Greetings [pjtaxi] Patrick firstly may i welcome you to RTH Forums from the other side of the pond!
If I was starting out again knowing now what I know, I would have never bought a Lortone C300 tumbler
with 2x 12lb and 2x 6lb barrels costing £570 ($640), instead I should have bought a Lortone QT 66 with
2x 6lb barrels plus an additional 12lb barrel £280 ($275), the C300's main problem was the base metal
is too thin and acts like a megaphone, quadrupling the noise the motor and the rocks in the barrels
make, anyway in March this year I decommissioned the C300, so now I just use the QT 12/66.
Basically start with the 12lb barrel for the first 2 stages, then 1 6lb barrel for pre-polish and
the other 6lb barrel for polish and final burnish.
Since I now have the vibes in operation the 12lb barrel is used for the first stage using 454g (1lb)
of Fixed80 (60/90) grit, then the vibes do the other stages using a fraction of the grit I would have
used in the rotary.
Rotary 12lb + 6lb: Stage 1: F80 480g (1.05lb), Stage 2: F220 240g (8.465oz), Stage 3: F600 60g (2.116oz),
Stage 4: F1200 30g (1.058oz).
Vibe 14lb: Stage 2: F220 60g (2.116oz), Stage 3: F600 30g (1.058oz), Stage 4: F1200 30g (1.058oz).
Polish of your choice as usual 1 level Teaspoon maximum in rotary or vibe.
Most people here on RTH Forums including myself normally get their tumblers and supplies from
The Rock Shed, however Lortone QT's are out of stock at the moment, however maybe you should get
one from
Lortone direct as they are based in Mukilteo, Washington, although you will have to pay your
local Sales Tax, but it may be cheaper than postage from South Dakota.
Please check out my Sticky's below.
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Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined!
I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic
(Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200,
with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes.
I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs)
Bonnybridge,
Stirlingshire,
U.K, where
aliens (15mb)
sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that
monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new
monstrosity!
Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#:
Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#:
How to use the forum,
3#:
How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#:
Save money on expensive grits & polishes,
5#:
Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!