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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 2, 2014 15:27:30 GMT -5
My first tumbler died today. It hadn't even reached its third birthday. Last week it started turning very slowly, so I tried tightening the belt, but the motor couldn't be moved any farther. So I decided that the old belt ws stretched out, and I replced it with a new belt. I was surprised that I had to keep the motor adjusted all the way over to make the belt tight. It still seemed very loose, but it worked again. While I was inside, I took the large pulley off and cleaned everything up really well. I noticed that the plastic sleeve that the drive shaft rests in was turning inside its hole instead of the shaft moving inside the plastic. I cleaned all the old oil off and re-oiled it.
Yesterday, the tumbler was making some squeeking noises and the barrels seemed to be rubbing more than usual on the end near the motor. I kept raising that end to center the barrels, but it didn't seem to want to move away.
Today I came home from work and found that the barrels weren't moving. The motor was running, but the belt was just slipping. I removed the barrels and the machine made some loud noises. I unplugged it and took the covers off the motor box and found metal filings inside. The white, plastic sleeve had worn completely away and the drive shaft had eaten away the metal frame. That end can be moved around quite a bit now. With that hole being enlarged, it explains why I couldn't tighten the belt properly and why the barrel was moving toward that end. The problem is, I can't easily replace the frame.
I think my options are to buy a used tumbler for the frame, buy a new tumbler, or build my own tumbler. I'm concerned about the cost of running a homemade tumbler with a larger motor.
Does anyone have a suggestion for fixing this enlarged hole in the metal frame?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Oct 2, 2014 16:44:02 GMT -5
Bummer Rob. The frames with motors usually sell pretty cheap. The barrels usually cost more than the tumbler. Homemade is not too bad on power if you get a 1/4 hp or less. a 1/4 hp motor will run all of your 3 pound barrels and your six pounder's too so you could retire the QT66 and just run one tumbler.
Chuck
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Post by snowmom on Oct 2, 2014 17:34:26 GMT -5
hitting the "like" button just seems wrong when you don't like the report at all, but want to acknowledge somebody else's troubles. there should be an empathy button. Hope you get running again soon!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 2, 2014 17:45:18 GMT -5
I'm still running, just not quite as much volume.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 20:43:41 GMT -5
Not sure how it is set up but you may be able to take it to a welding shop and have a washer tacked onto whatever is there for a few bucks. A pic is worth a thousand words. lol
BTW what is the sparkly stone that you sent to me? Some pieces are just sparkles all over and some have maroon veins in them. I have been fooling around with a couple of pieces to see how it works. The maroon stuff polishes up pretty good but the sparkles diminish the higher you go with the grit. If I shape the sparkly ones on the 100 grit and just leave them at that grit they sparkle like crazy. I need to wire wrap one and show it off. Really cool stuff when you figure out what to do with it.
I have worked a bit of the Kona dolomite also and like working it a lot. Soft and not a water shine but easy to work and a very pretty stone. Jim
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 2, 2014 21:53:18 GMT -5
I think the sparkly stuff is banded iron formation or jaspelite, if I remember correctly. The redder stuff I picked up myself in Ishpeming, MI and the more sparkly stuff was from a quarry in Marquette.
I thought about putting a washer on the bad spot, but getting it in the exact right spot would be tricky. I guess I don't have a lot to lose at this point.
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Post by nowyo on Oct 2, 2014 23:46:24 GMT -5
Rob, did the shaft wear through the plastic "bushing"? My 45C did that and while rubbing wore a long ways into the shaft but didn't appreciably damage the frame. New shaft and bushing and it's been fine since then. Well, I did replace the motor on it a year or so ago but I got the thing used and have no idea how many loads it had run before that. I'd take a closer look at the shaft, if it's okay get a new set of bushings, they're "pretty cheap" and if you have to, line everything up and epoxy the new bushing in place. Doubt the epoxy would be necessary, though. The few of these things I've been around it seems as though they all like the motor all the way out even with a new belt.
Russ
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 3, 2014 5:30:20 GMT -5
Russ, I'll check that out. Do you know how to remove the little C-clip and put it back on without ruining it?
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 3, 2014 8:43:41 GMT -5
Bummer. Sorry to hear about this.
Last time I replaced a motor in one of my 33's I put new bushings in. The C-clips come off easily. Use a small flat tip screwdriver, one with a 1/8 inch tip. Slide into the gap near the center nub and give it a twist. Should slide right off. The clips are spring steel so hard to ruin them. In case you do bend one most hardware stores sell them.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 3, 2014 10:06:57 GMT -5
Thanks Ken.
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Post by connrock on Oct 4, 2014 8:20:17 GMT -5
If you can take a few photos of the damaged area from different angles it would help a LOT in trying to help you with this. It may take a littl doing but the frame is steel so it can be fixed,,,one way or the other. connrock
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 4, 2014 13:30:45 GMT -5
Ok, I took a couple pictures and finally got time to take it apart more. It might not be as bad as I thought. Here's a video of the problem: Can you see the light showing around the bushing on the right? It's shining through on the upper left side. [/url] Here you can see the worn out bushing and the hole closer. There's a notch on the bottom that's supposed to be there, but to the left it's definitely worn some. You can see the stuff that fell to the bottom of the tumbler. That was all cleaned two days before I unplugged it. Here's the shaft. There's definitely some wear here too. There are two grooves in the shaft. One is for the c-clip, but I'm not sure if the other is supposed to be there or not. I looked at a picture of a replacement shaft on The Rock Shed's site and could only see one groove. It's possible that the other one was ground into it. I took the bushing from the other end and put it in the bad hole and it seemed fairly tight. I might put a little electrical tape in the hole before installing a new bushing and a new shaft. I think it might just survive after all. Thanks everyone for the help. I think we should all be replacing our bushings on these machines every year or two. My tumbler will be three years old this Christmas and has been running nonstop for that whole time.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 4, 2014 15:20:28 GMT -5
Looks like the new shaft should be the fix, only supposed to be the one groove for the c-clip.
You keep the bushings oiled ?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 4, 2014 15:26:03 GMT -5
I oil my bushings every other week. I'm using sewing machine oil.
I just ordered new bushings and a new shaft. I also ordered new bushings for my Lortone QT66 while I was at it.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on Oct 4, 2014 18:46:22 GMT -5
I figured you did but asked just in case.
Often wondered if white lithium grease would be better but the manufacturer says light weight oil so that's what I go with. 3 in 1.
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Post by nowyo on Oct 4, 2014 23:49:54 GMT -5
Rob, that's exactly what mine looked like. New shaft and bushings should fix it right up. Glad Ken stepped in with some advice.
Russ
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1nickthegreek
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2014
Posts: 382
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Post by 1nickthegreek on Oct 5, 2014 2:31:49 GMT -5
Thank you for posting this thread Rob, as my 33B has done exactly the same as the weather cooled off here in Idaho, so I figured I needed to replace the motor. However looking at the bushings and shaft I now see that all I need to do is replace the shaft so the belt will tighten without having to push the motor as far tight as possible!! Thanks again to everyone for your assistance!!!
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Post by connrock on Oct 5, 2014 7:50:57 GMT -5
I think a new shaft and bushing will do the trick. If the electrical tape is too thick to take up the slop in the bushing hole you may be able to use aluminum foil,,or tightly folded pieces of it to take up the slop. The video and photos helped a lot too! connrock
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 5, 2014 11:13:46 GMT -5
Thanks Connrock, I'll keep that in mind for shimming the hole.
I hope my pictures and videos help others avoid or fix this problem on their own tumblers.
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blessed
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2010
Posts: 329
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Post by blessed on Oct 5, 2014 12:11:42 GMT -5
Howdy Rob: I have had that same problem before and I noticed just this morning I had another bushing turning. I keep several sets on hand along with extra belts. When I order from The Rock Shed I always order extra so if I have a break down I have that part on hand. Cuts down on down time. Those C-
clips come off easy. Going back on is the trick. I think you are on the right track now. Jame
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