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Post by MrMike on Sept 3, 2016 18:50:50 GMT -5
Been trolling this site for months & just now created an account. Love all the information & beautiful work you guys & gals are putting out. Have a HF 3x3 tumbler POS currently but saving for a Lortone QT66 & Lot-O if the boss approves. Been tumbling in stage 1 for a month now & progress is slow even with grit recharge every 3-4 days. Using 46/70 from Kingsley. Maybe I'm just too impatient. Anyways any good ideas for a budget friendly way to preform? I've got a bench grinder. Would a SiC wheel work on this dry? Don't think my hands are steady enough for one of jamesp's King Kong cutters.....
Many thanks
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 3, 2016 19:02:53 GMT -5
HI Mike, welcome to the forum. Stage one is always slow. Are you recharging every 3-4 days or cleaning out? With 46/70 grit in a three pound barrel, I can't imagine that it would be used up in three days. Personally, I just let it run for a week and then do a full clean out. I think that a bench grinder is a bad idea for rocks. Seems like I heard that they're too fast or something. Plus, with no water, the dust would be a health hazard. I don't know what would happen to the wheels without water either. On the other hand, jamesp rigged up some bench grinders with water, but without the silicon carbide wheels. I think your plan to buy a QT66 and a Lot-O is a great idea. If you can only afford one at a time (or if that's what the boss will let you get away with), get the QT66 first. Then just run tons of rocks in stage one and stockpile them until you get the Lot-O.
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Post by MrMike on Sept 3, 2016 19:26:43 GMT -5
Just recharging with 2 tbsp each time with no full clean outs. I'll definitely take your advice & do the weekly clean outs. Figured I would have to use a dust mask if the grinder method would work. Think I've read somewhere that you can't use water on some of these wheels.
Thanks Rob
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Post by mohs on Sept 3, 2016 19:43:17 GMT -5
when I started I had a variable speed bench grinder so I could slow the speed way down from the max 3225 rpm
I put on S/C wheel on it and ran it dry except for dipping the rock in water and just did light profile grinds mostly heart shaping
didn't take me long to want get a cabber I think I paid 250 bucks for my 8" Lortone minus motor then I could really use that S/C wheel
good luck !
Ed
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391
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Post by richardh on Sept 3, 2016 19:48:05 GMT -5
I am also using a HF 3lb tumbler and yes stage 1 takes forever. I'm using the same 46-70 grit and I find that it has pretty well broken down after three days as long as I don't overfill it with rocks and I don't put too much grit in.
I have found so far that I get best results (grit breaks down faster and rock mass decreases faster) if I fill the barrel 3/4 of the way with rocks of various sizes and add three tablespoons of grit and fill the barrel with water to the half-way mark (after the rocks and grit have been added).
I find that there is no course grit left after three days but have been running four days just to be sure that I am not wasting grit. I'm not finished with my experiment yet but so far is looks like the extra day isn't adding much to my process.
At the end of the 3 or 4 days I dump everything through a strainer and rinse thoroughly. I pick out any rocks that look like they might be ready for stage 2 and replace them with fresh rocks then start stage one again.
This method seems to work better than anything else I have tried.
I didn't have a good experience with the bench grinder. The worst part was that I kept cutting my hands and almost always in really painful places. I also wore down the wheels REALLY fast. That made my cost per rock go way up. Finally it took what felt like forever to get rocks close tot the shape I wanted. Finally it made a gigantic mess with all the dust.
I obtained much better results with a tile saw that was laying around the garage. I haven't cut my hands on it yet and it makes the pre shaping process go much faster. It is still messy but not as bad as the bench grinder.
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Post by MrMike on Sept 3, 2016 19:51:07 GMT -5
Good idea, I'll get a speed controller. Just want to round the rocks a little to speed up the process. Thanks mohs
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Post by MrMike on Sept 3, 2016 19:56:40 GMT -5
Richard, I'm adding water to just below the top layer of rocks. I'll have to try decreasing the water. Thanks for the info
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,178
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Post by jamesp on Sept 3, 2016 20:32:04 GMT -5
Best real shaper for tumble rocks is that diamond cup wheel MrMike. Bench grinder is fast at 3600. The king kong does 2200, and needs to be slowed to 1000 or so. Another rig uses diamond pads but they are more for polishing.
Welcome to the forum. Hope you get your tumbling dialed in.
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Post by MrMike on Sept 3, 2016 21:07:02 GMT -5
Thanks James
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2016 23:03:01 GMT -5
Good idea, I'll get a speed controller. Just want to round the rocks a little to speed up the process. Thanks mohs Others will tell u fill it up. Add kitty litter to accelerate slurry. greater slurry volume takes longer to get too thick. Ymmv
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Post by MrMike on Sept 4, 2016 6:30:19 GMT -5
Ymmv??? Your main man, Vern? Is there a dictionary of acronyms commonly used on this forum?
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inbtb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2016
Posts: 351
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Post by inbtb on Sept 4, 2016 8:05:50 GMT -5
Your Mileage May Vary Meaning your results may be different. At least that is what it means on other forums.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 4, 2016 8:06:05 GMT -5
Your mileage may vary.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Sept 4, 2016 8:08:13 GMT -5
You beat me by a second, Les.
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Post by MrMike on Sept 4, 2016 9:27:36 GMT -5
Got it
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Sept 4, 2016 17:00:35 GMT -5
I bought a Porter Cable angle grinder from Amazon, a 4" diamond segmented blade and a 4" diamond cup wheel. All in, less than $50. It is probably not the best way to do it, because it's largely dry shaping, but I wear a mask (and hearing protection because it's louder than hell).
I take and clamp that into my Workmate bench and then use it as a grinding wheel. I also bought a flex-shaft for my Dremel and a set of diamond wheels/burrs off eBay for the smaller stuff. I just bought a used saw/grinder, so I'm going to use the angle grinder less and less.
I still want a Lot-O, but I refuse to let myself buy one until I learn to use the other stuff better. When I have a finished batch out of my rotary tumblers that I am happy enough with to post pics here, then I *may* look into it.
Good luck!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2016 21:38:19 GMT -5
Just buy the lot-o. It's not cheating.
Save yourself the headache.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Sept 4, 2016 21:52:55 GMT -5
What he said.
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