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Post by Michael John on Nov 21, 2007 20:42:20 GMT -5
I'm considering buying a tumbler. What are the pros and cons of Thumler and Lortone? Is one better than the other?
Is it a bad idea to buy a used tumbler?
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Post by Condor on Nov 21, 2007 21:00:45 GMT -5
One of my first tumblers was a 3lb type by Lortone. The little belt kept on breaking so I went with Thumler's and couldn't be happier. I've had them for several years and they are still running. I must admit, at times I think of getting a 12lb Lortone model just because. As for one being better than the other, well, it's like this...I play a little bit of guitar. I have a basic Takamine 6-string acoustic and a Martin D-28 acoustic. Obviously the Martin is by far a better guitar. But if someone who can really play, plays the Takamine and I play the Martin, then the Takamine will obviously sound better. If he plays the Martin, he will still sound better. So all things being equal, they both are the same. It's all how you tumble. I hope I didn't confuse you.
Condor
Condor
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Post by catmandewe on Nov 21, 2007 22:50:54 GMT -5
I really really like the large Thumlers barrels with the wing nuts (15#). But I dont like how their smaller barrels seal up with the big rubber band that always wears out and breaks. All of my barrel blowouts have been with that type of barrel. I really like the Lortone barrels, they are easy to seal and clean, never had a blowout. The Lortone chassis is harder to keep oiled and cleaned, the Thumlers is more open and easier to keep an eye on the parts. I have 2 Thumlers with the goofy barrels that I am going to get rid of on ebay. I don't want to sell them here because I would not want to wish that on anyone here.
I think used tumblers are ok as long as you get a good deal on them, lots of them are going for almost new prices, if thats the case might as well buy new.
Thats my 2 cents.................Tony
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Post by Michael John on Nov 22, 2007 4:31:09 GMT -5
I was looking at the Thumlers Model B, which I can get for about $140, that includes shipping. A similar Lortone is much more expensive. Is the Model B a good tumbler? It'll do 15 pounds ... that's a LOT of rock!
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 22, 2007 11:09:41 GMT -5
The model B is a great tumbler because of the commercial drum with liner (5 year warranty). The motor will turn the drum but is small enough to not spin the electric meter. The same drum is used on Diamond Pacific's model 12T for only $575 list.
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Post by catmandewe on Nov 22, 2007 11:23:56 GMT -5
Thats the one I would buy.............Tony
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JEFFD
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2004
Posts: 242
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Post by JEFFD on Nov 23, 2007 16:26:38 GMT -5
I like the model B. Buy an extra lid liner gasket and an extra belt.
My liner gaskets wear out in about 90 days. I then repair the hole in the middle with Gorilla glue and run one or two more weeks.
Belts seem to last a long time but when they wear out it is nice to have a spare.
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Post by Michael John on Nov 23, 2007 16:59:29 GMT -5
Thanks for all of the responses! Sounds like a winner!
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Post by catmandewe on Nov 23, 2007 21:05:18 GMT -5
Get a truck tire innertube and cut new lid liner gaskets from it, they last much much longer than the gasket that comes with it, when it starts wearing out, just cut a new one.
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Post by rockds on Nov 24, 2007 0:36:00 GMT -5
I think Lortone use to be tops and there larger tumblers are still pretty good. I have both Lortone and Thumler but my 33Bs (two) have both died after about 15 - 18 months of use. I replaced it with a Thumler double 3 lb and - no problems (so far). I do have a 6lb Lortone and a double 6lb - both about 3yrs old - and no problems at all.
If I had to do it over again, I'd go with nothing but Thumler
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Post by Michael John on Nov 25, 2007 14:13:37 GMT -5
I've been watching a Thumler's Model B on eBay, and the current bid is at what I can get one for new! In general, tumblers fetch darn good money used on eBay. Go figure...
I've been looking, and haven't found anything to beat the Model B. At $140, tumbling 15 pounds at a time, nothing else comes close. In the pics, it looks like a very solid unit, hopefully up to the task of the use/abuse it'll get.
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Nov 25, 2007 14:43:54 GMT -5
They are both good tumblers.
Buy used only if you get an exceptional deal( say half of retail).
I have had the lortone 33b (dual 3# BARRELS) for several years(MAYBE 5). It has had continuous operation with some repairs over the years. Lortone belts are good compared to Chicago Electric and I've had to replace once. The plastic bearings have worn out on mine too. Both of those are inexpensive and easy to fix. Lortone motors are suppossed to last for 5 years if I remember correctly and parts are easy to get from the rock shed. I don't know anything about larger capacity Lortones.
I have had two AR12's for a couple of years(maybe 2). Their weakness is the barrel lid wearing through. This happens within the first year. A relatively inexpensive fix but extremely messy when it fails due to the larger capacity. Most people reinfoirce the center of these barrel lids with a rubber patch or something similar. Parts are available from Al Thumler directly.
Unless you absolutely have to have the large capacity, the dual barrel, smaller capacity Lortones are more versatile.
If you can possibly afford to, get both!
I run the 12 pound thumler continuously with coarse (first stage) grit. I recharge weekly and remove rocks as they finish and progress to the 3 pound lortones for medium, fine and polish stages
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Post by Michael John on Nov 25, 2007 15:48:49 GMT -5
The 15 pounder will yield more finished rock, over time, than 2 dual three-pound units (4x3=12 pounds). The drawback is that I'll have to wait for the entire 15 pounds to finish, and then won't have more until the next batch finishes. It won't have the versatility to provide a steady stream of little batches, but 15 pounds should be more than enough to keep us busy between batches. Another up-side is that I'll be able to tumble larger pieces, which is one of the reasons I wanted a bigger tumbler. If the time should come when we need more than what the 15 pounder is providing, the next step would be to consider building a BIG tumbler. I once saw a 55 gallon oil barrel that had been made into a tumbler. I could definately put something like that to good use, since 99.9% of my rough is self-collected. All in good time LOL.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 25, 2007 17:38:05 GMT -5
Another nice feature with the Model B is the available conversion kit that converts the B to an AR-2 for about $60.
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Post by Michael John on Nov 25, 2007 19:52:05 GMT -5
Great ... I just went to the Lock, Stock, and Barrell site and the Model B isn't showing-up there now. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR
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Post by catmandewe on Nov 25, 2007 22:36:13 GMT -5
You can get the Model B from Cabelas for about 145 bucks. They sell them as case cleaners.
Tony
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Nov 26, 2007 9:56:42 GMT -5
I'm a Thumlers guy cause I get them free from Cabela's (I use my credit card bonus points for them) THe Thumler's lids are a bit of a pain- But the are easy enough to repair or replace.
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Post by Michael John on Nov 26, 2007 14:38:11 GMT -5
Hehehe the used Model B on eBay went for $152.50! I can't believe that people don't shop-around before getting caught-up in the bidding wars.
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Post by BuiltonRock on Nov 26, 2007 16:09:49 GMT -5
Hey MJ, You might want to wait until after Christmas. I have bought two Thumlers off ebay. one a model T for 60.00 and one a model AR1 for 70.00. Both were the complete kit and Now I know to just look for the tumbler alone. I like them. The lids are the armpits but like Stefan said easy to fix. I had one motor burn up and cost 13.00 to replace and was a snap. john
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Post by Lady B on Nov 26, 2007 16:43:10 GMT -5
When they have them in stock, www.lockstock.com sells the 15# Thumler's for $125.00 plus shipping. We have three Thumler's (15# each), 2 Lortone 33B (4-3# barrels), and 2 CE duals (4-3# barrels) plus a Ray-tech 5# vibe and a Thumler's 10# vibe. We use the big Thumler's for 60-90 and 120-220 and now we can devote all of the others to higher stages of grit and polishing. I absolutely LOVE the hexagonal component of the Thumler's. The stones look amazing after just a week in the Thumler's and in 3-4 weeks we have some wonderful stones ready to move on to the upper stages. I would vote for a big (12# or 15#) Thumler's anyday! Lady B
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