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Post by janeofsometrades on Sept 14, 2017 15:48:33 GMT -5
I may be repeating myself some, but as new auctions have popped up and some are quickly ending just looking for a few more thoughts...
There are 2 TT model T's for right around 50, including shipping (not the tin can ones, nut the newer older one)
A model A with one black barrel (do they support two?) At 50 including shipping currently
And a Loritone QTNR for 70.00 right now, but I can't find Any information about.
Also a Loritone 45c
And a 3A nr1
I know I'm asking a lot of specific to me questions, but trying to figure out what is best is making me (even more) bonkers!
Thanks!
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Post by manofglass on Sept 14, 2017 23:05:11 GMT -5
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Sept 16, 2017 12:11:06 GMT -5
I have haunted eBay for tumblers for years. I have several permanent searches going so that I get daily e-mails of whatever has gone online. I have eleven tumblers running and only one of them was bought new. I watch for really cost effective listings to go online and then rebuild them to be like new. You really have to watch carefully on the pricing because when putting them back in top shape it is easy to go over the cost of a new one. The Rock Shed is your best source of replacement parts. Also use their prices for new machines as your comparison standard since they have the best prices I have seen. Most listings on eBay are missing their barrels. I don't know what people do with the barrels, but that's the way it seems to go. You will also see that there are many estate sellers that found the machines somewhere and put them online without barrels and without any known history or knowledge of the machine. They often say "tested and functional" but without knowing how they work or having a barrel they really don't know. Factor in the risk of increased renovation cost. Pricing on eBay varies wildly as does shipping. You have to be patient and watch trends and compare prices to other listings and new price. Some sellers have no idea about shipping and just price it up to the sky to be safe. Just do your research and always make a list of what parts will be needed to make a machine work. When you see a good fit, pounce. On Thumler machines: If the machine is a model that supports two barrels, then keep in mind that you can't easily run the machine with only one barrel. They tend to migrate side to side and since the rubber rollers are not continuous the barrels will falter without both barrels present. That means you will need to fill out the barrel count at around $30 each for the smaller sizes. Barrel prices on eBay tend to be waaay out of whack so your best source again is Rock Shed or the manufacturer. Another issue with Thumlers is that the 3 pound barrels tend to leak or blow out spontaneously due to poor lid seal design. I have two Model T machines and both barrels leaked continuously and one blew out completely causing a huge mess. I ended up using Lortone 45C barrels as replacements which worked better. (I have a post here on that change) I can't speak for the larger Thumler machines since I use only the small ones. On Chicago Electric machines:One word. Don't. A CE dual 3 lb barrel machine was my first tumbler. As I did more with tumbling I could see how poor the design of the CE machine was. They are a Chinese knock-off of the Lortone design and no comparison. Constant problems and jury rigging to keep it operational. When it comes to tumblers, you literally can't beat the US made machines that have been in production relatively unchanged since the 50's and 60's. On Lortone machines:You can't beat Lortone. They are easy to renovate and hold up well. I have never had a barrel leaking problem. Parts are readily available and you can keep them running indefinitely. I have done complete renovations all the way from repainting the chassis on up. The dual barrel machines are more efficient than the single barrel machines, obviously because one motor drives two barrels instead of one motor per barrel, and the Lortones work fine with only one barrel while you are doing something to the other barrel since the drive rollers have continuous rubber. I have two 33B's, two QT66's and one QT6 in service. On Diamond Pacific Vibe machines:These are the only vibe machines I use. I have three MT4's that I renovated completely. The total cost was much less than a new machine mainly because I watched for a really low price on machines that were fairly beat up, but did include the hoppers. Parts are available directly from Diamond Pacific. I like the MT4 because it is very quiet compared to other vibes and I am able to run them inside my apartment without problems. I hope this helps.
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Post by janeofsometrades on Sept 16, 2017 14:36:26 GMT -5
Thank you so much for taking the time. I finally feel like my head has stopped spinning from reading so many different things and never finding actual info on what I was looking for.
I'm so glad I found you guys!
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unclesoska
freely admits to licking rocks
All those jade boulders tossed in search of gold!
Member since February 2011
Posts: 934
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Post by unclesoska on Sept 16, 2017 17:09:31 GMT -5
As another country heard from, I couldn't agree more w/ Enigman . Lortone is the best, easy rebuilds, and decades long dependability. I too buy low, refurbish to like new, and resell on Craigslist. Patience is key to find the good deals. Also the Diamond Pacific MT4 IS quieter than other vibes, IMHO.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2017 21:40:17 GMT -5
I have haunted eBay for tumblers for years. I have several permanent searches going so that I get daily e-mails of whatever has gone online. I have eleven tumblers running and only one of them was bought new. I watch for really cost effective listings to go online and then rebuild them to be like new. You really have to watch carefully on the pricing because when putting them back in top shape it is easy to go over the cost of a new one. The Rock Shed is your best source of replacement parts. Also use their prices for new machines as your comparison standard since they have the best prices I have seen. Most listings on eBay are missing their barrels. I don't know what people do with the barrels, but that's the way it seems to go. You will also see that there are many estate sellers that found the machines somewhere and put them online without barrels and without any known history or knowledge of the machine. They often say "tested and functional" but without knowing how they work or having a barrel they really don't know. Factor in the risk of increased renovation cost. Pricing on eBay varies wildly as does shipping. You have to be patient and watch trends and compare prices to other listings and new price. Some sellers have no idea about shipping and just price it up to the sky to be safe. Just do your research and always make a list of what parts will be needed to make a machine work. When you see a good fit, pounce. On Thumler machines: If the machine is a model that supports two barrels, then keep in mind that you can't easily run the machine with only one barrel. They tend to migrate side to side and since the rubber rollers are not continuous the barrels will falter without both barrels present. That means you will need to fill out the barrel count at around $30 each for the smaller sizes. Barrel prices on eBay tend to be waaay out of whack so your best source again is Rock Shed or the manufacturer. Another issue with Thumlers is that the 3 pound barrels tend to leak or blow out spontaneously due to poor lid seal design. I have two Model T machines and both barrels leaked continuously and one blew out completely causing a huge mess. I ended up using Lortone 45C barrels as replacements which worked better. (I have a post here on that change) I can't speak for the larger Thumler machines since I use only the small ones. On Chicago Electric machines:One word. Don't. A CE dual 3 lb barrel machine was my first tumbler. As I did more with tumbling I could see how poor the design of the CE machine was. They are a Chinese knock-off of the Lortone design and no comparison. Constant problems and jury rigging to keep it operational. When it comes to tumblers, you literally can't beat the US made machines that have been in production relatively unchanged since the 50's and 60's. On Lortone machines:You can't beat Lortone. They are easy to renovate and hold up well. I have never had a barrel leaking problem. Parts are readily available and you can keep them running indefinitely. I have done complete renovations all the way from repainting the chassis on up. The dual barrel machines are more efficient than the single barrel machines, obviously because one motor drives two barrels instead of one motor per barrel, and the Lortones work fine with only one barrel while you are doing something to the other barrel since the drive rollers have continuous rubber. I have two 33B's, two QT66's and one QT6 in service. On Diamond Pacific Vibe machines:These are the only vibe machines I use. I have three MT4's that I renovated completely. The total cost was much less than a new machine mainly because I watched for a really low price on machines that were fairly beat up, but did include the hoppers. Parts are available directly from Diamond Pacific. I like the MT4 because it is very quiet compared to other vibes and I am able to run them inside my apartment without problems. I hope this helps. I for one, would like to extend my gratitude for you taking the time to post this. Well done and, again, thank you!
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Sept 17, 2017 15:56:29 GMT -5
As another country heard from, I couldn't agree more w/ Enigman . Lortone is the best, easy rebuilds, and decades long dependability. I too buy low, refurbish to like new, and resell on Craigslist. Patience is key to find the good deals. Also the Diamond Pacific MT4 IS quieter than other vibes, IMHO. Yup. MT4's are orders of magnitude quieter. I once bought a Thumlers UV10 vibe. I loaded it up and turned it on. The noise blew me away. I walked out of my apartment, closed the door, went down the walkway a ways and out into a parking lot out of sight of the apartment. I could STILL hear the machine running that far away. That would have lasted about an hour before property management would have been knocking on my door. I cleaned out the machine and that was the end of that. Conversely, I have three MT4's running 24/7 that sit on a shelf on a shaggy bath mat for dampening. I can walk out of that bedroom and by the time I clear the doorway I can't hear the machines running. That makes it all possible for me.
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