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Post by tanyafrench on Jun 15, 2010 18:11:39 GMT -5
About a month ago a bought a tumbler from a rock shop on Ebay. It broke the belt the first week and yesterday it stopped tumbling again and this time I found the small pulley was eaten up.
All I have now is my little 1.5 Lortone which I have had for about 5 months and never had a problem but it's hard to tumble any quantity as it takes about 6 weeks for a load.
I was excited about the bigger dual barrel tumbler but it seems the Chicago is not nearly as good as the Lortone. Being on a tight budget the price seemed right but the operation certainly is not right.
Does anyone have a good used tumbler for a good price? My husband and I are on social security and need to spend as little as possible.
Any Help is Appreciated.
Tanya
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Thunder69
Cave Dweller 
Thunder 2000-2015
Member since January 2009
Posts: 3,105
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Post by Thunder69 on Jun 15, 2010 19:28:43 GMT -5
Hey Tanya, Welcome to the board....YOu might want to check out www.rockshed.com ,They have good deals on tumblers...I have a few of the chiago electrics...They do tend to break easily.....You might be able to find a pully and belt on there...AR12 belt works better than the one that comes with it.....Hope it helps ...John |
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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 Jun 15, 2010 21:25:00 GMT -5
Sounds like you got a Chicago Electric! There's some older posts on retrofitting the CE's with newer parts that make it more robust, but if it's a CE, the next failure that's not too far off is the motor. If you're a tinkerer, you can make 'em decent for less money than a Lortone...but if you want relatively trouble free, your best bet would be to get a different tumbler. I'd echo the comments on the Rock Shed. Sometimes it's better to spend more money on a decent thing than to spend even more money fixing something that wasn't built right to begin with. The Lortone dual 3lber is a very decent unit. I'm running two of them and their flexibility is pretty nice. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in selling mine.  Your 1.5 Lortone would make an excellent polishing rig and a second barrel could give you the flexibility to easily use it for other stages when nothing needs polished. Good luck...maybe something will turn up or maybe you could find a good used tumbler cheap enough on Ebay by just waiting? |
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Post by rockrookie on Jun 15, 2010 22:09:11 GMT -5
welcome to RTH , Tanya .
i have found that on ebay . good tumblers go pretty high bidding .
my secret which won't be a secret any more . find a Lortone auction that ends on a Holiday .
i've got some great buys on Thankgiving Day and Christmas .
the 4th of July is coming .
also have seen some good deals on Craiglist . but never when i needed a tumbler .
deals go very fast . you have to be quick .
--paul
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Post by catmandewe on Jun 15, 2010 23:57:09 GMT -5
You can buy a new Lortone belt and pulley and put it on your Chicago Electric, when the motor goes kaput, you can buy a new lortone motor and you will essentially have built yourself a lortone tumbler piece by piece.
I have a dual barrel 30 lb tumbler and a triple barrel 45 lb tumbler for sale if you are close, but the shipping would make it pretty expensive if you are quite a ways away.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do with it.
Tony
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Post by tanyafrench on Jun 16, 2010 10:46:08 GMT -5
Many thanks for your responses. I'm in Ohio so Idaho is a bit too far. I really need a dual 3lbs tumbler. I am new to tumbling, my son Chris Perez got me into it. He does some beautiful wraps and directed me to this site. I have purchased some beautiful Petrified wood and some agate for tumbling. Now I can't tumble anything for about 4 weeks since that is what is left on my 1.5 Lortone. Anyway, I am still interested if anyone has a working tumbler and they want to upgrade to a larger one. Please just let me know.
Regards,
Tanya
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Post by johnjsgems on Jun 16, 2010 11:29:19 GMT -5
33B Lortones are pretty abundant. I occasionally find used ones at shows pretty cheap. Right after Christmas you see many on eBay. Save the drums from your Chicago. They will work on the Lortone when you locate one. You should check with the dealer you bought it from regarding a warranty. They are generally sold by Harbor Freight but some dealers buy them and resell. Any reputable dealer will stand behind their products.
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Post by tanyafrench on Jun 16, 2010 13:39:23 GMT -5
I bought this one as used one time. He sold it to me for $50 and then when the belt broke I went to Harbor Freight and saw the new ones for $39.00. Needless to say I paid shipping as well. I have previously bought tumbling rocks from them also but I have had much better deals on this site. They will not back up the sale since it was used one time. Perhaps not too reputable.
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Post by tanyafrench on Jun 16, 2010 16:37:44 GMT -5
I did check ebay as was suggested. I bid on a Lortone 33B and just won it for $49.88. It says it is in excellent condition and looks real clean, no scratches and I know I can get parts for this one and count on them. Thanks for all your feedback. Blessings to you all! Tanya
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Post by susand24224 on Jun 16, 2010 21:26:41 GMT -5
Congratulations on your new purchase! Please keep us informed of your tumbling progress.
Susan
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Post by tanyafrench on Jun 17, 2010 4:52:13 GMT -5
Thank you Susan! I am so excited and I will keep you up to date.
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Post by rockrookie on Jun 17, 2010 7:25:06 GMT -5
glad to hear .
i hope that you have fun and lots of success.
--paul
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Post by johnjsgems on Jun 17, 2010 9:00:02 GMT -5
I cringe when I see people at shows with CE tumblers. Dealers will buy them when Harbor Freight has them on sale and resell them. Same low quality tumbler but no warranty. Don't get me started on "dealers" that sell them used for $50, no warranty. The CE drums are supposed to be pretty good and fit the 33B. You will enjoy the Lortone. All parts are readily available and if serviced regularly you should get years of use.
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Post by tanyafrench on Jun 17, 2010 9:52:05 GMT -5
John and Paul,
Thanks for your support. You may know my son from this site, he is Chris Perez. If I am successful he may have some great stones for his wraps. He does such a beautiful job on them. I won't try wrapping but I can tumble the stones for him. Of course then he has to come and visit to see the stones. It's a double blessing.
Tanya
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Post by tanyafrench on Jun 21, 2010 9:28:27 GMT -5
Just an update, my new tumbler came in and it has "never" been used. It is a 33B Lortone. The cardboard was still on the tumblers and plastic on the plug. It is now tumbling. It was a real bargain for $49.00. It still had the original packages of grit that comes with some lortone tumblers and the paper bags have not been opened. :)Tanya
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Post by susand24224 on Jun 23, 2010 18:31:41 GMT -5
Tanya, you did get a great bargain! Congrats on your new purchase and many beautiful rocks to come.
Susan
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Post by johnjsgems on Jun 23, 2010 21:41:42 GMT -5
Don't get discouraged if the factory grit kit doesn't give you great results. They are notorious for being not great. Kind of surprising since you would think they would want people so pleased they would order more.
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Your 1.5 Lortone would make an excellent polishing rig and a second barrel could give you the flexibility to easily use it for other stages when nothing needs polished.
