lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 766
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Post by lordsorril on Mar 11, 2021 20:08:28 GMT -5
So I got home today after a 12 hour shift and saw a big puddle under my Thumlers UV45 vibe that I fired up 2 days ago (after waiting all winter).
Upon inspection the plastic around the center post of the bowl significantly thinned and has badly warped from the weight and action to the point it resulted in significant cracks after only a total of 4 months of use. Super aggravating since a replacement bowl costs $200 and I have about 40lbs of stones that are now scuffed and chipped to hell and have to go back to Stage 1.
I put a spare UV18 bowl on the UV45 base, but, the motor was ridiculously powerful and it was more abuse than action in the bowl.
Anyone have suggestions on something I could use as a more cost effective replacement for the UV45 bowl?
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Post by HankRocks on Mar 11, 2021 21:56:17 GMT -5
So I got home today after a 12 hour shift and saw a big puddle under my Thumlers UV45 vibe that I fired up 2 days ago (after waiting all winter). Upon inspection the plastic around the center post of the bowl significantly thinned and has badly warped from the weight and action to the point it resulted in significant cracks after only a total of 4 months of use. Super aggravating since a replacement bowl costs $200 and I have about 40lbs of stones that are now scuffed and chipped to hell and have to go back to Stage 1. I put a spare UV18 bowl on the UV45 base, but, the motor was ridiculously powerful and it was more abuse than action in the bowl. Anyone have suggestions on something I could use as a more cost effective replacement for the UV45 bowl?Can you post a picture of the damage? The center post plastic on my UV-18 bowl broke/cracked a couple years ago and could not tighten the securing wingnut on the center bolt. Repaired it by epoxying a washer on the inside of the plastic center post. I put enough epoxy to build up a heavy collar being sure to leave the center hole for the bolt open. One other comment, I only use the UV-18 for polish run which reduces wear on the machine and the bowl. I bought it used and previous owner was unsure how long he had it. Henry
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 766
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Post by lordsorril on Mar 12, 2021 6:04:00 GMT -5
Snapped a quick photo before work. The center post of the bowl is deformed near the base. The cracks you see are because you can manually flex the base of the center rise of the bowl back and forth with your hands because the plastic is so thin. Maybe I just got unlucky with this one...
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Post by HankRocks on Mar 12, 2021 7:42:45 GMT -5
That's going to be more difficult to repair, mine was at the top of the center post. The center post on mine does not flex as the plastic material still has some thickness. Running all the stages in the UV have most likely lead to a thinning of the material and then eventually crack. Since I am running only polish stage there has been a lot less wear and thinning.
For $200 it might be worth it to try some sort of repair. With thin plastic it will probably find some other place to crack.
Henry
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Post by manofglass on Mar 12, 2021 9:49:16 GMT -5
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 766
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Post by lordsorril on Mar 12, 2021 17:08:57 GMT -5
Thanks Henry and ManofGlass--I checked the bowl closer this afternoon and it is loss--the center support is far too thin.
I'm not going to pay $200 for a new bowl that will wear out in 4 months using only AOx 120 and finer.
I will shelve the motor until I think of something better than the Thumler bowl to run on it.
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USMC15
Cave Dweller
I feel like I just came out of the tumbler ...
Member since March 2021
Posts: 273
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Post by USMC15 on Mar 12, 2021 18:13:25 GMT -5
Gorilla Glue, solves everything.
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Post by greig on Mar 12, 2021 18:31:36 GMT -5
Nothing will fix that adequately, sucks to be you. I saw that on an Amazon review for something else and have waited forever to copy (because I thought it was funny). Seriously however, get hold of the company by sending them pictures and telling them it has only been a short time. They might look after you. Many of these companies have a good customer service dept. Greig
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on Mar 12, 2021 20:15:17 GMT -5
Ouch! Second on contacting Thumlers It is worth a shot. Here is contact info if you need it: Copyright © 2002 Tru-Square Metal Products P.O. Box 585, Auburn, WA 98071 USA (253) 833-2310 1-800-225-1017 t-tumbler@thumlerstumbler.com
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 766
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Post by lordsorril on Mar 12, 2021 21:12:26 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I am really not looking to replace the bowl with the existing version or repair the current deformed one. Unexpectedly messing up 40lbs of stones in polish is discouraging. I am interested in utilizing a better design. I work in the medical field and it is unlikely I will have the time/energy to research, build, and test a prototype any time soon. It is possible that there is no better small-scale cost-effective solution short of buying a used industrial vibe, and in that event I will just have to rotary polish larger stones for the time being.
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rxscram
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 484
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Post by rxscram on Mar 13, 2021 0:24:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I am really not looking to replace the bowl with the existing version or repair the current deformed one. Unexpectedly messing up 40lbs of stones in polish is discouraging. I am interested in utilizing a better design. I work in the medical field and it is unlikely I will have the time/energy to research, build, and test a prototype any time soon. It is possible that there is no better small-scale cost-effective solution short of buying a used industrial vibe, and in that event I will just have to rotary polish larger stones for the time being. I've had a UV45 running, packed full, for a couple of years of operation without any problems. It's quite possible you just had a bad bowl, so it certainly doesn't hurt to try to contact them.
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lordsorril
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since April 2020
Posts: 766
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Post by lordsorril on Mar 13, 2021 8:44:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I am really not looking to replace the bowl with the existing version or repair the current deformed one. Unexpectedly messing up 40lbs of stones in polish is discouraging. I am interested in utilizing a better design. I work in the medical field and it is unlikely I will have the time/energy to research, build, and test a prototype any time soon. It is possible that there is no better small-scale cost-effective solution short of buying a used industrial vibe, and in that event I will just have to rotary polish larger stones for the time being. I've had a UV45 running, packed full, for a couple of years of operation without any problems. It's quite possible you just had a bad bowl, so it certainly doesn't hurt to try to contact them. You have been running a UV45 non-stop 24/7 for years without issue? So you are saying that you have generated many thousands of pounds of polished stones with the same bowl. That is cool--you must have quite the assembly line of tumblers to feed it. I'm lucky if I can get one year out of a UV18 bowl with non-stop use (coarse Sic in rotary to near perfection, then AOx in vibe for finishing). My last UV18 bowl lasted close to a year, and the replacement is showing considerable wear at 6 months and will probably last me a few more months...let alone years.
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rxscram
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2011
Posts: 484
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Post by rxscram on Mar 13, 2021 13:51:40 GMT -5
I've had a UV45 running, packed full, for a couple of years of operation without any problems. It's quite possible you just had a bad bowl, so it certainly doesn't hurt to try to contact them. You have been running a UV45 non-stop 24/7 for years without issue? So you are saying that you have generated many thousands of pounds of polished stones with the same bowl. That is cool--you must have quite the assembly line of tumblers to feed it. I'm lucky if I can get one year out of a UV18 bowl with non-stop use (coarse Sic in rotary to near perfection, then AOx in vibe for finishing). My last UV18 bowl lasted close to a year, and the replacement is showing considerable wear at 6 months and will probably last me a few more months...let alone years. No, not "non-stop, 24/7" use. That's stupid, asinine, and putting words in my mouth. Highly not appreciated, especially when I was trying to help. Regular use, yes. And my use of it isn't necessarily the same as yours... I use 220 grit in mine, and use it for fast knock-down and smoothing of ping-pong ball to racquet-ball sized rough.
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