on and fix by glue or ironwire) getting finer untill 1000grid,
and finally polish with (goldsmith-) polishing wheel and a light blue polishing paste called "Unipol".
its normally for Gold/Platinium, but polish also well on silver, copper and steel...
You don`t need tho pre-polish with this paste, the grit gets automaticly finer during the polishing process, so it`s fast & easy.
Polishing wheel materials (cloth, felt, leather, ...) depending on material & shape you want to polish.
Have to try what works best for the material & shape You want to polish!
I mostly use my micromotor for small tools.
If you harden the burnisher, it needs to repolish!
Always wear safety glasses/goggles!
the lubrication helps,
though the old masters used spit & ellbow grease (handpower),
not oil & rotary tools!
;-)
For hand burnishers, good (-quality) old files/needle files are a good recycling source of steel.
Needle files, bend, cut short and the end fit into the pneumatic graver QC make also great tools for to finnish corners, difficult to reach and clean by hand.
greetings
Tako
@ JJ. Sure,
agate works even better on harder materials like steel!
I use the steel burnishers for jewelry (silver,color-gold,whitegold) only.
Agate is very tough and holds the fine polish long.
Disadvantage of the Agate is, you cannot just fast&easy shape to your special needs & repolish it by the "normal" metal-workshop tools. You`ll need a lapidary or a gemcutter who do it for you!
Yes certainly, there is no comparison in appearance !
A just polished/matted surface of a piece, by maschine, or using additionally a handburnisher (for polish) and a hand tool (for matting) for the detail-work!
It cost more effort & time (and time is cost),
but if You see the result, it is worth to spend!
@monk
I shape them with a silicium carbide wheel on the micromotor handpiece,
followed by sandpaperwheels (from goldsmith-toolshop, or (on own risk!) selfmade; sawblade split old burr, fix sandpaper rolled on and fix by glue or ironwire) getting finer untill 1000grid,
and finally polish with (goldsmith-) polishing wheel and a light blue polishing paste called "Unipol".
its normally for Gold/Platinium, but polish also well on silver, copper and steel...
You don`t need tho pre-polish with this paste, the grit gets automaticly finer during the polishing process, so it`s fast & easy.
Polishing wheel materials (cloth, felt, leather, ...) depending on material & shape you want to polish.
Have to try what works best for the material & shape You want to polish!
I mostly use my micromotor for small tools.
If you harden the burnisher, it needs to repolish!
Always wear safety glasses/goggles!
the lubrication helps,
though the old masters used spit & ellbow grease (handpower),
not oil & rotary tools!
;-)
For hand burnishers, good (-quality) old files/needle files are a good recycling source of steel.
Needle files, bend, cut short and the end fit into the pneumatic graver QC make also great tools for to finnish corners, difficult to reach and clean by hand.
greetings
Tako
Last edited:
thank you for the information.
Tako,Thanks for input its very help full. J.J.
Dear JJ,
Not at all!
You are most welcome!
As I wrote, I can learn here so much in this Forum, even if I just read!
Glad if I can give a tiny bit back!
Thanks everybody for sharing You great experiences with beginners like me!
Greetings,
Tako
Not at all!
You are most welcome!
As I wrote, I can learn here so much in this Forum, even if I just read!
Glad if I can give a tiny bit back!
Thanks everybody for sharing You great experiences with beginners like me!
Greetings,
Tako
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