mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Aug 10, 2019 11:04:42 GMT -5
I am running 3 large UV 45's. Initial tumble is done in a rotary using 60/90 grit. The issue arises in the Vibe's. After a day or two, instead of the correct 'over and under ' movement, the rocks want to just vibrate around the perimeter of the bowl, in a circle... does this make sense? I am aware this may be a moisture problem... I check the vibe's twice a day and they certainly seem to dry out in some cases... adding water once the circling starts does not seem to cure the movement. Also when this happens the ceramic media all seems to settle in the bottom of the bowl. my possible causes seem to include; 1. moisture 2. load in the bowl 3. size of the rocks being tumbled. 4. possible mechanical issue with the vibe itself (?)
Have searched the forum and cannot seem to find the answer I am looking for. So if this is redundant I apologize.
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gatorflash1
spending too much on rocks
Active in Delaware Mineralogical Society, Cabchon Grinding and Polishing, 2 Thumlers B's and a UV-18
Member since October 2018
Posts: 375
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Post by gatorflash1 on Aug 11, 2019 7:25:44 GMT -5
I use a UV-18 and have never had this problem. I would suggest sending a video of this to the Thumlers Tumbler customer service folks or one of the dealers like Rock Tumbler.Com and ask them what they think about, or suggest, to solve the problem. It doesn't sound like a mechanical problem if the rocks are moving but I'm definitely no expert on big vibe tumblers like yours. rocktumbler.com/blog/operating-the-thumlers-uv-10-rock-tumbler/I start my vibe with just the rocks and media in it, about 2/3 to 3/4 full and watch to see if they are moving as they should. Sometimes I add more ceramic media. Then I add the grit/polish followed by enough water to get a good thick slurry started. The amount of water and grit/slurry may vary some depending on what rocks are in the vibe or the size of them.
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tomg
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 103
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Post by tomg on Aug 11, 2019 8:03:13 GMT -5
My UV-10 will go to a circular movement with too much water added.
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Aug 11, 2019 11:44:56 GMT -5
My UV-10 will go to a circular movement with too much water added. So it may be a moisture thing.... the mix gets too dry and then I add too much water to compensate.... Thanks
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Aug 11, 2019 11:52:35 GMT -5
I use a UV-18 and have never had this problem. I would suggest sending a video of this to the Thumlers Tumbler customer service folks or one of the dealers like Rock Tumbler.Com and ask them what they think about, or suggest, to solve the problem. It doesn't sound like a mechanical problem if the rocks are moving but I'm definitely no expert on big vibe tumblers like yours. rocktumbler.com/blog/operating-the-thumlers-uv-10-rock-tumbler/I start my vibe with just the rocks and media in it, about 2/3 to 3/4 full and watch to see if they are moving as they should. Sometimes I add more ceramic media. Then I add the grit/polish followed by enough water to get a good thick slurry started. The amount of water and grit/slurry may vary some depending on what rocks are in the vibe or the size of them. Thanks for the link... I had seen that video once.. but then never found it again... I will contact someone next time I have this happen and take a video as you suggested... Thank you
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Post by rmf on Aug 11, 2019 12:44:51 GMT -5
I have a gemstone vib tumbler with what I call the angel food cake type of bowl. this is the same type bowl that you have on the UV-45. When all is good I see the rocks in general gow around the bowel (I can't remember if it is clock wise (CW) or Counter Clock wise (CCW)). In addition the rocks come over the top from the outside and go down toward the center cone then back up the outer wall. This gives a two directional action. I found the amount of water is critical and you can't get too much or the motion slows down. If you really get too much is stops and sits and bounces in one place. I have also noticed that if you tumble in 220 grit you can make enough mud that in 3 days the mud will stop the good tumbling action. The more mud the harder it is to manage the correct amount of water.
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Aug 11, 2019 12:51:38 GMT -5
If my 18 lb. starts having a problem with the rock movement I use a spray bottle to add the water a couple squirts at a time around the center of the bowl until I am happy with the way the rock is moving . Pouring in water will queer the deal almost every time.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Aug 11, 2019 13:59:40 GMT -5
I use what is comparable to UV-10 vibes........ with TV-5 bowls. A buddy uses UV-18's......we both manage our moisture content with spray bottle application. Unlike rotary, most vibe slurry's are more efficient on the dryer side. The extreme example's are the Lot-O tumblers which use even less water (by volume) than a standard vibe. It takes a little time and practice to perfect vibe slurry's.....and depending on the type of material and media being processed, no two vibe slurry's will develop in the same fashion every time.......At least that's been my experience so far...!
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tomg
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 103
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Post by tomg on Aug 11, 2019 19:25:03 GMT -5
My UV-10 will go to a circular movement with too much water added. So it may be a moisture thing.... the mix gets too dry and then I add too much water to compensate.... Thanks Mia, I think that is exactly what happens. I'm about 55 hours into a tumble, spraying the rocks down am, noon, and pm and just now seeing more circular action. I can also see some liquid through the rocks. This stage will be done in the morning so I'll let it continue.
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rockstock
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 472
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Post by rockstock on Aug 13, 2019 15:21:34 GMT -5
I had my UV 18 go circular with my first attempt and actually spun the bowl itself until I tightened it down pretty good. I think I used too many larger stones, I've only had one other attempt so far and with pretty small stones and didn't have any circular issues with it. But there was definitely a slurry/wet difference between the too many larger and the all small batches.
Is your UV 45 a yellow or blue lined bowl? Is there only yellow or blue too like the smaller ones? Is the yellow one or one you have all good for rocks or is it more tuned for brass stuff? Curious on your experience before thinking of adding one, noticed it had a yellow ring rather than all other sizes of blue.
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Aug 13, 2019 15:51:49 GMT -5
I had my UV 18 go circular with my first attempt and actually spun the bowl itself until I tightened it down pretty good. I think I used too many larger stones, I've only had one other attempt so far and with pretty small stones and didn't have any circular issues with it. But there was definitely a slurry/wet difference between the too many larger and the all small batches. Is your UV 45 a yellow or blue lined bowl? Is there only yellow or blue too like the smaller ones? Is the yellow one or one you have all good for rocks or is it more tuned for brass stuff? Curious on your experience before thinking of adding one, noticed it had a yellow ring rather than all other sizes of blue. YES if you don't tighten the wing nuts down hard, the bowl will spin, destroying the foam pad underneath and eating up the bottom of your bowl... OUCH! $200 replacement for a UV45. I seem to have a greater issue with LARGER rocks than if the batch is all smaller stones... cannot explain why. There is only Yellow or blue... but I honestly don't know the difference. My UV 10 bowls are all blue... my UV 45 bowls are all yellow, including the brand new one from the manufacturer.. Which I ordered over the phone and spoke to them directly. They didn't ask if I wanted a blue or yellow bowl... more or less indicated the bowls were the same, it's the motor etc which is heavier I THINK. Honestly coming to the opinion.. that tightening the bowl down properly is #1, correct moisture addition as mentioned in previous posts is #2 and size of stones may or may not play a role in the circular motion.
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