gmarocker
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Member since January 2019
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Post by gmarocker on Jan 4, 2019 13:08:34 GMT -5
I have the Thumler Vibe 10 and have noticed in the polish stage that I have very fine bits of what I presume is the bowl in my polish. They float, so it isn't grit. I clean the bowl thoroughly between grits. I also clean the rocks by hand before putting them in. I have wiped the bowl with microfiber cloths after washing it and some of it gets on the cloth. Is this affecting my polish results? Does anyone else have this problem? I got the Vibe in early December.
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Post by manofglass on Jan 4, 2019 13:16:37 GMT -5
Check the warranty
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pizzano
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Member since February 2018
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Post by pizzano on Jan 4, 2019 14:55:59 GMT -5
I have the Thumler Vibe 10 and have noticed in the polish stage that I have very fine bits of what I presume is the bowl in my polish. They float, so it isn't grit. I clean the bowl thoroughly between grits. I also clean the rocks by hand before putting them in. I have wiped the bowl with microfiber cloths after washing it and some of it gets on the cloth. Is this affecting my polish results? Does anyone else have this problem? I got the Vibe in early December. That's curious.......couple of questions..:
Are you running grinding stages (120/220 thru 600 grit) in the same bowl as your polishing stages......?
It's not unusual for bowls used in grinding stages to show a little wear and over time start to collect micro residual grit embedded in the plastic surface. A good way to prevent the build up is to use a compound like Borax and a soft sponge to clean out the bowls after each stage. It's not advised to use abrasive agents like Comet/Ajax ect. or pads since any micro scratches made by those elements will compound the grit wear overtime.
Are you using any hard media filler while in polishing stages (ceramics, gravel, scrap Agate/Jasper) in combination with the stones you're polishing.....?
It's advised to only use filler media of lesser or equal quality that have been run through the same grit cycles for each stage of vibe. Combining filler that has not been processed previously with the same grit hardness as the stones will cause poor grinding performance and could very well "scar" the bowl and leave "shedding" elements (as you've described)........and it will have a negative effect on polishing stages......!
I've not had much experience with Thumler Vibe bowls......considering their reputation, I would not expect them to de-grade so quickly. I have a buddy who owns two Thumler vibes and I'll ask him what his experience has been.........Never had this problem with the Raytech TV-5 bowls if properly cleaned and maintained while dedicating separate bowls for grinding and polishing......!
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gmarocker
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2019
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Post by gmarocker on Jan 4, 2019 15:29:55 GMT -5
I only have one bowl right now. I may look in to another. I use a rotary tumbler (Lortone) for the first step, until I get enough to use the Thumler. So I have run the fine, pre-polish, and polish in it. At most I have ran two of each since I got it. I didn't notice on the first two steps, of course. Only on the polish. I use beads as a media. I have a polish running right now. I already emptied it once, cleaned everything, and put them back in. If it continues I guess I will look into seeing if they will replace the bowl.
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Post by aDave on Jan 4, 2019 15:42:41 GMT -5
What do you mean by "beads?" You're not referring to plastic pellets, are you?
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gmarocker
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Member since January 2019
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Post by gmarocker on Jan 4, 2019 16:04:05 GMT -5
I have the Polly Plastic Pellets.
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Post by aDave on Jan 4, 2019 16:28:14 GMT -5
I have the Polly Plastic Pellets. Take this with a grain of salt, as I don't use a vibe. Based on what I've read here, those are not designed for use in a vibe, and most people use ceramic media or a mix of processed "smalls" as filler/cushioning. As to your residue issue, it might actually be the pellets that are actually shedding and not your barrel. I use them in all stages except my coarse grind in my rotary tumbler. I've noticed that I'll get a slight film on the slurry which is more obvious when coarser grits are used. Ditch the plastic, get ceramics, and then see if you still have the "shedding" issue.
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gmarocker
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Member since January 2019
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Post by gmarocker on Jan 4, 2019 17:42:25 GMT -5
Good to know. I have some ceramic pellets out there too. I will try them. Thank you.
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Jan 4, 2019 18:19:29 GMT -5
I only have one bowl right now. I may look in to another. I use a rotary tumbler (Lortone) for the first step, until I get enough to use the Thumler. So I have run the fine, pre-polish, and polish in it. At most I have ran two of each since I got it. I didn't notice on the first two steps, of course. Only on the polish. I use beads as a media. I have a polish running right now. I already emptied it once, cleaned everything, and put them back in. If it continues I guess I will look into seeing if they will replace the bowl. As stated previously, the standard vibe practice for grinding and polishing is to dedicate separate bowls for each. Eventually any grit from grinding stages will carry over, (embedded) in the plastic bowl, onto the other stages............your polishing results will suffer from the contamination.
Dave's observation related to "plastic" beads as a filler is dead on.....particularly with the use of a vibe. Depending on the material the "beads" are made of, they will breakdown and leave a residual deposit that generally floats around within the slurry. This happens more often with grinding media like 120/220 thru 600 grit. I've not personally seen that type of breakdown with "beads" when using fine pre-polish or polish media grades 800 thru +1200..........
As for your bowl.....I'm not convinced that the bowl is breaking down or degrading so soon........wonder how you came to that assumption......does the bowl show signs of abrasion either by sight or by physical evidence (feel)........?.....I asked my buddy about his Thumler bowls. He has 5 of them, one is about a month old and has been used in 120/220 stages three times.......no issues. His other bowls are all over 2yrs old and still in very good condition from the abuse he has put them through........Thumler has a very good reputation due to the quality of material used in their devices........Unless you've been running dry buck-shot and raw rocks together or cycles of 60/90 or lower range grit and then also polishing afterwards in the same bowl, your bowl should be fine........just a thought..!
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gmarocker
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Member since January 2019
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Post by gmarocker on Jan 4, 2019 19:37:11 GMT -5
I changed my rocks over to the ceramic pellets and will see what happens. I will check in the evening and again in the morning. The reason I thought it was the bowl was because the floaters were black and when I rubbed my hand over the 'core' where it slides over the mount, it came away with fine black pieces and it the core had a rough feel. Not terribly rough, but not as smooth as the rest of the bowl. I took a picture of it (the floating stuff) when I changed the pellets, but I don't know how to post it. I was hoping it would help make sense of what I was talking about. I haven't done anything dry with it, and have not used a coarse grit, but have used a fine. None of the rocks were sharp though, they were all weathered pretty good to start with. However, I am new to tumbling, using the Lortone since September. It's a double barrel that I have no issues with, but wanted to speed up the process because I was making Christmas gifts. I am hoping that the ceramic makes a difference. I appreciate all the input!
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Post by gmitch067 on Jan 4, 2019 21:59:13 GMT -5
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victor1941
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2011
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Post by victor1941 on Jan 4, 2019 22:48:34 GMT -5
I use a UV-18 Thumler and wondered about the black float material when I first started tumbling 4 years ago. The black spots are the polyethylene being removed from the bowl and are the normal response based on what you are working. Other than the bowl wearing out I find that my results have not been affected. I use a dedicated polish bowl and other bowls for the steps before polish. Each step uses ceramic media and with all other material purchased from The Rock Shed.
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pizzano
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Post by pizzano on Jan 4, 2019 23:21:16 GMT -5
Glenn.....That is an excellent thread attachment.....wish I had noticed it way back when I started using the Vibe......would have saved many hours of experimentation to arrive at your conclusions.........Thank You...!
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Post by aDave on Jan 5, 2019 0:05:53 GMT -5
Interesting. Great thread. That said, while I might have been wrong about the source of the plastic bits, I'll still encourage the OP to not use plastic pellets in the vibe. That's not what they're made for. Thanks for sharing, Glenn.
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gmarocker
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Member since January 2019
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Post by gmarocker on Jan 6, 2019 13:31:35 GMT -5
Thanks so much. This thread made me feel a little better about my bowl. I was really frustrated thinking it was ruining my polish. I will give it some time now.
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gmarocker
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Member since January 2019
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Post by gmarocker on Jan 6, 2019 13:35:24 GMT -5
Interesting. Great thread. That said, while I might have been wrong about the source of the plastic bits, I'll still encourage the OP to not use plastic pellets in the vibe. That's not what they're made for. Thanks for sharing, Glenn. I will continue with the ceramic filler. They don't seem to attract the black floaters as much.
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