Tommy
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Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on May 27, 2019 21:35:01 GMT -5
I've got a load going - it's a small handful of flats with a ratio of approx 90% ceramic media and 10% flat cabochon sized flats for drilling for pendants or giving as gifts.
I started the 500 AO step Thursday of last week and with the holiday weekend upon us and Bottlerock in town, Friday we launched a furious push to finish painting the house. So in other words my tumbler has been running continuously for what will be the fifth day tomorrow.
I've been checking it frequently during this time but I have not added more grit. The original 1/2 teaspoon + borax is all it has been given - and it still has great motion and slurry going on.
So... what do you guys do in situations like this - would you rather just let it run until you can get to it or would you turn it off in the interest of staying on the recipe course? If you did shut it down would you feel the need to soak the barrel so it doesn't dry out?
By running the 500 AO for five days do you think the 1000 step is still as important?
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Post by grumpybill on May 28, 2019 5:41:12 GMT -5
If it's true that AO breaks down as quickly in a vibe as some people claim, I'd say you can skip the 1000. My used Lot-O came with small holes drilled in the lids, so if I were to shut it down for an extended period without doing a cleanout, I'd probably add a lot of water to compensate for (possible) evaporation.
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 28, 2019 5:55:08 GMT -5
If you have run 500 for five days, you can definitely skip 1000. You are probably showing a decent shine already. If you are going to let it sit for a while before running a couple days in polish, I'd definitely do a quick rinse and fill the bowl with water.
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Post by orrum on May 28, 2019 7:27:56 GMT -5
I would still hit the 1000. I use a dab of polish in with my half teaspoon of 1000.
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 28, 2019 7:31:53 GMT -5
Not necessary.
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 28, 2019 9:40:38 GMT -5
I have been skipping the 1000 step lately and running the 500 for three days. They should already be really shiny after three days or more in 500 in the lot-o without even doing a polish stage, although I'd still polish for a couple days.
I'd just let it run until you get to it, but soak in water if you want to turn it off, as Randy said.
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Post by aDave on May 28, 2019 12:08:12 GMT -5
What Randy and Rob said.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on May 28, 2019 12:31:16 GMT -5
Great advice all, thank you. I already know I'm not going to get to it today so I did give it a squirt of water this morning and I'm hopeful for tomorrow.
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Post by aDave on May 28, 2019 19:49:40 GMT -5
Great advice all, thank you. I already know I'm not going to get to it today so I did give it a squirt of water this morning and I'm hopeful for tomorrow. The fun part (for you) will be the cleaning of the material and seeing that it already has a great shine. I think you'll be pretty happy. Don't settle for that, however. Run the polish stage.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on May 28, 2019 21:39:49 GMT -5
The fun part (for you) will be the cleaning of the material and seeing that it already has a great shine. I think you'll be pretty happy. Don't settle for that, however. Run the polish stage. I ended up stripping all the doors off the kitchen cabinets today and got about half way thru sanding them... my point is it looks like its gonna run for a couple more days glad to know I'm probably not ruining the load haha
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 28, 2019 22:30:16 GMT -5
The fun part (for you) will be the cleaning of the material and seeing that it already has a great shine. I think you'll be pretty happy. Don't settle for that, however. Run the polish stage. I ended up stripping all the doors off the kitchen cabinets today and got about half way thru sanding them... my point is it looks like its gonna run for a couple more days glad to know I'm probably not ruining the load haha Let it roll...
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on May 29, 2019 13:49:12 GMT -5
... dang ... I typed out this post a few minutes ago, pressed send (I think) and it disappeared... Anyway, this is a retype in case the other one shows up. So the update is I went ahead and cleaned it out this morning and holy smokes, you guys weren't kidding. These have every bit as good if not better shine than my first batch that went full term with 1000 and polish. These are literally done. They have already gone in the free gift (and possibly drill later) drawer.
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 29, 2019 13:52:00 GMT -5
The Lot-O is a magical machine.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on May 29, 2019 13:58:46 GMT -5
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Post by grumpybill on May 29, 2019 14:11:11 GMT -5
... dang ... I typed out this post a few minutes ago, pressed send (I think) and it disappeared... The same thing happened to me with a post earlier today. The forum's server has been going down periodically.
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 29, 2019 14:12:57 GMT -5
Now you are seeing the possibilities. It's why I now do AO 220 as first Lot-O step. I let it roll and, depending on how many days it stays in there, I may or may not follow up with a quick run in polish. The Lot-O has made me a lazy tumbler.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 29, 2019 15:35:55 GMT -5
Y'all are gonna have me doing short cuts before I even start!
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