ladywolf6692
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2022
Posts: 8
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Post by ladywolf6692 on Sept 2, 2023 9:09:47 GMT -5
Hello All, I am planning on starting a batch of crazy lace agate today in my 3lb Lortone rotary tumbler. I know it's going to take a while to finish the process, and hopefully I won't get too impatient I have a couple of questions on the first stage. Do I check on the rocks every week? Every 2 weeks? How long should I let it tumble before checking on them for the first time? How often should I check on them in the first stage? When I do check on them, do I rinse them off, rinse out the barrel, and put in fresh water and grit each time, or just look at a few of them, and if needed, toss them back in with the same solution for another week (or 2?)? When you move them on to the 2nd and subsequent stages, how long do you let them tumble in each of those stages? My very first batch of mixed rocks that came with the tumbler took about 2 weeks in the first stage and I think a week for each one thereafter. I could probably re-tumble a few of them, but otherwise I was very happy with the results, especially considering it was my first time. Kind of an unrelated question - this summer has been crazy hot, even by SE Texas standards. My tumbler lives in the garage, which is not climate controlled. In other words, it's hotter than hades out there. I didn't want to risk the tumbler overheating. Is that an actual issue or am I just being overly cautious? There is no AC in the garage, and if we put a fan in there, it's basically a convection oven in the summer. Thank you!
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on Sept 2, 2023 10:01:59 GMT -5
Hi ladywolf6692If you are using 3 tblspns of 80 grit for coarse and the barrel is ~66-75% full then I would say yes check it on a weekly basis. If you see there is a lot of grit left over after one week that isn't broken down then you can let it go 2 weeks. It won't hurt to let it go 2 weeks, but the grinding won't be as efficient in week 2 if all the grit has broken down during week 1. I typically do coarse grind for as long as it takes - with a cleanout every week - then: 120/220 for 1 week (sometimes 2), 500 1 week (I prefer AO to SC in most cases), 1000 for 1 week and polish + 1 tblspn of borax for 2 weeks with no cleanout (at least 75% full barrel - add ceramic if needed). This said if I use 45/70 grit for coarse I let it go for 2-3 weeks before a cleanout, and if I use 60/90 grit I let it go for 2 weeks before a cleanout. Each time I check the barrel I do a cleanout - dump the slurry, clean the barrel and rocks and add new water and grit. Not everyone does that though . . . and that's cool. I am in central Texas with similar heat. I have my tumblers in the garage and haven't had any problems.
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ladywolf6692
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2022
Posts: 8
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Post by ladywolf6692 on Sept 2, 2023 10:13:57 GMT -5
Thank you! The coarse grit is 60/90 silicon carbide as purchased from The Rock Shed earlier this year. I'll probably have to get more soon, but I think I might have enough to complete this batch. That's good to know about your tumblers doing well in your garage in this crazy heat. I can't wait to see how these turn out!
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on Sept 2, 2023 10:16:10 GMT -5
Thank you! The coarse grit is 60/90 silicon carbide as purchased from The Rock Shed earlier this year. I'll probably have to get more soon, but I think I might have enough to complete this batch. That's good to know about your tumblers doing well in your garage in this crazy heat. I can't wait to see how these turn out! With 60/90 I'd let the coarse grind go 2 weeks before a clean out - read above again I made some edits.
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Post by velodromed on Sept 2, 2023 11:04:39 GMT -5
Hello All, I am planning on starting a batch of crazy lace agate today in my 3lb Lortone rotary tumbler. I know it's going to take a while to finish the process, and hopefully I won't get too impatient I have a couple of questions on the first stage. Do I check on the rocks every week? Every 2 weeks? How long should I let it tumble before checking on them for the first time? How often should I check on them in the first stage? When I do check on them, do I rinse them off, rinse out the barrel, and put in fresh water and grit each time, or just look at a few of them, and if needed, toss them back in with the same solution for another week (or 2?)? When you move them on to the 2nd and subsequent stages, how long do you let them tumble in each of those stages? My very first batch of mixed rocks that came with the tumbler took about 2 weeks in the first stage and I think a week for each one thereafter. I could probably re-tumble a few of them, but otherwise I was very happy with the results, especially considering it was my first time. Kind of an unrelated question - this summer has been crazy hot, even by SE Texas standards. My tumbler lives in the garage, which is not climate controlled. In other words, it's hotter than hades out there. I didn't want to risk the tumbler overheating. Is that an actual issue or am I just being overly cautious? There is no AC in the garage, and if we put a fan in there, it's basically a convection oven in the summer. Thank you! I can answer the heat question. I’m in far north San Antonio at the edge of the hill country. I tumbled 24/7, even through our weeks long 105f hot streak. first, I keep the garage temp under 95F by venting it at night and morning with a big red squirrel fan, then promptly shut the door tight while still leaving fans going by the time it hits 11am. This keeps the garage from exceeding 95°, and more often it hovers between 88 and 92f. I have a rebel 17, dual 3lb tumbler, 1lb tumbler and raytech 5 vibe, all set within in a 3’x3’x3’ area under my work shop table, with a removable section of thick cardboard across the front, essentially making a semi closed box. The secret is a box fan bringing in fresh air, at the back left and a 2” gap at the far right side from the fan, which ducts the air around all 4 machines, keeping the average temp of each motor less than 130f. Brushed motors are very comfortable at that temperature. I know how well it works because sometimes I turn the fan off while adding aluminum oxide polish to the vibe. If I forget to turn it back on, but here is extremely hot inside and the motor temps hitting 145f. I know you’re concerned about making a convection oven, but even warm air circulated across the top of a metal brushed motor can pull heat from the inside. The motor can maybe 130 on the outside, but the inside is at least 20f hotter. So even if the garage temperature is 100°, it’s still helping a motor to circulate air towards it. I learned a lot about keeping small motors cool and their limits with RC cars. Ive even taking apart my smaller, 4 pound copies of the Nat Geo tumbler, bypassed the circuitboard to hardwire the motor, and also to hardwire the motor, and also connect a 12v, 1a server fan, blowing directly on the motor. Basically, with a few fans you can keep the tumblers running just fine in a 100° garage. If you’re worried about it, buy it cheap temperature gun and take temperatures. Mainly you want it under 150° F and preferably around 135. Tge first pic is the Nat Geo copy that I rewired. The circuitboard fried, so I ran the motor straight to the power supply, reduce the power supply from 12 V to 9 V and tied in a server fan to keep it cool. It works excellent now. Since the 9 V power supply is great for tumbling course stages, but still a bit fast, I also have a 7.5 V power supply for polishing speed. The second picture is where I cram all of my machines. Keeps the noise down to a dual roar and all the equipment off of the top of my work bench.
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ladywolf6692
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2022
Posts: 8
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Post by ladywolf6692 on Sept 2, 2023 12:41:42 GMT -5
Hi dillonf, Thanks for the tips! I will start out with 2 weeks and check on them weekly from there during the 1st stage. Hi velodromed , Your 2nd picture is very similar to what I have set up in my garage with the space under the counter. One whole wall is lined with built-in cabinets and a counter. You can't park on that side of the garage. Anyways, I never thought about putting the tumbler on the floor under the counter. Right now, it's sitting on the workbench/counter. I put the fan by it and turned it on. I'll have to drill a hole to allow the plug to come up through the workbench/counter, since the outlet is in the middle of the wall. Right now, it's not too bad in the garage. Thanks for the idea! To both of you - Howdy from just outside Houston Any areas in Texas that are your favorites for rock hounding? One of the reasons I asked about the heat is because the control panel on the washing machine will occasionally overheat and the washer won't work and/or shut down in the middle of a load. We have to time our laundry when it's crazy hot outside. I didn't want the same thing happening with the tumbler while we're not home and/or not notice it's not going and have the slurry potentially harden up around the rocks. Again, I don't know if that's an issue or not, but I'd rather not find out the hard way.
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Post by velodromed on Sept 2, 2023 13:37:25 GMT -5
Hi dillonf , Thanks for the tips! I will start out with 2 weeks and check on them weekly from there during the 1st stage. Hi velodromed , Your 2nd picture is very similar to what I have set up in my garage with the space under the counter. One whole wall is lined with built-in cabinets and a counter. You can't park on that side of the garage. Anyways, I never thought about putting the tumbler on the floor under the counter. Right now, it's sitting on the workbench/counter. I put the fan by it and turned it on. I'll have to drill a hole to allow the plug to come up through the workbench/counter, since the outlet is in the middle of the wall. Right now, it's not too bad in the garage. Thanks for the idea! To both of you - Howdy from just outside Houston Any areas in Texas that are your favorites for rock hounding? One of the reasons I asked about the heat is because the control panel on the washing machine will occasionally overheat and the washer won't work and/or shut down in the middle of a load. We have to time our laundry when it's crazy hot outside. I didn't want the same thing happening with the tumbler while we're not home and/or not notice it's not going and have the slurry potentially harden up around the rocks. Again, I don't know if that's an issue or not, but I'd rather not find out the hard way. We haven’t been able to travel much due to health conditions, aside from a trip to the Llano river, so the kid and I look all around the parks we go to, construction sites to look for fossils another interesting things, roadsides and we also like to stop by rock yards. We really like the rock yards that have the piles of rock labeled from which part of Texas they came from. Some of them will sell us 5 gallon buckets of rocks for 10 bucks or so. I buy rock also from The rock shed, Kingsley north, the gem shop, Richardson ranch, and the classifieds here on the forum. There are some real good opportunities in the classifieds. Vegasjames has some really nice and affordable tumbling rough, all sorts of mixed jaspers, agates, rhyolite and so forth.
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Post by velodromed on Sept 2, 2023 14:00:23 GMT -5
Oh, while some control panels may be sensitive to heat, hobby grade tumblers do not have them as far as I have seen. It’s the cheap ones off of Amazon, that are multi speed, which have control boards. And those are easy to rewire and bypass the control board, once it dies.
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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,622
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Post by dillonf on Sept 3, 2023 7:00:13 GMT -5
Hi dillonf , Thanks for the tips! I will start out with 2 weeks and check on them weekly from there during the 1st stage. Hi velodromed , Your 2nd picture is very similar to what I have set up in my garage with the space under the counter. One whole wall is lined with built-in cabinets and a counter. You can't park on that side of the garage. Anyways, I never thought about putting the tumbler on the floor under the counter. Right now, it's sitting on the workbench/counter. I put the fan by it and turned it on. I'll have to drill a hole to allow the plug to come up through the workbench/counter, since the outlet is in the middle of the wall. Right now, it's not too bad in the garage. Thanks for the idea! To both of you - Howdy from just outside Houston Any areas in Texas that are your favorites for rock hounding? One of the reasons I asked about the heat is because the control panel on the washing machine will occasionally overheat and the washer won't work and/or shut down in the middle of a load. We have to time our laundry when it's crazy hot outside. I didn't want the same thing happening with the tumbler while we're not home and/or not notice it's not going and have the slurry potentially harden up around the rocks. Again, I don't know if that's an issue or not, but I'd rather not find out the hard way. We rockhound in mainly rivers and creeks throughout central Texas. Onion Creek in the Austin area, Llano river in Llano and Mason. We go up to Fort Worth to hunt fossils. Going after a good rain increases our haul! Hankrocks lives down by Houston - I believe - he could probably que you into some good spots down there. I've heard y'all got some good Pet wood in your area.
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Post by velodromed on Sept 4, 2023 12:10:29 GMT -5
Hi dillonf , Thanks for the tips! I will start out with 2 weeks and check on them weekly from there during the 1st stage. Hi velodromed , Your 2nd picture is very similar to what I have set up in my garage with the space under the counter. One whole wall is lined with built-in cabinets and a counter. You can't park on that side of the garage. Anyways, I never thought about putting the tumbler on the floor under the counter. Right now, it's sitting on the workbench/counter. I put the fan by it and turned it on. I'll have to drill a hole to allow the plug to come up through the workbench/counter, since the outlet is in the middle of the wall. Right now, it's not too bad in the garage. Thanks for the idea! To both of you - Howdy from just outside Houston Any areas in Texas that are your favorites for rock hounding? One of the reasons I asked about the heat is because the control panel on the washing machine will occasionally overheat and the washer won't work and/or shut down in the middle of a load. We have to time our laundry when it's crazy hot outside. I didn't want the same thing happening with the tumbler while we're not home and/or not notice it's not going and have the slurry potentially harden up around the rocks. Again, I don't know if that's an issue or not, but I'd rather not find out the hard way. We rockhound in mainly rivers and creeks throughout central Texas. Onion Creek in the Austin area, Llano river in Llano and Mason. We go up to Fort Worth to hunt fossils. Going after a good rain increases our haul! Hankrocks lives down by Houston - I believe - he could probably que you into some good spots down there. I've heard y'all got some good Pet wood in your area. I believe I saw one of Scott Wilkins videos where he was exploring onion Creek, and it looked really good! Once we can start moving around again, I’ll probably ask you about the best way to access some of these nearby spots.
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