zekester55
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2017
Posts: 111
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Post by zekester55 on Jul 19, 2017 5:09:21 GMT -5
Had been using "Old Miser" as a slurry thickener in my stage one barrels, but I ran out, so i decided to try cat litter which I'd read about on here somewhere. Bought the 25 lb. cheapest bag I could find at Walmart, no mention of clumping or odor prevention, just the grey clay stuff. I overdid it. The covington is rolling around with this gelid pudding material, all my stones like large rough tapioca pearls. Don't think I'm getting any real grinding out of it, but everything is moving, not seized up and solid, so I'll levant it for the moment until the next re-charge is due. I'll try to capture a video tomorrow and post it somehow, it really is quite amusing! Lesson learned: a little bit of cat litter goes a long way, add sparingly. Or maybe just try tapioca! Here's a link to a video: Pudding!
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inbtb
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2016
Posts: 351
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Post by inbtb on Jul 19, 2017 7:55:24 GMT -5
I use 2 tablespoons cat litter in my 3 lb. barrels and 5 tablespoons in my 6 lb. barrel.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Jul 19, 2017 14:09:31 GMT -5
I occasionally attempt to tumble Limestone , a sure fire way to make pudding . . .
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zekester55
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2017
Posts: 111
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Post by zekester55 on Jul 20, 2017 6:06:59 GMT -5
Added a link to a video in the original post. This pudding don't taste so good.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jul 20, 2017 6:29:40 GMT -5
I occasionally attempt to tumble Limestone , a sure fire way to make pudding . . . When i roll Petoskey stones, I double the water and still get very thick pudding.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 20, 2017 9:33:27 GMT -5
I clicked expecting the post to be about cutting thunder eggs in a slab saw... Appreciate the info, hoping to fire up the 45lb barrels for the first time before summers over and a little cushioning will be important I'm thinking.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Jul 21, 2017 4:14:50 GMT -5
That's not too far from the way I run my slurry zekester55. A bit thick. To thin, just add a bit of water. Too you liking. I don't ever have foam though, can't tell if you have foam from the video. Looks like it. Not sure if foam is bad, but I avoid it. Air bubbles would make the slurry lighter in weight. The red clay I use makes a very slick but sticky thick slurry with no foam. I ask about foam because of the blob of slurry toward the front of your barrel. That may be holding grit(it is) away from your rocks. That is why I don't like foam. Never used kitty litter but if it does foam I would try a different brand. I believe strongly that a sticky slurry sucks the rocks to each other and increases grinding forces between them. My PVC barrels send out a heavy grinding sound from the rocks being sucked together. No rattling or banging sound, just a serious grinding sound. If I run straight water all I hear is rattling and bouncing sounds. Not the 'rubbing' sound with the slurry. Liking your slant barrel. Easy to see slurry and action. No problems w/gas build up. Easy to add water for slurry thickness adjustment. Easy to add grit as needed. All barrel tumblers should be slanted like that for monitoring and making additions. And an easy lift off cap that requires no seal. Next life, all my tumblers will be slant tumblers. Cat's meow of rotary tumblers. Just trickier to build. Sweet set up. I have an idea for building a multiple barrel slant tumbler. It would involve a rotating flat plate at a slant like yours about 30 inches in diameter spinning about the speed of your barrel. It would have 4-5 sockets to slide a 4-5 six inch barrels into. So it would be sort of a slanted ferris wheel with barrels instead of seats. Any barrel could be removed independently. All the caps could be lifted off on the fly to observe action on the fly. Grit and water could be added on the fly(or turn the rotation off briefly). Named the Gatlin Gun. Yours looks to be running about 25 RPM. You can turn the volume off your video and turn up the volume on the clock and get a time on your rotations.
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Post by MrMike on Jul 21, 2017 5:16:18 GMT -5
Added a link to a video in the original post. This pudding don't taste so good. Try spraying in a small amount of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol, should break up the foam.
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Post by coloradocliff on Jul 21, 2017 9:28:05 GMT -5
12 oz or so cat litter per 15 pound barrel, softer stones like rhyolites that break down more quickly I would add water to make it thick but not silly thick. Pretty good looking slurry. Carries the grit well, and protects your rock from chips and damage. Like your slant barrels.
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zekester55
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2017
Posts: 111
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Post by zekester55 on Jul 21, 2017 21:50:39 GMT -5
I can't take credit for the tumbler design, it is a COTS Covington Engineering 250 deluxe. I've been very happy with it.
There may be a wee bit of foam at the leading edge, and I should note that the video is thinner than when i first looked at it, I added as much water as i could fit to get it to the consistency you see in the video. There are a lot of black specs floating, it looks to me like the grit is suspended; I'll be curious to see how this material looks when i re-charge, may let this one run and extra week.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,154
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 5:59:52 GMT -5
It does look like grit is suspended well as it looks like black specs are afloat. It took a while to get the water and clay mixture dose dialed in on my little 6 pound barrels. Best scenario was to have the slurry level about 1 inch below the rock level. Like most instructions specify. That way all the grit and slurry is staying in the grind/rock zone. Pretty much run for a day, open barrel, and then pour off or add till the 1 inch below rocks is achieved. Then walk away and let er roll.
Main problem with foam is that it raises the slurry level well over the the rock/grind zone. (thoughts ?) It took a while to find a thickener that would not foam. Not a fan of tumbling with soap due to the fact it can create foam. Lime based thickeners would rarely foam, but are hard on skin.
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