rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on May 3, 2010 10:56:33 GMT -5
I started up my 40 lb tumbler last Friday.  I loaded it up with a bunch of petrified wood and jaspers that were fist sized and misc smaller rocks and put in about 4.5 cups of 60/90 grit and let 'er roll. On Sunday I opened it up and there was s nice slurry forming but I realized I didn't have enough small stuff so I put a bunch of broken slabs of petrified wood in. Today (Monday) I opened it up and it had a good slurry going but the grit appeared to be totally broken down. The rocks are shaping nicely. So I dumped another two cups of 60/90 in and let 'er roll. This tumbler turns a lot faster than i'm used to at 28 rpms. It seems to outperform my other tumbler that turns 6, 12, and 15 pound barrels. I'll check it in a couple more days and post the progress. I may go broke filling this baby with grit... |
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Post by johnjsgems on May 3, 2010 11:08:31 GMT -5
Rick, I had a 40 lb. HP I bought from a friend. He told me 2 1/2 lb. grit per load. I always had unbroken down grit after a week so maybe a little too much. Also, the HP had cheesy bronze bushings (like coolers) not ball bearings like you used.
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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 May 3, 2010 14:43:21 GMT -5
Some folks might 'preciate a pic of the slurry too.
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on May 4, 2010 13:02:33 GMT -5
Day 5 OK, I checked the barrel and dipping my fingers in I felt little grit so I decided to wash out the barrel and see whats going on. Once I got to the bottom I found there was little grit left and what was left was finely ground.  The rocks are shaping nicely for only 5 days of tumbling. They are in 5 gallon buckets to give a a sense of scale.  The small stuff.  So I loaded it back up. Added 4 cups of 60/90 (sigh).  And started 'er rolling again...  |
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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 May 4, 2010 15:25:37 GMT -5
Great pictorial rockdewd!
These give alot of people the exact idea of what they should be looking for.
Dr Joe
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on May 5, 2010 12:03:41 GMT -5
Dr Joe,
Yeah but my results with this tumbler seem to be accelerated to what I'm used to seeing. I think the barrel speed of 28 RPMs seems to be accelerating the results...
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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 May 5, 2010 15:54:27 GMT -5
It's a possibility, you'll be able to tell better by the 600 grit. If the rocks don't beat themselves up, your on to something. If they look chipped you may have to load up on pellets or ceramics to pack them in. If your really curious, you could make a cover from lexan or the like, so you can see the rocks tumble (or fall), only good for a short observation tho since it will scratch quickly. Still got my fingers crossed for ya  Dr Joe . |
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on May 5, 2010 15:59:35 GMT -5
I generally use vibes to do my finishing. I hope some of the rocks aren't too big for my 18 lb Ultravibe. Would love to have a 45 lb ultravibe but that's not in the budget at this time...
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Post by rockrookie on May 5, 2010 21:20:09 GMT -5
nice setup !!
thanks for the pixs .
the phots of the slurry would have helped me out about 2 years ago .
it took me several months to get my water & grit ammounts right .
and now my slurry looks like yours does .
that is so important to acheiving good results .
--paul
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rockdewd
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2007
Posts: 605
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Post by rockdewd on May 8, 2010 22:22:08 GMT -5
Well, I cleaned out the 40 lb barrel again today. That's one week between washouts with a recharge in the middle of the week. There were some small pieces of slabs ready for the next stage after only two weeks and everything else is shaping up nicely. The grit is breaking down completely to where what little is left is the consistency of 120/220.
This tumbler is definitely the fastest for shaping stone that I have experienced. I don't know if it's the 28 RPM speed or the 6-sided barrel or both. But it is shaping the rocks at turbo speed.
Since my usual process is to finish in the vibes I decided any rocks too big for my ultravibe 18 I will finish tumble and polish in one of my 12 lb Lortone barrels with half the RPM speed. Plus savings on grit and polish.
This 40 lb may become the workhorse of my rough grinding. I'm thinking of ordering some 36/70 grit for it and see if I get any better mileage out of the grit. Using up 6 cups of grit a week gets a little expensive.
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