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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 8, 2008 0:03:17 GMT -5
Order Thumler's Tumbler #400 belt. It will last longer than an o-ring.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 0:22:18 GMT -5
Thanks again, y'all!
And John, that #400 belt is the same size as the belt for the CE tumbler (93835)?
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 8, 2008 10:20:27 GMT -5
It must be. I can't keep them in stock. People have tried the #401 (same diameter but thicker) and brought them back and exchanged them. If you want to try one PM me your address and I'll mail you one. You can either send me $3 after you see how it works or write up a review on how well it works/how long it lasts and we'll call it even. I hear 2-3 years continuous use on the 401 belts but never hear about the 400's. They only fit one model of Thumler's and it is their beginner's unit with a motor like Lortone.
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turquoiselover
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 115
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Post by turquoiselover on Mar 8, 2008 12:46:25 GMT -5
Dewman -
The air-soft gun pellets are perfect - and what I use. But they can be a bit pricey. They're nice because they are usually flourescent in color and easy to keep track of. When I needed more, though, I didn't want to spend the cash on a tub of them, so I raided my daughter's stuffed animal collection (with her permission) and hit the mother load! Like someone said above me, garage sales and thrift stores are a perfect place to get those, and inside are wonderful little plastic beads! I keep them all in those Gladware containers (free with lunchmeat!) marked "FINE", "PRE-POLISH", "POLISH", etc. THey do wear out after a while, and get smaller and smaller....so you just go find more animals!
TUrq
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Post by cpdad on Mar 8, 2008 16:41:36 GMT -5
john is correct...i forgot that some folks use the thumlers belt.....and have reported nice results.
when i started using orings....i bought a really good grade of 1....and it wore 2 fan pulleys slap in half...so i went back to regular orings @50 cents a peice....they last about 10 to 14 days each.
maybe thumblers has found the happy medium needed for them to last together....even with the CE fan.
john will send ya a PM...ill buy a belt from ya and do the experiment...if dewman does it also...we can at least compare apples to apples.
dewman if ya do end up losing a pulley....there is a thread about a simple modification to replace them in the lapidary tips section...ill see if i can find it...kev.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 17:36:11 GMT -5
Thanks Turquoiselover, I will buy some airsoft bbs today. And I'll also see if the wife has some stuffed animals I can have. Oh, and I have lost of those gladware containers from the lunch meat. They do come in handy. We usually use them for dog food when we go on trips with the dogs.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 17:40:23 GMT -5
John, I could buy one from you. But could I also order it online? I can order the exact belts from Harbor Freight.com for $2.99 + shipping. I could do that too.
However, I am I understanding this right, guys? The o-rings can ruin your pulley or motor? (Are they too taut?) Or is that just the high grade o-rings?
I'm going out to the store today to pick up a few more things. I'd like to get some stuff and get these bad boys started tonight.
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oriongal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2007
Posts: 96
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Post by oriongal on Mar 8, 2008 17:53:22 GMT -5
The replacement belts from Harbor Freight really aren't worth it - they're just as bad as the one it came with.
The reason you can have pulley problems with an O-ring is just because the pulley itself isn't that great - it's plastic, where the ones in the Lortone (that it is pretty much a copy of) are metal. Same with the fan, plastic in the CE (Chicago Electric) and metal in the Lortone. Since the O-rings (or Thumler or Lortone belts) are stronger than the ones that come with the tumbler, they're not going to break - which makes the pulley then the next most likely point of failure.
In mine, the motor gave up before the pulley failed. You can also replace the motor in a CE with one from a Lortone (and there is a thread about that here somewhere...), but it requires getting different mounting screws (the ones from the CE won't fit the Lortone motor, and the ones that come with the Lortone motor are too short for the CE's housing).
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 8, 2008 19:06:53 GMT -5
I guess I'll just look for some o-rings now. And if I can at least get one successful tumble cycle out of the CE, I'll look in to getting something better...if I get bit, anyway. O-rings are petty cheap.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 9, 2008 12:19:59 GMT -5
(Looks like this thread might get pushed far enough down no one sees it anymore.)
Man, I really want to thank all of you guys for the help! Very informative! And very well appreciated in an area where there's not a lot of interest in stuff like this.
OK, so I looked every where for O-rings. I couldn't find one that was the right size. I got really really close (and it could have worked) but I had to pay $6 for a pack of four and only one was close. I also found a vacuum cleaner belt that seemed to be the right length, but was way to wide. (I wondered if I could cut it to make it small enough.)
So, now I'm at an impasse. I won't start the tumble until I have a replacement belt. I've got a couple of the cheap ones coming to me, but I'll have to find something else I guess.
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snivlem
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2008
Posts: 167
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Post by snivlem on Mar 9, 2008 20:20:15 GMT -5
I'm not sure if this has been ideated in another thread, but how about those kitty litter crystals-would they work?
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oriongal
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since May 2007
Posts: 96
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Post by oriongal on Mar 9, 2008 20:36:49 GMT -5
Interesting, but I wouldn't think that anything specifically designed to absorb liquid would make a particularly good filler in a wet tumbler.  |
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chassroc
Cave Dweller 
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Mar 10, 2008 12:19:09 GMT -5
No practice needed for tumbling, start with what you have...
One thing you should have is rocks that have similar hardness. Quartz and agate and jasper and petrified wood are most commonly tumbled together because they are about the same hardness.
You cannot get a shine out of sandy rocks.
If you wet your rocks B4 you put them in they should shine and that is what you want in the final product.
You should try for 5/8 to 3/4 full. pellets are optional but help in later stages(not needed for coarse(first) stage.
sroc
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 18, 2008 19:25:23 GMT -5
GREETING FELLOW TUMBLERS!! ;D
***UPDATE***
Well, the rocks have been at it for about two days now. Started them Sunday and they are actually starting to round a bit. But it's hard to tell without taking them all out.
I'll tell you, I'm not very impressed with the CE tumbler. I have no experience with anything else, being my first time and all, but I'm going to definitely have to invest in a better one. (That vibe video that holdemplyer posted makes me jealous.) The plastic guard on it didn't work and the aluminum lid rubbed against the metal frame causing some damage to the lid. It also leaked once. And now that I'm starting the third day, the motor is making noises.
Anyway I have a concern I hope you can help me out with!
When I opened the drum today to check on the rocks (and let gas escape) one of the barrels had formed a large amount of foam. The other barrel had some foam that I was able to break down and see the water level; very liquidy. However, the first barrel had foam almost up to the top and I could not break it down to check the water level. I added some water and set it back in action.
Is this an issue I should be concerned about? And if so, what do I do?
Thanks... the DewMan
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Mar 18, 2008 19:41:55 GMT -5
Naw... there's a thread somewhere else... I've had some batches foam like crazy... others not a bit. I've let the barrel sit a bit, and the foam dries out/breaks down. Or I just "sense" the water level (sometimes I can feel where the foam changes to water), and put the lid back on.
I would be more concerned about the slurry being very liquidy, and maybe adding a bit more grit. Most rocks don't show much change in 3 days, regardless of the tumbler. Other than that I can't comment on the CE issues.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 18, 2008 20:43:52 GMT -5
Thanks, Goddess. I'll add a bit more grit next time. I was concerned about the slurry becoming too thick.
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Wolfden
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2007
Posts: 1,368
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Post by Wolfden on Mar 18, 2008 20:49:53 GMT -5
Evenin dewman ... I also have a CE tumbler and had to replace the motor and the small pulley. You can get the parts thru the Rock shed The Lortone tumblers use the same basic parts , I didnt have to change anything I can think of .. it was an easy repair .... here's the parts page at Rockshed www.therockshed.com/partslortone.htmlWolf |
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geogoddess
spending too much on rocks
Member since December 2007
Posts: 287
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Post by geogoddess on Mar 18, 2008 21:39:49 GMT -5
Tis true, you don't want the slurry to be too thick either. I guess that's something that comes with practice (I'm still working on it). But just based on the description "liquidy" sounded too thin, to me, but then there isn't a pic/video to see how the stuff is acting. I've had to go both ways, adding grit, and adding water... when I don't have my act together when setting up the tumbler.
But there's a fair amount of leeway...and I've found that going with my gut usually works.
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 19, 2008 22:12:48 GMT -5
Wolfden, I appreciate the link, but I'll tell you this, when the CE breaks down, I'm just going to buy a GOOD one.  No point in replacing a piece of junk even if it is with good parts. However, the end of day three...the machine is still running. |
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dewman
starting to shine!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 29
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Post by dewman on Mar 19, 2008 22:25:52 GMT -5
Okay, another update! And this time, I have pictures, so someone help a brother out.
 In this first pic, you can see the foam problem I'm talking about. Foam all the way up to the top!! You can even see it on the lid in the left of the photo. (You can also see some of the damage on the lid from when the barrel rubbed against the side of the case.)  In the second pic, I also have foam on the barrel, but the foam bubbles are bigger and I was able to break the foam down (in the photo below).  In the third picture, a comparison after I broke the foam down. Tilted forward, you can see a couple of the stones. The barrel on the right with the foam problem has bigger stones. The barrel with the coarse foam that broke down has mainly very small stones. I assume this is why the difference in foam. (That's a bamboo skewer sticking out of the right barrel I used to try to break down the foam.) Now my question is... Is the foam a problem? If so, how do I fix? In order to clean the seal of the barrel on the right, I had to remove about 3 tbsp of foam. I added a bit more grit and water to replace. Thanks for the help, guys! And I thought my biggest concern would have been leakage.
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No point in replacing a piece of junk even if it is with good parts. However, the end of day three...the machine is still running.
Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5
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