Lets talk Vibratory... How to do it, and how to become a pro
Feb 6, 2024 17:37:51 GMT -5
iamchris and doorcorocks like this
Post by doorcorocks on Feb 6, 2024 17:37:51 GMT -5
It's funny, I also got a tumbler for Christmas and had similar results to yours. Like you, I also found Rob on YouTube and even with just a tiny $50 "toy" got some pretty good results with the poly plastics media and abrasives. I ended up getting an MT4 (arrived yesterday) and am looking forward to refining the recipe over time. This looks like a great group of curious people
Hi! Have some of you been on edge about buying a vibratory tumbler? You have probably heard of the infamous, "Lot-O" tumbler and how it does a great job at polishing rocks.
I think that the MT-4 could be a possible contender. It seems to imitate a lot of the Lot-O's functions. However, you have also probably heard that within the last 5 years or so, the motors have been Burning down the project.
The motors have been un-reliable and have been super rare to find. As rare as a gem(pun intended). It obviously takes time to become a master at tumbling. The MT-4 is not your ordinary tumbler however, it vibrates, but instead of a on-edge motor and that fear of waking up all happy and then you go out to the garage and you see it, suffering, lifeless.
The mini sonic using oscillating electro magnetic pulses to vibrate the drum. Better yet, the hypnotic cyclone effect vibratory tumblers create can be adjusted to make it gentler and slow or fast and furious!
I myself, have stuck to my guns and stayed with my rotary tumblers just like a responsible parent. A common thing that i believe is a misconception is that people think vibratory tumblers can polish rocks better. This is wrong. It all matter on how you do it. You can rotary tumbler some rocks that could end up with a BETTER polish than a vibratory tumbler and vice versa.
I recently read a book about rock tumbling and when I finished it I said, " That only moved me inch closer in a Marathon". I was disappointed. I was expecting a lot of info on vibratory tumblers because I believe that it is pretty hard to learn how to use one, and which one to get.
I want to make this thread for everyone to really learn about how these machines work and how to get a great polish. Because I will tell you what, I got a National geographic hobby tumbler for christmas last year. I found it pretty confusing at first but I understood it. I followed the instructions word for word. You wanna know what I ended up with? A pile of dull rocks. I was heartbroken, after showing my family. It was not what I expected.
Many companies make rock tumbling sound quick and easy. Folks, I gotta tell you the truth, it is not. There are so many factors that can be implied with rock tumbling. But guess what, after looked at those dull rocks I said, "I can fix this and do better"! So I did! I started using rocks with similar hardnessess, I used the 1200 grit Aluminum oxide as polish because I bought a tumbling kit from Polly plastics, I got pretty nice results! When I opened that barrel I was so happy!
Then, a true hero showed up... MICHIGAN ROCKS, ROB ABRAM! This guy is a legend! He devoted all of his knowledge into these fun videos on how to tumble rocks, experiments with rock tumblers, and rock hounding adventures! Rob, I know you will probably never read this but I want to thank you so much for all the information.
So I followed robs tutorials and I ended up with super nice rocks, but I said again, " I can do better". Folks, there is always room for improvement in rock tumbling. I followed robs steps for rotary tumblers but I changed just a couple things, the amount of time. I added two more days to the 2nd stage, and 3rd stage. For the fourth stage I'm thinking about adding in a 1200 or 1000 grit aluminum oxide stage and run it for about 2 weeks and 2-4 days. For the fourth stages time, I might do it for 3-4 weeks instead of two but also maybe add 1 tablespoon of sugar just in case. Then after that I am working on a method to "Hyper polish" rocks up to 100,000 grit.
It is going to be a Trade secret though. Back to vibratory tumblers: Vibratory tumblers do get the final stages done a LOT quicker. I'm not super sure of why but I know that the vibrations cause the rocks to rub against each other a LOT more than a rotary tumbler does.
Another thing is it uses way less grit. This is especially useful for you crush folk who use stuff like Tin oxide or Cerium Oxide. I want people to use this thread as a way to spread as MUCH information as possible about Vibratory tumbling.
I am desperate to know the science behind it and how to get really nice results. please use this thread to share info to me and thousands of others so we can all improve our methods. I would love to own a vibratory tumbler but I am scared that the instructions will be un reliable and I won't end up with good results, I won't find a good video on how to get a competition winning rock tumbled in a vibratory tumbler.
I'm telling you all, the first stage takes enough time, and the horrible itch of wanting to open the barrel and check out those rocks. Like Mr. Abram, I like a lot of my rocks to be free of holes , cracks and chips.
Also, I don't know if there is a motor with identical horsepower, rpm, and size to that of the Lot-O tumbler. I am very surprised Calway has not gone out of business. I don' t know who owns Calway but if any of you know please message me.
I hope this thread will become great use to people like me. To all the professionals out there, please give us your info and opinions on vibratory tumblers and some pictures of rocks you tumbled using a method either you found or came up with. Thanks guys!
I think that the MT-4 could be a possible contender. It seems to imitate a lot of the Lot-O's functions. However, you have also probably heard that within the last 5 years or so, the motors have been Burning down the project.
The motors have been un-reliable and have been super rare to find. As rare as a gem(pun intended). It obviously takes time to become a master at tumbling. The MT-4 is not your ordinary tumbler however, it vibrates, but instead of a on-edge motor and that fear of waking up all happy and then you go out to the garage and you see it, suffering, lifeless.
The mini sonic using oscillating electro magnetic pulses to vibrate the drum. Better yet, the hypnotic cyclone effect vibratory tumblers create can be adjusted to make it gentler and slow or fast and furious!
I myself, have stuck to my guns and stayed with my rotary tumblers just like a responsible parent. A common thing that i believe is a misconception is that people think vibratory tumblers can polish rocks better. This is wrong. It all matter on how you do it. You can rotary tumbler some rocks that could end up with a BETTER polish than a vibratory tumbler and vice versa.
I recently read a book about rock tumbling and when I finished it I said, " That only moved me inch closer in a Marathon". I was disappointed. I was expecting a lot of info on vibratory tumblers because I believe that it is pretty hard to learn how to use one, and which one to get.
I want to make this thread for everyone to really learn about how these machines work and how to get a great polish. Because I will tell you what, I got a National geographic hobby tumbler for christmas last year. I found it pretty confusing at first but I understood it. I followed the instructions word for word. You wanna know what I ended up with? A pile of dull rocks. I was heartbroken, after showing my family. It was not what I expected.
Many companies make rock tumbling sound quick and easy. Folks, I gotta tell you the truth, it is not. There are so many factors that can be implied with rock tumbling. But guess what, after looked at those dull rocks I said, "I can fix this and do better"! So I did! I started using rocks with similar hardnessess, I used the 1200 grit Aluminum oxide as polish because I bought a tumbling kit from Polly plastics, I got pretty nice results! When I opened that barrel I was so happy!
Then, a true hero showed up... MICHIGAN ROCKS, ROB ABRAM! This guy is a legend! He devoted all of his knowledge into these fun videos on how to tumble rocks, experiments with rock tumblers, and rock hounding adventures! Rob, I know you will probably never read this but I want to thank you so much for all the information.
So I followed robs tutorials and I ended up with super nice rocks, but I said again, " I can do better". Folks, there is always room for improvement in rock tumbling. I followed robs steps for rotary tumblers but I changed just a couple things, the amount of time. I added two more days to the 2nd stage, and 3rd stage. For the fourth stage I'm thinking about adding in a 1200 or 1000 grit aluminum oxide stage and run it for about 2 weeks and 2-4 days. For the fourth stages time, I might do it for 3-4 weeks instead of two but also maybe add 1 tablespoon of sugar just in case. Then after that I am working on a method to "Hyper polish" rocks up to 100,000 grit.
It is going to be a Trade secret though. Back to vibratory tumblers: Vibratory tumblers do get the final stages done a LOT quicker. I'm not super sure of why but I know that the vibrations cause the rocks to rub against each other a LOT more than a rotary tumbler does.
Another thing is it uses way less grit. This is especially useful for you crush folk who use stuff like Tin oxide or Cerium Oxide. I want people to use this thread as a way to spread as MUCH information as possible about Vibratory tumbling.
I am desperate to know the science behind it and how to get really nice results. please use this thread to share info to me and thousands of others so we can all improve our methods. I would love to own a vibratory tumbler but I am scared that the instructions will be un reliable and I won't end up with good results, I won't find a good video on how to get a competition winning rock tumbled in a vibratory tumbler.
I'm telling you all, the first stage takes enough time, and the horrible itch of wanting to open the barrel and check out those rocks. Like Mr. Abram, I like a lot of my rocks to be free of holes , cracks and chips.
Also, I don't know if there is a motor with identical horsepower, rpm, and size to that of the Lot-O tumbler. I am very surprised Calway has not gone out of business. I don' t know who owns Calway but if any of you know please message me.
I hope this thread will become great use to people like me. To all the professionals out there, please give us your info and opinions on vibratory tumblers and some pictures of rocks you tumbled using a method either you found or came up with. Thanks guys!
