|
Post by johnjsgems on May 26, 2015 13:56:10 GMT -5
Thanks. I'm still trying to figure out how a "free trip" to Ecuador can cost so much?
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 26, 2015 12:51:09 GMT -5
Hi Y'all. As many forum members are nice enough to buy from us I wanted to announce here we will be closed from June 2nd through about June 10th. We will be out of the country so likely not reachable by phone or e-mail and will either close website or post notices of week long delay to fill orders. Thanks.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 26, 2015 12:46:13 GMT -5
Gee, can you guys do the same for wire feed welders? I have same issue trying to see my welds while working. I have to weld in full bright sunlight and still wander off track.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 21, 2015 10:39:49 GMT -5
I think the really fine (like .3 or .5 micron) AO polish will replace CO and TO eventually. Less expensive to produce and works very well on a wide variety of stones.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 20, 2015 17:25:52 GMT -5
You can try to see/feel the difference between the "pre polish AO" and 1000 AO. Most people consider pre polish as the step between the fine grit (500 or 600) and polish. To add confusion, some tumbler company grit kits call the fine grit 500 or 600 pre polish. Depending on the rocks, you can likely skip the pre polish. The fine grit breaks down to very fine and serves as pre polish by 2-3 days in a vibe tumbler or after a week or so in a rotary. Agates and jaspers and hard rocks that polish easily can go straight from fine grit to polish. Same as cabbing though, the more intermediate steps the less time in each individual step. The AO polish if sub micron will work very well in a vibe tumbler. I use a .3 micron and it works better than standard cerium for sure. On a wider range of rocks too.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 20, 2015 15:52:40 GMT -5
Look like chalcedony. Likely a lot of the exterior staining will tumble off so not very colorful. Tumbling rocks your kids found should be worthwhile. For the beginner, you can test rocks easily by scratching with a knife. If they scratch they will not tumble easily. If the knife leaves a metallic stripe that rubs off (metal transfer from the blade) they are hard enough to potentially tumble well. I collected beach rocks for many years on the Central Calif coast. Most would tumble well. There were always some trouble makers though.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 20, 2015 12:26:54 GMT -5
Is it the king snakes here in the Mohave that have a red stripe too? Have not seen any in years, just my gopher snake buddy.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 20, 2015 10:58:33 GMT -5
Small size fillers (whether ceramics, gravel, small rocks) help speed up first stage by providing more contact places between grit and rock. If you have enough small rocks in the mix ceramics would not be necessary. Filler is needed to keep load level up as rocks reduce. Many beginners don't have a supply of rocks to keep adding so filler is needed.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 18, 2015 10:17:58 GMT -5
I collected with an older guy one time and saw him at his truck with a felt pen labeling every rock with numbers. Then he logged them in a book with dates and location collected. I thought he was a little nuts at the time. I threw mine in milk crates and 5 gallon buckets and even labeled some buckets. Several years later I sold my house and had to move the rocks. Most of the crates and buckets lost the battle with the sun and I ended up piling everything by type. No idea where some were from by then. Pretty sure the other guy still knew where everything came from.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 15, 2015 13:45:33 GMT -5
Hope to shout that is a lot of grit. Maybe for a rotary. 10 lb. Gy-Roc uses 1 tablespoon. We used to use tumbled broken slabs for wire wrap classes. Rotary tumbled. They come out with rounded edges rather than the crisp edges pictured. They would take much longer than the vibe tumbled though. Vibes need about 70% mixed media for flats. As long as your tumbler can handle the weight rock pieces would be fine. In fact the Gy-Roc manufacturer recommends pea gravel for filler on his tumblers and says ceramics are too light. Lighter duty tumblers may last longer with the lighter ceramics.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 14, 2015 19:19:09 GMT -5
Maybe it looks better in person but I've collected really nice Nevada Wonder Stone from a couple of locations that looks a lot better.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 14, 2015 19:14:30 GMT -5
On some vibe tumblers you can change speed by moving counterweight up or down on shaft. Gy-Roc has two weights and speed can be varied by changing their relative position. They also use a two groove pulley for belt drive which gives you high or low speed choice. Diamond Pacific's Mini Sonics all have speed control and no motor to burn up. Both of these are higher end tumblers though.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 13, 2015 16:50:01 GMT -5
It would seem like bigger would be faster but as I explained bigger turns less distance per revolution of drive pulley. Less math, just common sense.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 13, 2015 12:12:54 GMT -5
If the outside of the shaft is larger, the barrel will turn farther each turn of the pulley. Any movement of the barrel is the load on the motor. Turning it farther is an increase in load. The hamster in the larger wheel runs farther each turn of the wheel than the critter in the smaller wheel. It is opposite with pulleys. A 2" motor pulley making a complete revolution will turn a 4" pulley one half revolution. Just picture circumference and it makes sense.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 13, 2015 10:21:38 GMT -5
You are correct, I got it backwards. I thought he was taping the pulley rather than drive shafts. A smaller driven pulley or larger motor pulley would increase speed. Same concept though. increasing the shaft size would change barrel speed since every turn of the larger shaft would move barrel farther so more load on motor. Braided hose over the shafts would likely last longer than tape. I use "Tygon" tubing on the used tumblers refurb. The garden hose with webbing works well too but Tygon is sold by the foot at most hardware stores.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 13, 2015 9:52:12 GMT -5
Anytime you increase the driven pulley size you increase the speed thus increase load and amount of work motor does. Pulley replacement would be better than tape. I don't think they make adjustable sheaves with that small of bore but that would be even better.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 12, 2015 17:25:01 GMT -5
So, I don't know much about rocks or tumbling but do buy and sell grit. According to my supplier the grit is manufactured in a huge pile covered with something like foil and subjected to heat. The grit in center of pile will be green and black towards the outside. The green will be harder than the black so it stands to reason the green wheels would be harder than black wheels.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 11, 2015 19:14:44 GMT -5
I have not been a Thumler's dealer for quite a few years now but the motors used to be twice as fast (like 1500 vs. 3000 rpm). I bought a used 9 lb. tumbler with high speed motor and it would not start with a load of rock although the motor may have been weak and old. Most tumblers run slow so rocks are gently worn smooth not beat to chips and fractures. A high speed for first step may work but subsequent steps would be pretty hard to accomplish without a lot of cushioning.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 11, 2015 18:09:32 GMT -5
The Model B has the best drum available. It was the same drum sold to Highland Park for many years for their 12 Lb model. The only drum with 5 year warranty. You can buy a conversion kit to convert it to an AR2 if you ever want to run small loads. The high speed versions of Thumler's are for metal finishing and won't work for rocks. If you bought it from Cabellas or other big outfit they will likely let you return it. The advantage of the QT66 would be it is the same as QT12 with larger drum so you could do either with both the double 6's and single 12. If you stay with B model buy extra lid gaskets. It is the weak spot of an otherwise terrific tumbler.
|
|
|
Post by johnjsgems on May 9, 2015 12:42:06 GMT -5
It is hard to keep bushings in thin blades. If the bushing fits tight you can try dimpling where the bushing contacts blade hole with a center punch or nail. Tricky on paper thin blades though. Another thing you could try is buy shims that have 1/2" center hole and fit blade washer recess. Or buy 1/2" blades from me next time instead of metric blades. Or buy metric blades from suppliers that provide adapters.
|
|