revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
Member since February 2010
Posts: 162
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Post by revco on Mar 18, 2010 1:51:35 GMT -5
I need some help understanding what happened here. I just came home to my entire tumbling table tipped completely over. Literally, one leg underneath the table had completely collapsed and all my tumblers/grit/pellets/etc were tipped over. All my tumbling stuff is on one of those plastic topped, fairly sturdy, Home Depot fold out tables....maybe about 60lbs in all, evenly distributed. The table was folded out well enough to withstand at least a couple months of use since I moved my stuff onto it. The whole thing literally collapsed while I was away.
I charged my QT66 with 60/90 earlier tonight. I used a about 3-4Tbsp of plastic pellets per barrel because I was getting some pitting from a mixed load, probably cause I got a hard bugger in there. (I have done that a couple times before with no problem) Other than that, nothing was out of the ordinary. The barrels didn't leak, even after having been thrown probably close to 3 feet. My guess is that something catastrophic happened while I was away. Maybe the table wasn't quite sturdy enough and just failed...but there had to have been a catalyst. I've never seen such excessive vibrating from tumblers that could cause a table to collapse.
Has anyone ever experienced a really crazy thing like this that might shed some light on understanding what happened? I'm completely at a loss!
Fortunately, I only lost about a pound of CO polish, two pounds of pellets and what sounds like a belt on my QT66. Also lost some rock chips from breaking up some rock. Everything else stayed in it's container, thankfully! Good part is that my trusty 3A that's been with me for 12 years was happily running along, even in it's tipped over condition! Ha! (Love that thing!)
Anyway...nothing like this has ever happened before....so I'm curious if someone might be able to shed some light on tumblers gone crazy. Any insight would be helpful...but in the meantime, I've decided the weather is good enough to move my operation back outdoors!
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drjo
fully equipped rock polisher
Honduran Opal & DIY Nut
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,581
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Post by drjo on Mar 18, 2010 6:25:36 GMT -5
Best bet is a drum out of round (material stuck to one side) and vibrated the table around till a leg folded under itself, but I thought those tables had locks on the foldout supports. Curious.
Dr Joe
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Post by rockrookie on Mar 18, 2010 7:00:34 GMT -5
sounds like a mystery .
i have a 6lb Thumbler that i have had simalar problems with .
if i have lots of small shards in , that break off in the early stages
they would get under lid seal and cause a leak around the lid , this would be compounded if i had any large 3 inch rocks in barrel . when lids pops off . any thing can happen .
in my case -- a sludgy mess .
i have a large wooden work bench . so that is probably why , it never went any farther .
long story short . some thing started the ball rolling -- then the table failed . causing a more serious problem .
just my 2 cents !
--paul
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revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
Member since February 2010
Posts: 162
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Post by revco on Mar 18, 2010 9:32:18 GMT -5
Dr. Joe - I think you're probably right. After I wrote this post (from being in shock at what happened), I checked my barrels and set out to repair the belt on my QT66. I noticed a LOT of the fresh grit was pooled to one side. This certainly could have been caused by the fact that the barrels were sitting there, not tumbling, for two and a half hours or less...but it was more so than the other barrel. Also, this barrel had slightly less water in it than I typically put in...maybe a quarter inch or so. Slurry had not yet formed in either barrel.
After setting it back up, it's been running fine all night. I plan on moving the table outside later tonight and also securing the table legs with bricks. I am also considering having just my tumblers on the table and placing my grit and other stuff elsewhere in case this happens again. I was fortunately not to lose almost 25lbs of fresh 60/90!
Wow....so lesson learned! Use a good table or make sure it's very secure!
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 18, 2010 13:18:41 GMT -5
One of the shows we do they have a place in the contract saying we have to make sure table legs are fully locked open before setting up. I'm guessing folding tables just want to be folded. A sturdy work bench would likely serve you better.
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Post by Toad on Mar 18, 2010 15:36:45 GMT -5
I know you took pictures. We want to see the blood and gore.
Sorry for your catastrophe. Pain in the butt, but glad it wasn't worse.
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Post by rocklicker on Mar 18, 2010 16:51:31 GMT -5
Sorry to hear about your tumbler incident. Sounds like some reinforcment of your table is in order or a workbench as John recommends.
Steve
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Post by susand24224 on Mar 18, 2010 18:15:23 GMT -5
If it had happened in my garage, I would blame the cats. If you are cat-free, John and Dr. Joe are probably right!
Sorry for your problems--at least everything is still functioning.
Susan
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revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
Member since February 2010
Posts: 162
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Post by revco on Mar 18, 2010 19:00:12 GMT -5
Susan - I DO have cats and they were the very first thing I thought of! But, the door was closed and no cats were to be found in the room. That's just like 'em though...I'm surprised mine are still alive!
Toad...I didn't get any pics of the disaster and it's mostly cleaned up now. Sorry! I wasn't even thinking that ya'll would wanna see the destruction! LOL. That cracked me up & I wish I had something for ya!
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revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
Member since February 2010
Posts: 162
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Post by revco on Mar 18, 2010 19:57:44 GMT -5
One more question - hopefully someone will read this.
Do you think it's safe to run CO covered rags through the washing machine? I don't know if polish has the same anti-plumbing properties of regular grit. I take such care to make sure all my grit/polish never enters my plumbing...but I want to recover my rags! Perhaps I should play it safe and rinse them outside as best I can first.
For the first time, I'm going to have to "burnish" my wood floors! Plain water & CO apparently does the same thing to wood floors that it does to rocks - coats it in a white film! Hahahaha. Thank goodness for Borax!
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Post by susand24224 on Mar 18, 2010 23:26:27 GMT -5
Revco, your cats undoubtedly quietly opened the door, let themselves out, then closed the door again for cover. I have learned never to assume that a cat didn't do something.
All kidding aside, what I have read is that polish is safe to dump down the sink, and therefore presumably safe to dump down the washing machine drain. I have dumped considerable polish down my drains, thus far without adverse effects.
Susan
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revco
starting to spend too much on rocks
Another Victim Of The Rockcycle
Member since February 2010
Posts: 162
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Post by revco on Mar 19, 2010 22:19:24 GMT -5
Susan - thanks for the advice. That's good to know. I went ahead and washed 'em with no major issues to report. Didn't even bother rinsing, thinking the little bit that was left probably wouldn't seriously damage anything. I still don't trust it enough to send it all down the drain, though! You might be right about those cats! They use me, sleep on my stuff and secretly plot to trip me/hurt me/kill me whenever they can. They might just be plotting against my hobby room, angry that I never invite them in! If it weren't for the opposable thumb predicament, I'm convinced cats would probably rule the earth.  |
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Post by susand24224 on Mar 20, 2010 12:45:38 GMT -5
Yes, your cats are related to mine. I do have one who can turn door knobs but she never closes the door afterward. Yours have advanced further.
As for the drain, I will immediately post a plumbing bill if my pouring habit with polish turns into disaster.
Susan
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Post by snowdog on Mar 21, 2010 7:49:19 GMT -5
I have some of those tables too -- was just wondering if the little "slide" that locks the brace in place happened to get caught above the joint --- if that was the case , it could of collapsed from the vibration that the tumbler had ?
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