Walker
starting to shine!
Member since July 2017
Posts: 31
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Post by Walker on Aug 12, 2017 13:26:37 GMT -5
In a vibe, material that is real soft will thicken the slurry quickly and need more frequent maintenance and more water added. When things get too thick, the whole mix will solidify, or puddingize with no movement and no progress. Close attention and frequent checks should allow you to tumble anything. Particularly soft stuff can be tumbled dry with media like corn cobs and pistachio shells with grit, but only you can determine what is right by experimenting. BTW river stones are not usually soft, because if they were they would not last long. If at first you don't succeed, try. . . . etc. Thanks Peruano very helpful observations and suggestions. I love to experiment and try stuff for myself. By the same token I don't want to wreck my equipment.
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Post by Pat on Aug 12, 2017 15:21:14 GMT -5
I'm sure I could......😄
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Post by coloradocliff on Aug 12, 2017 18:34:16 GMT -5
No. What do you mean 'ruin a tumbler'? I dunno. Burn it out. Clog it up. Cause the tumbler not to operate properly. Mostly ruin your rocks but can ruin the barrel of a vibe if you try to vibe process rough and sharp stone without rounding the corners and sharp edges off in a rotary. Rubber rotary barrels would wear out faster if they tumbled more rough and never ran through the smoother steps. Many people use a vibe to finish their rocks after rounding them to shape in a vibe. Thus a rotary used only for rough would wear out more qwuickly than if used for the smoother steps. A vibe should never be used for the sharp and rough rock of the coarse grinding step or the rubber barrels will hate you and will tell you NO ! I quit!! grin
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Walker
starting to shine!
Member since July 2017
Posts: 31
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Post by Walker on Aug 12, 2017 19:04:04 GMT -5
I dunno. Burn it out. Clog it up. Cause the tumbler not to operate properly. Mostly ruin your rocks but can ruin the barrel of a vibe if you try to vibe process rough and sharp stone without rounding the corners and sharp edges off in a rotary. Rubber rotary barrels would wear out faster if they tumbled more rough and never ran through the smoother steps. Many people use a vibe to finish their rocks after rounding them to shape in a vibe. Thus a rotary used only for rough would wear out more qwuickly than if used for the smoother steps. A vibe should never be used for the sharp and rough rock of the coarse grinding step or the rubber barrels will hate you and will tell you NO ! I quit!! grin OK, now you have my head spinning. Is nothing ever simple?
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Aug 13, 2017 21:08:03 GMT -5
Nice Rube Goldberg tumbler manofglass . ETA (TBH IDK what ETA stands for, but it seems to be used in situations like these...): The above post by me had no comment, and I tried to delete. Is there a secret squirrel code to put in to delete? Whisky Tango Foxtrot? But I'm a tumbler. Born under punches. Colin take a look at these hands, you don't have to mention it
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napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
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Post by napoleonrags on Aug 13, 2017 22:35:38 GMT -5
Nice Rube Goldberg tumbler manofglass . ETA (TBH IDK what ETA stands for, but it seems to be used in situations like these...): The above post by me had no comment, and I tried to delete. Is there a secret squirrel code to put in to delete? Whisky Tango Foxtrot? But I'm a tumbler. Born under punches. Colin take a look at these hands, you don't have to mention it All I want is to breathe.
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peachfront
fully equipped rock polisher
Stones have begun to speak, because an ear is there to hear them.
Member since August 2010
Posts: 1,745
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Post by peachfront on Aug 14, 2017 20:44:40 GMT -5
take a look at these hands, you don't have to mention it All I want is to breathe. I'm too thin (Ha!)
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napoleonrags
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2015
Posts: 474
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Post by napoleonrags on Aug 14, 2017 23:06:39 GMT -5
All I want is to breathe. I'm too thin (Ha!) I'm a government man.
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Post by tims on Aug 15, 2017 2:22:09 GMT -5
One issue i notice rolling soft stuff in a rotary is that it can make the slurry thick and gummy to the point that it seems to work the motor much harder, and can cause the barrel to jerk and stutter instead of rolling smoothly. I check my tumbler daily at least and it's an easy fix to muck out some mud and add water to thin the slurry, but if it was running unattended for weeks i could imagine it possibly overheating or binding up a motor.
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