Mini-Sonic KG-1 vs. Raytech TV-5 or....

I think more folks here use withe UV-10 or Lot-O. Have you eliminated these?

Also, about 1/3 or more of that weight will be ceramic media. So take that into account.

Finally, tumbling shapes that have had some preliminary rough rounding onthe side of the saw blade is exactly where I began. It worked OK for me in the LOt-O. But let me ask, how perfected do you want these finished shapes to be?

I did get to the point where I wanted a little more rounding, which vibes are not good at. I eventually added a visit to a 100g wheel for some shapes before I tumbled them. With or w/o a wheel, you can get shapes OK for pendants or wire-wrapping - but not for putting into settings. Getting the calibrated size, or the bezel is just not likely in the tumbler. If you want a more flat/rustic look. Charge ahead. I just want to make sure you are not picturing a cup or two of well domed, settable cabs.

I also got to the point where I wanted to have a few batches going. I eventyally got 3 different vibes, (and a rotary I meant to repair.)

I think the mini-soonic will be a bit small after you add ceramic pellets. For the same amount of time checking each day, spritzing with water, washing and recharging ... etc - well it is nice to come out with more than 1.5 cups of finished shapes. If you don;t have enough pre-shapes for any batch, you can always put in more ceramic to fill the bowl, so why risk going too small.

You get what you pay for, do yourself a favor and get the Thumblers UV-10, never "settle" for cheaper. (very satisfied UV-10 owner) Oh, if you're talking about using the edge of a tile saw blade (like a Workforce), I've done it, it works. You can also use a bench grinder with a $25 silicon carbide wheel (green wheel), there's a ton of them on the internet.

Why is the Thumlers better than the Raytech? Is is a better design or just a better built machine?

And how do you keep the grinding wheel wet?

I can't personally compare my Thumblers to any other vibe, I only know what I've read. One person on here has burned up two motors in a Raytech in less than a year. I'm still using my Thumblers UV-10 after 2 1/2 years from purchase. It's always running, and I've turned out literally thousands of necklace pendants from it.

Hey-how do you keep a lapidary blade wet on any ordinary grinding wheel?

And thanks for the info on the raytech, Deb!

snivlem- Here's one of the threads that I read on the TV-5..... forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=21778

Same as Thumblers, the bowls last forever. I've never heard anything bad about the loto-tumbler or the Thumblers UV-10, and nobody ever seems to brag about the Raytech.

I have a couple of Lot-O's (one single and one dual) and 1 KG-1 mini-sonic. Which actually was two KG-1's, but the first one ate itself up (partially my fault).

You won't get much into the KG-1, and overall I'm much less impressed with it than the Lot-O. For one thing, the way it's designed (with the opening spanning the entire top, and squared off rather than rounded) it dries out extremely fast and also has a tendency to kick out slurry all over the wall, floor, and anything else that is nearby, on a regular basis. The only real advantage to it is that you can set it up just about anywhere, where the Lot-O either needs to be mounted to the floor or to a concrete block (not as difficult as it sounds though, it comes with adhesive that sticks it and holds well to either place). And my other design complaint about the Mini-Sonic is that when it does kick out slurry, it goes down into the housing and is very difficult to clean up. This is how I lost the first one, the cover came off while I was at work and a fair bit of slurry worked its way between the barrel and holder, which over a few hours managed to eat a hole in the barrel itself. Slurry really went everywhere after that, including into the motor. The Lot-O at least has the motor hung on the outside and is shielded from the barrel, so if the cover comes off and it kicks out slurry, it won't usually get into the motor.

I've also found that the action on the KG-1 is a bit rougher than the Lot-O, rolls the load around a bit faster.

snivlem, do a search for UV-10, and you'll have almost all your questions answered! And find answers to questions you havn't even thought of yet. I've just started out myself, don't even have my first batch done yet, but i can tell ya, after reading through this out-freaking standing board, i was torn between the lot-o and UV-10 myself, ended up getting the UV-10, and an extra bowl (extra bowl is for polish stage ONLY). Got mine, as have most other on this board from therockshed.com.

Alex