ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 927
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Post by ashley on Mar 6, 2023 15:45:00 GMT -5
Who uses the ultra vibe 18? Got a cheat sheet for grit amounts and run times? Any tips or tricks? Thanks!
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Post by vegasjames on Mar 6, 2023 16:48:01 GMT -5
Run your rocks through a rotary for at least the first stage to remove any sharp edges and points. This will help your vibe barrel last a lot longer.
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Post by victor1941 on Mar 6, 2023 17:23:41 GMT -5
Ashley, I run a UV-18 and agree that shaping should be done in a rotary or machine shaped. My machine is used for flats or shaped preforms. I use a 50% fill of small media and add trims plus what I really want to tumble. I use suggested amounts of grit-120/220 until the scratches are removed in one or two cycles (2days each) and check visually with magnification on dry material. I follow with 2 days on 500, 1000, and polish (14,000) for 2 to 5 days. I use 2 Tbl of borax in all tumbles and add media to keep a full load. I use 8 Tbl for each step but know that others use less. Hope this helps.
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ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 927
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Post by ashley on Mar 6, 2023 17:50:58 GMT -5
Run your rocks through a rotary for at least the first stage to remove any sharp edges and points. This will help your vibe barrel last a lot longer. I am James, thanks for looking out for me!
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ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 927
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Post by ashley on Mar 6, 2023 18:00:09 GMT -5
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,071
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Post by dshanpnw on Mar 7, 2023 7:33:34 GMT -5
Hi Ashley, I hope everything is going great. I have the UV-10, a lot smaller than the UV-18, but use this recipe and make adjustments for the grit, forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/29369/instructions-vibe-tumblers. To get the amount of water just right, fill your full bowl of rocks with water and then drain it out using the lid to keep the rocks and media in while letting the water completely run out until there are no more drips. That leaves the rocks just wet enough for the grit to stick to them. For the grit stages 220 through 1000 you want your rocks to be completely covered with grit when the vibe is running.That means check it after it has been running an hour or so. I use 2 1/2 tablespoons of grit and that gets everything in the barrel covered, but I might have to add a little to achieve that perfect slurry of all the rocks and media being coated with grit so that the rock surfaces are not visible. My barrel is at least 3/4 full, to the top of the center of the bowl. For polish, you want a light milky coating to cover the rocks just enough that you can see some of the surfaces of the rocks as they slide around on each other. Again, about 2 1/2 tablespoons works for me. The tutorials in the forum are very helpful.
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ashley
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2023
Posts: 927
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Post by ashley on Mar 7, 2023 13:55:35 GMT -5
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