10thumbs
spending too much on rocks
I want to be reincarnated as a dog.
Member since March 2009
Posts: 480
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Post by 10thumbs on Mar 18, 2009 15:25:37 GMT -5
My father-in-law is an old car buff and winters in Florida. Consequently, when he left for Melbourne Beach after Christmas I absconded with his vibratory tumbler he uses to clean rust bolts, screws, etc. It's an Eastwood Wet/Dry tumbler: www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=10971&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=439&iSubCat=440&iProductID=10971I have tried it several times using 120-220 grit. I have tried it with plastic pellets, small ceramic cylinders, a bunch of chips and fragments. I've tried it dry with a bunch of pellets, if tried it damp, I've tried it soaked. No matter what I do whatever I put in there develops perfectly flat sides. I've gotten it to where the stones moved in a cyclic action; climbing up the outside edge and churning toward the middle and submerging. Invariably if I leave for a while the action degrades to a gradual spinning where all the rocks seem to be moving together counter-clockwise at approximately the speed of a second hand on a clock. I have no concept of what the viscosity of the mix should look like. Actually, I don't really know what the viscosity should look like in my tumblers either. I know it should be thick in the later stages but I don't have enough quality stones in any one hardness to make a polish batch yet. If the rocks don't have a pleasing shape should I avoid the vibratory tumbler anyway? I'm just so damn impatient! Please enlighten me! |
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller 
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Mar 18, 2009 17:06:10 GMT -5
When your cyclic action slows down simply use a few squirts from a spray bottle to get the action going again. The coarse grits seem to need baby-sitting more than the finer grits and polish stages. My 18 lb. mach, usually needs a few squirts every 8 to 10 hours or so. After playing with it a bit, you will get a feel for it. If the stone is not shaped to your liking run it in the rotary with coarser grit until it is.
Your stone has been laying in the ground for thousands of years, no need to rush the polishing, just enjoy the journey !
Harley
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 18, 2009 19:36:50 GMT -5
Vibes are mostly used for finishing because they maintain most of the shape you start with. If you are finishing cabs, hearts, crosses etc. they are great. If you are speeding up last steps over a rotary also good. If you are shooting for rounded pebbles you'll have to start with beach pebbles or ue a rotary to round them off.
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Post by LCARS on Mar 18, 2009 20:38:58 GMT -5
Maybe the action in that vibe is different?  It should have an orbital vibratory action that causes the stuff in it to twirl and convect around but since i don't own one myself you probably shouldn't listen to me. :cheesy: |
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10thumbs
spending too much on rocks
I want to be reincarnated as a dog.
Member since March 2009
Posts: 480
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Post by 10thumbs on Mar 19, 2009 8:46:46 GMT -5
I found this video on YouTube. Is this how it is supposed to look? Assuming this is the perfect amount of movement what happens to the action when it is a) to dry, b) too wet, c)underloaded, d)overloaded? |
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 19, 2009 9:44:53 GMT -5
Too dry and action slows or stops. Too wet and grit settles to bottom of bowl. Fully loaded is best. Good idea to use with up to 1/2 ceramic cylinders. If you rinse rocks at beginning and start load it should rotate well. If not add a spritz of water as needed to get it rolling. Remember how it moves. Check every two hours and add spritz as needed to keep it rolling as at start up. After you get the hang of it you can check less often probably.
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on Mar 19, 2009 10:37:44 GMT -5
Are you putting enough rocks in? For a vibratory tumbler to work properly they need to be filled up to the level of the center of the bowl where the rod comes through the bowl. I use ceramic media, tempered glass shards, and glass marbles as filler in my vibes...
Rick
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Mar 19, 2009 12:55:35 GMT -5
That is the correct action in the video and John did a good job of describing what happens when too dry or too wet. If it is underloaded, the rocks tend to just vibrate back and forth and bang against each other. It is difficult to overload them; as Rick said, fill it to the top of the center cone. I have overloaded one (a UV-18) and all it did was slow things down a little.
I used to use ceramics, but stopped because they were being ground down, but the agates were not. The key to the point about ceramics is that you need to have a mixture of sizes in the bowl. The load should be about like this:
1/3 of rocks 1/2" and smaller
1/3 of rocks 1/2" to 1"
the rest can be any size, but limit the rocks 2-3" in diameter to 2 or 3 rocks max.
Don't use plastic pellets in a vibe; they just float. Use a rotary for shaping; the vibe won't shape them much at all.
And yes, when things slow down because of sludge add a squirt or two of water and wait to see if the action improves within a minute. If it doesn't, add another squirt and wait again. It's easy to get too much water.
Keep trying, you'll get there and we're here to help you out.
Chuck
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10thumbs
spending too much on rocks
I want to be reincarnated as a dog.
Member since March 2009
Posts: 480
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Post by 10thumbs on Mar 21, 2009 0:39:12 GMT -5
The vib is working 10x better and much more like the video. I had way too much water in there and not nearly enough rock.
If the cap is on, no water can get out. So is the occasional spritz of water to add lubrication as more sand is generated by the tumbling action? I have not had to spritz it yet but I only let it run for 3 or 4 hours before I turned it off for the night.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 21, 2009 9:36:28 GMT -5
That depends on how well the bowl seals, how dry your climate is, how much slurry you are making. Definitely don't add water until action slows down.
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10thumbs
spending too much on rocks
I want to be reincarnated as a dog.
Member since March 2009
Posts: 480
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Post by 10thumbs on Mar 21, 2009 16:25:07 GMT -5
Okay, I probably have 8-10 hours of vibrating in this load. The stones are coated with a thin but sticky paste that does not feel at all gritty. Is it time for a recharge? To be honest the stones don't seem markedly changed. All the cracks and chips are still prominent.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 21, 2009 17:12:01 GMT -5
You'll be better off grinding out cracks/chips with a wheel or rotary. Depending on the vibe you will maintain most to all the original shape. That means you will likely have shiny cracks and chips when done.
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