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Post by rocknewb101 on Jan 1, 2023 14:32:14 GMT -5
Hi everyone - Happy New Year! I'm curious if the movement looks ok to you all? It's better than it was (adjusted dowel and restarted my barrel - I think I had too much ceramic media) but I'm not sure it's moving enough. filled barrel with water, put in rocks and emptied water from barrel as indicated here and youtube then 2 tbls of 120/220...seems to start off good, but then tapers slightly
Maybe slightly over-filled with rock. The slurry looks okay but I would keep the spray bottle handy and add a squirt or two (or three...) of water to get the rocks moving a little more. Did you you take out all of the ceramics?
Hi everyone - Happy New Year! I'm curious if the movement looks ok to you all? It's better than it was (adjusted dowel and restarted my barrel - I think I had too much ceramic media) but I'm not sure it's moving enough. filled barrel with water, put in rocks and emptied water from barrel as indicated here and youtube then 2 tbls of 120/220...seems to start off good, but then tapers slightly
Maybe slightly over-filled with rock. The slurry looks okay but I would keep the spray bottle handy and add a squirt or two (or three...) of water to get the rocks moving a little more. Did you you take out all of the ceramics?
Ahh. Maybe - I thought I filled it to the curve - I do notice that things 'loosen' up a bit if I add a few drops of water but I don't have a spray bottle yet so I'm adding very small amounts at a time. I did add some of the ceramics back in. There are a couple larger rocks in there, could they hold things up? I'll remove those and see what happens - I can always tumble finish those...
Looks like I get a lot. Check it in a few hours as it may be slowing.
I feel like things thicken up in there and slow so I add a bit of water and it moves better, but never like I've seen on both Michigan Rocks and the RockShed videos....
I kind of went thru the same questions when I first started running my Lot-o. I had similar speed after adjusting the dowel. It was moving...but slow. I spritzed a little water and just let it run. I checked it a couple times a day, but it never sped up. When it came time to clean it out, I learned I had sprayed a little too much water. There was a little standing water in the bottom. My next run was MUCH faster learning what I did.
I kind of went thru the same questions when I first started running my Lot-o. I had similar speed after adjusting the dowel. It was moving...but slow. I spritzed a little water and just let it run. I checked it a couple times a day, but it never sped up. When it came time to clean it out, I learned I had sprayed a little too much water. There was a little standing water in the bottom. My next run was MUCH faster learning what I did.
Thank you!! I'm going to change it out in the morning and see where we're at - maybe that's it. I did remove the big rock and that seemed to help, but I'm still getting hung up then it moves along, then hangs up again.....Maybe I did too much grit too...trial/error
Mine does the same thing if I add 2 tbsps of 120/220 so at the advice of another member I reduced this to 1/2 tsp (yes, a dramatic decrease) and the movement is great and the rocks actually come out with the start of a nice shine. Bonus, you save on grit!
Mine does the same thing if I add 2 tbsps of 120/220 so at the advice of another member I reduced this to 1/2 tsp (yes, a dramatic decrease) and the movement is great and the rocks actually come out with the start of a nice shine. Bonus, you save on grit!
I was wondering - i've seen varying amounts recommended and was going to try reducing the amount of grit I use before readjustng the dowel, just as a troubleshoot. Yay to saving on grit lol...i feel like trial and error really wastes a lot (all part of the process lol).
I use a spray bottle and mist the rock a little at a time until the speed picks up and then stop spraying, may have to do this a couple times a day !
Surprisingly I don't own a spray bottle that hasn't had some kind of bleach/etc in it. On my list
@jingsmith, Reducing the amount of grit (ended up using about 1/2 tbls) has helped immensely. Things are really rolling in there and plan to check every hour . Thanks for the helpful tips everyone!
Post by rocknewb101 on Jan 12, 2023 8:14:34 GMT -5
Just happy to report that yesterday I started a new run in my lot-o - used less rock, more media and about 1/2 tbls grit and things are rocking and rolling in there. Checked this morning, a little slower, but beautiful slurry and with a couple spritzes of water started moving better again. Will do a clean out tonight, another round of grit and (fingers crossed) onto some pretty shiny things.
Post by steelheader on Jan 13, 2023 21:58:11 GMT -5
Initial video I would say add more water, the slur looks rather sticky from time to time when the rocks separate. I'm pretty new but thats just my 10 cents.
Post by ericabelle on Jan 21, 2023 14:03:26 GMT -5
Another variable that I've found makes a difference in movement is, the more angular rocks I have in the Lot-O, the less rocks I put in. It seems the ones with angles and corners get hung up on each other and slow the movement. If I have all rounded rocks, I can load the Lot-O with a lot more rocks and they just slide past each other easily. And I also have decreased my grit in the 120/220 stage to one tablespoon. That seems to help, too, as several others have said. Good luck! And have lots of fun! 😊
"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." - Jack London
Post by mgroothuis on Jan 23, 2023 12:37:36 GMT -5
I'm going to try to reduce the 120/220 grit as well for the next batch. I got it moving pretty well for the first day on the latest run, being very careful to not add too much water. It really slowed again, especially for the second half of the second day. It only happens in this stage.
even after adjusting my dowel, i still can have a load that wants to be a little more sluggish, especially in 120/220 and towards the end of the second day. probably has to do with the individual rocks and different sizes, shapes like ericabelle said ... i sometimes add dish soap instead of water. like, it takes some practice but ingawh uses this method with her obsidian, i believe. in general, i find soap a little more "forgiving" than water - it clings to the rocks and helps them move, rather than running off and helping them rattle/jump ... i mean, i still spray too. but sometimes, when i have that "oh man, i've added enough water, i don't want to add too much!!" feeling, but the load is still a little slow, i'll put in a few drops of dish soap. also fond of this method, when i check in the middle of the night and want a quick adjustment (as my lot-o's is an unheated room!) (i use a gentle, "green" brand, no colors, no scent. probably doesn't matter much but I'm not sure?)
I have only used my Lot-O 3 times. I've used it for the polish step only - rotary for the rest. I noticed mine slows down significantly sometime between 36 & 48 hours. Adding water seemed to help in the beginning - then appeared to have no impact. I interpreted it as the grit was spent? I too am going to play with it a bit before I move the dowel. I feel like I got a real good polish anyway - that it didn't need more time.
I have only used my Lot-O 3 times. I've used it for the polish step only - rotary for the rest. I noticed mine slows down significantly sometime between 36 & 48 hours. Adding water seemed to help in the beginning - then appeared to have no impact. I interpreted it as the grit was spent? I too am going to play with it a bit before I move the dowel. I feel like I got a real good polish anyway - that it didn't need more time.
i don't think polish should get "spent" as much as the other grits? i mean, people here run stages in their lot-o's for longer than 2 days (especially polish) ... i mean, 120/220, i don't think much past two days but the later stages, people can run and run and run. it's actually something i'm working (kinda unsuccessfully so far) towards. i'd like to be able to run polish for like a week, if i wanted to!
one thing to keep in mind - the later the stage, the less bogging down is typical. so definitely, in you situation, i'd try to get the polish stage running better and then step back (if you are interested in doing so) to earlier stages.
a few things to think about ... are you using borax with your polish? and if so, how much? did you fill in that little pocket (omg, that stupid little pocket!) in the bottom of the barrel? i always had a "conglomerate" form in the bottom, i believe, seeded by borax and the smallest of my small media, getting stuck in that pocket. my first lot-o modification was epoxy-ing the pockets in my barrels. (it actually wasn't nearly as difficult as i was expecting. gorilla two part epoxy, wide tongue depressors and a headlamp flashlight (a must!)) ... i tried to rough the barrel pocket with sandpaper before. let it cure well before using. (i probably went a few weeks.) fingers crossed, it's held now for quite a while.
currently, i'm also weeding out the smaller of my pea gravels in my media and replacing with ones about the size of large ceramics (or a tad larger).
and i moved the dowel. marked the original spot and husband drilled 3 pairs of even holes so i could move the dowel (which i replaced with a longer metal rod of the same diameter) and drop a little nail in the set of holes to hold it still. (though it's more a moving guide because the rod doesn't move when you tighten things back up.) so moving the dowel a smidge closer to my frame has helped me a bit.
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Apr 27, 2024 20:02:37 GMT -5
Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
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experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!