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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 20, 2018 15:07:07 GMT -5
Thanks, John
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 19, 2018 15:26:09 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I will still stop by. Retiring from business no rocks.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 19, 2018 12:07:28 GMT -5
Hi, I guess this is the place for this. I am finalizing the sale of JS Gems to friends at Copper Canyon Lapidary in Sedona AZ this morning. They will continue the JS Gems website and product lines. I would appreciate it if all my wonderful customers on this forum continue buying from them. One of the owners has made a good living for many years cutting rock and has been my biggest commercial customer. I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of you that bought your equipment and supplies from us over, in some cases, many years. Our prices are competitive but I know not always the lowest. The loyalty I have received from so many of you is very much appreciated.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 19, 2018 11:57:46 GMT -5
Good deal. Nice people too.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 17, 2018 19:45:21 GMT -5
It should be OK. The really anal people are going to tell you adding the rubber will change barrel rotational velocity by the thickness of the rubber times pie are round.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 10, 2018 12:45:19 GMT -5
The AR2 looks pretty much the same as does the "display box" When I was a dealer I only bought the Model T with display box and starter kit at Christmas time. The AR2 and larger I only bought the generic basic boxes as the pretty display boxes didn't stay pretty long hauling to shows. My first tumbler was a Model A that I chased from Quartzsite. The dealer had it at the Pow Wow but price a little high. Saw him again at Stoddard Wells and had to have it. It had homemade lids which leaked and when I called Thumler's to order new barrels they wouldn't sell them to me. Said I likely only needed lids and retaining rings. They were right. They have always had that antiquey look.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 1, 2018 18:19:13 GMT -5
Pump leathers are $5.50 so you must have bought two sets. On the saw I was building I added a female pigtail cord for pump. Cab unit could certainly use that. I was only concerned with pump warranties so did not want to cut and hard wire cord like Gy-Roc did. I tried Harbor Freight pumps but they (and most other submersibles) won't pump water with rock dust. Or, will pump fine but not start next time unless you tap on pump. Impeller tolerance too tight. Best pump I found for dirty water pumping was a Ryobi universal tile saw pump (Home Depot under the tile saws). If you pump clean water and don't recirculate the HF pump should work fine.
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Post by johnjsgems on Nov 1, 2018 18:04:17 GMT -5
I only have 30 years in HVAC/commercial refrigeration but can tell you under loading a barrel will not give you good tumbling results. The "B" barrel (with maybe a better gasket) s unbeatable. The old tumbling books all called for "burping" barrels every few days. The books combined with my impatience led me to open and check every 3 days. I never measured media so I could add grit as needed or adjust water level that way too. I had only one time a 3 lb. Thumlers lid pop off but those are held on by o-rings and a prayer.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 30, 2018 11:57:28 GMT -5
I bought a stand for my Dremel so the machine was stationary and I could move the rock. Seemed easier to me but I was more used to cabbing on wheels. This is when using wheels for shaping, not burs for carving.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 30, 2018 11:53:40 GMT -5
Just the ends need to be threaded. You would need a stop on the other end. Wheels and spacers slide on against the stop with a nut on the outside. If you can find adapters to fit your motor they must be right hand (right side) and left hand thread (left side). If motor shafts are long enough you could thread the motor shaft ends. Motor shafts have to be completely straight. Diamond Pacific has equipment to straighten the shafts on the Baldor motors they use to prevent vibration. You would need 1725 rpm motor as well. You have more torque with direct drive but easier/cheaper generally with a belt drive set up. With belt drive if you use multi groove pulleys you can have multiple speeds as well. Good luck.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 30, 2018 11:44:17 GMT -5
Both are very nice. Nice to see some of the old stock OJ. I first saw it at Quartzsite in a display at the Pow Wow and the dealer was at Desert Gardens. He was mostly selling large slabs and at extremely high prices. Genius that I am I told my wife let's wait until next year when the interest dies and prices drop as every year it seemed like a new hot item was in high demand. Prices did fall fairly soon but quality fell faster. Now I understand there is no supply and everything you find is pretty much junk. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 29, 2018 19:37:23 GMT -5
Does it still have the 4" X 12" bull wheel?
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 29, 2018 19:35:52 GMT -5
The Tagit (now owned by others) just swivels in an adjustable arc to help make domes. Unless you have a fairly large wheel and the Dremel is in a holder it won't be any help to you. Why don't you dop the stones to a board so they don't move or dop to a large dop stick and put dop stick in a jeweler's vise.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 26, 2018 11:49:44 GMT -5
Since it is an overhead water system and out the drain, why not just flush the pan a little after use and wipe it out? Wipe down the unit exterior and call it done. Maybe a periodic tear down and deep cleaning.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 26, 2018 11:42:32 GMT -5
Most auto parts stores should carry non-detergent oil. They were common back in the old days. If you put detergent oil in an old car that only ran the older non-detergent oils you ended up with massive oil leaks everywhere. Detergent oils keep engines from building up sludge by keeping everything suspended in the oil. You can call DP for exact recommendations. They were going to start selling oil for te pumps but I don't know if they have it yet.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 26, 2018 11:36:06 GMT -5
Cover cutting rim. Any higher only puts more load on motor. Blade picks up oil as it rotates and picks up plenty with just the rim submerged. On trim saws any overfilling just causes the excess to be thrown everywhere but where the blade contacts the rock.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 26, 2018 11:28:12 GMT -5
You might check reviews on the Chicago Electric vibe used for rocks. I know the smaller units had weak motors for rock work. Lighter filler (like ceramics) may help if that is the case. All vibes as far as I know need to be full to work properly. The rocks generally rotate from top to bottom. For cabs and other flats you need about 3/4 by volume of filler.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 24, 2018 10:27:38 GMT -5
For final polish only? If so save up for some "Vibra Dry" from Diamond Pacific. Pricey but not really because you reuse it. Good for jewelry too if you mount stones in silver it removes tarnish from the silver. Crazy looking stuff but it works well. Light weight too so helpful for TV5.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 23, 2018 18:12:48 GMT -5
The bowl is only one issue. Generally they use lighter motors and springs as design load is less. At least that is what Thumler's does. Quickest bowl killer is using too much water. Damp not wet means you never see water moving in bowl. Too much water places grit near bottom where it can wear through bowl in one load while the rocks are merrily rotating above the grit. The TV-5 is very light duty. Raytech's parent company is Lyman. Diamond Pacific says about the TV-5 "not for continuous commercial use, not for stainless steel shot". Unless you have magic rocks that finish in a few hours I would look for a used Mini Sonic or something made for continuous use tumbling stones.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 23, 2018 12:28:48 GMT -5
I believe they recommend 30 wt. NON detergent oil now. They told me the detergents used in automotive oil gums up the pumps. I had a really long conversation with their purchasing manager (also named John) on behalf of a club workshop manager having problems with newer vintage Genie pumps. Another club uses aquarium store air pumps as an alternative. On my Genie, I always placed both geysers under the wheel I was using to flood the wheel. It made it a little messier though.
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