|
|
Post by Noosh9057 on May 28, 2008 13:10:58 GMT -5
Well I orderd a Lortone Model 33B from the Rock Shed today. I am looking forward to getting the tumbler running. I hope it will be here nexed Monday. Well let all no when it comes.
Roger
|
|
|
|
Post by LCARS on May 28, 2008 19:32:11 GMT -5
Congrats on your purchase!  The Lortone 33B is a great starter and all around decent tumbler. I've had mine for years now and I still love it.  I have personally found the 3A to be a bit more reliable but having only one barrel rolling at a time is just too excruciating IMO so that's why I have both.  I hope all goes well with it out of the box, they are for the most part pretty solid for the price. One thing I noticed right off the bat is the stock belt is a bit too large in diameter for the roller pulley, which tends to lead to chattering and shedding of the belt before it eventually let's go. It will require some care & maintenance to run smoothly over the long run but hey, what doesn't? ;D Let's hope you won't be needing this thread very soon but just in case, it never hurts to read up. Page two has a nice illustrated tutorial (by me)  on dealing with some common maintenance issues. The only thing I left out was changing the roller bushings but it's pretty straight forward to figure out once you're already working on it. In fact, it's a good idea to take the top cover off the first time you run it under load to look for problems with things like pulley wobble & alignment to ensure you get off to a smooth start. |
|
|
|
Post by Noosh9057 on May 28, 2008 20:53:57 GMT -5
Thanks a lot for the info. Roger |
|
|
|
Post by Noosh9057 on May 30, 2008 12:39:17 GMT -5
Well my 33B Tumbler came today. I am looking forward to getting the first bach started. I will post a message when I do. Roger |
|
|
|
Post by LCARS on May 30, 2008 20:23:07 GMT -5
Oh ya, the other thing I noticed that I forgot to mention is the 33B seems to turn a bit slower than the 3A (38-42RPM vs 54-58RPM). Because of this I find it's better to use the 3A for the grit stages and the 33B for the prepolish and polish stages, works out quite nicely and can provide for a decent but fully manageable throughput. You can literally have a batch finishing every 2-3 weeks! |
|
|
|
Post by Noosh9057 on May 31, 2008 9:06:06 GMT -5
Oh ya, the other thing I noticed that I forgot to mention is the 33B seems to turn a bit slower than the 3A (38-42RPM vs 54-58RPM). Because of this I find it's better to use the 3A for the grit stages and the 33B for the prepolish and polish stages, works out quite nicely and can provide for a decent but fully manageable throughput. You can literally have a batch finishing every 2-3 weeks! Ok thanks for the info I now have just the 33b but I am looking at getting a 3a. When I get the new 3a I will try using the 3A for the corse. Well agen thanks. I am going to get the first bach stated today. this will be the first bach for me in to years. Roger |
|
on dealing with some common maintenance issues. The only thing I left out was changing the roller bushings but it's pretty straight forward to figure out once you're already working on it. In fact, it's a good idea to take the top cover off the first time you run it under load to look for problems with things like pulley wobble & alignment to ensure you get off to a smooth start. 
