hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 5, 2008 18:03:16 GMT -5
OK! ;D We finally got my used Covington 250 loaded with Rose Quartz only 10 minutes ago! My 6yr old son said we have to wait HOW long!?!?!  LOL I just thought I'd start this thread mainly to keep track of what I was doing. But if you guys/gals wanna make suggestions, comments, tips, etc. by all means please do! I put 5 to 6 lbs of Rose Quartz in. Added water til only the tips of the rock were above it. Added 5 tblsp of plastic pellets (someone said it helps carry grit?) Added 5 or 6 tblsp of 80 grit, put the lid on and started it up!! Did I do it right? |
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 5, 2008 18:31:28 GMT -5
My boy wanted to see the rocks while it was running so we took the lid off, pretty cool! I noticed that the grit was accumulating towards the back and sticking to the back wall. Is this normal at first with the Covington having the slanted barrell? Or should I be putting some sort of agent in there to help disperse the grit?
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Post by LCARS on Sept 5, 2008 18:43:49 GMT -5
Just let 'er go man! ;D I know how tempting it is to open it up every few hours on your first run but not much happens until at least a good day into it.  Sounds like everything is going fine for now though so I wouldn't worry, it takes a little while for the slurry to thicken up enough to carry the grit evenly and until that happens it will tend to sediment out. |
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 5, 2008 18:55:26 GMT -5
Thanks man! I figured that's what had to happen. But I'm afraid not opening it is out of the question with a 6 yr old. LOL Maybe I can cut it back to once a day!  Like your avatar! |
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Post by parfive on Sept 5, 2008 21:56:05 GMT -5
Hodgehound – The only problem I see is the pellets. They’re only going to interfere (cushion/slow down) with the rough grind, rather than helping to carry the grit.
I’d scoop out what you can with a spoon when you open the barrel, and get the rest when you cleanout and recharge in a week.
Besides, no six year old kid should have to deal with pellets. ;D
Rich
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 5, 2008 22:05:51 GMT -5
LOL That makes sense. Just like the pellets carrying the grit did when I first heard/read it. I'll take them out I guess. Maybe they meant in the later stages it cushions and helps carry the grit!
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 7, 2008 16:17:01 GMT -5
OK Got most of the pellets out. Going on two days now. Pulled a few out and no more sharp edges so it's working! All the quartz is getting rounded edges and the water is now milky with specks of grit in it. Not what I'd call a slurry yet but I guess it's coming. I'm gonna have to get more than one tumbler! It'is just too tempting to peek in! I need something to keep my time occupied!  |
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Post by johnjsgems on Sept 8, 2008 7:06:04 GMT -5
Ceramic media would help in the early stages. The plastic picks up grit so can't be used in subsequent steps. Plastic wouldn't help much in early steps but I don't think it would hurt much. If you don't have a slurry yet add a few more spoonfulls of grit.
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 8, 2008 14:43:49 GMT -5
OK Thanks John! I'll do that!
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Post by Condor on Sept 11, 2008 21:30:29 GMT -5
You and your little buddy. That's perfect man, just perfect. May you both have tons of tumbles and lots of place to rock hunt together.
Condor
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 12, 2008 10:56:26 GMT -5
Thanks Condor! I just cleaned it out after the first week and they are coming along! Going outta town for the weekend so I did not want it running with nobody here.Will recharge and run another week in rough grit just to be sure they are good and smooth. Got some pics to post of the first weeks results, just wish I'd taken before pics! I'll post them after we get back home. One thing is for sure......we gotta have more tumblers!!!! |
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Sept 14, 2008 6:01:42 GMT -5
And so it begins! Not that you need any more encouragement, but I think it's okay to leave it running over the weekend. Not much to go wrong. |
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 15, 2008 16:11:18 GMT -5
Only worried about motor shorting and fire. Gonna post pics of week one results in a minute
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 15, 2008 16:27:54 GMT -5
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ejs
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2008
Posts: 478
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Post by ejs on Sept 15, 2008 17:50:03 GMT -5
Looking good! Keep in mind that the batch doesn't have to be all-or-none in terms of being done with the coarse shaping stage. You might find some that is ready to go on, some that needs another round, and some that is so flawed that it should be split and the pieces restarted.
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Post by cina on Sept 15, 2008 18:02:37 GMT -5
Looking good I have been tumbling with my kids for 5 years now and can tell you it is a gift to have the time with them now we rock hunt, cab, nap, and wrap together they are getting older now but we still have a thing we come together for my youngest were 3 when we started We have a 19, 17,16, and almost 10 year old twins and any thing that brings teens home with Mom and Dad is a GOOD thing Have a great time, Steph |
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 17, 2008 14:35:10 GMT -5
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 19, 2008 13:51:27 GMT -5
OK! 2 weeks in the rough grit has the Rose Quartz looking NICE! Giving them a lil soak in some laundry detergent just to make sure ALL the grit comes off. Gonna rinse the Rose and the barrel really well in a minute. Then, off to stage 2!!! ;D ..........................
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hodgehound
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since August 2008
Posts: 82
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Post by hodgehound on Sept 28, 2008 20:08:52 GMT -5
Well stage 2 is done! And so is the tumbler motor!!!  Doug told me it was pretty old. I know it wasn't overloaded. I had a RC Event at my local flying field this weekend and when I got home I checked out in the shop and the tumbler was just sitting there buzzing! I got some buddys looking for a motor for it. They are HVAC technicians and see a LOT of motors that size. They just need to find the same rpm and htz. ratings. I'll give them a few weeks. If they don't find one by then I'll just have to buy one from Covington or something. It sure don't take long for the slurry to start setting like concrete! It could not have sat for more than 24 hrs, but it took me a good while to get it all cleaned up! |
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Post by Bikerrandy on Sept 28, 2008 21:08:59 GMT -5
Well, since you're waiting for a motor, take pics!! lol... Motors are fairly easy to come by.
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LOL I just thought I'd start this thread mainly to keep track of what I was doing. But if you guys/gals wanna make suggestions, comments, tips, etc. by all means please do!
Like your avatar!
Did I say that I need more tumblers? Yeah I think I did. I'm really thinking about building one! Like the one in this thread....
