Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on Jun 9, 2012 21:27:56 GMT -5
I bought a used Lot-O a while back on eBay and bought a hopper for it and never got around to using until today. It did not come with instructions and I looked at the forums for help so I hope I'm doing this right. I polished some Apache Tears and Snowflake Obsidian last year and was not satisfied with the shine. So I have decided to give the Lot-O a try out and see how it works. I did not have enough material to fill the hopper and put ceramic in with the Tears and Snowflake. Is this a bad idea? I filled it about two thirds with water and put about a teaspoon of AO polish in it. I turned it on and the material seemed to be moving around nicely and the polish is definately mixed in the water as it is milky colored. I am using the same ceramic I used to polish this material in the tumbler. The ceramic took a better shine than the obsidian then. Is what I am doing sound about right? And how long will it take to run in the polishing stage? I am thinking about two days, but I will check it often. Also when I bought the Lot-O, the counter balances were at about 90 degrees from each other, so I lined them up straight, is this the right way of doing this? I hope I am doing everything the right way.
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Jun 9, 2012 21:44:22 GMT -5
I polish everything in my Lot-os.The water amount is way too much.The rocks should only be wet enough for the polish to coat them.I fill the barrel with rocks and water and turn upside down with the water running through my fingers until it starts to drip.Dont really know the amount,but that works for me.The counter weights should be lined up.I mostly run my polish stage 3 days,provided they have a good prepolish.Sounds like you got it except for the water quantity. I sprinkle a little water in as I check the progress if they seem to be drying out.
snuffy
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 10, 2012 7:12:18 GMT -5
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Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on Jun 10, 2012 18:35:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I drained the water and the action sped up about 5 times faster. I checked a couple of pieces today and and they're looking good, and nearly finished polishing, wish I would have worked with the Lot-O a year ago. Thanks Snuffy. I looked over the tutorial today, it is good information, thanks JugglerGuy.
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jun 14, 2012 1:00:21 GMT -5
Hi Rockdodger, Here is a link to Conrocks International Lot"O" Vibe recepie which many people use here on RTH forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=tottumb&action=display&thread=29369&page=4I hope you find it usefull AND yes it is only 1/2 a tea spoon from stage 3 on Jack Yorkshire uk There are a few variations on this but you allways get a very high gloss finish on general hard rocks Obsidian is a bit diffrent there is a thread on RTH that is doing a tutorial /experiment right now
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jun 14, 2012 1:13:02 GMT -5
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Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on Jun 23, 2012 21:29:54 GMT -5
Thanks for all the help. I followed Snuffies advice on the water level and put another half of teaspoon of AO polish in the hopper and these Tears and Snowflake shine incredibly! It really is possible to get Obsidion to glow! Wow! Now I want to buy another Lot-O!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 23, 2012 21:34:12 GMT -5
Pictures! Where are the pictures?
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Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on Jun 23, 2012 21:51:48 GMT -5
In the near future I hope. Maybe tonight if I find time.
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Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on Jun 23, 2012 23:36:25 GMT -5
Tears to cry for. This picture does no justice to the shine on this Obsidion.
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Post by connrock on Jun 24, 2012 5:42:32 GMT -5
Fantastic job! There's not much that can't be polished in a L-O-T,,,,all you have to do is find the right "recipe" and technique! In a very short while they pay for themselves with the savings on grit and polish too,,,,not to mention the time that's saved!
The only problem I've ever had was trying to have enough rocks roughed in to keep up with it!
Good luck and have fun! connrock
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jun 24, 2012 7:34:04 GMT -5
Wow! That looks great! I'm anxious to try tumbling obsidian, and I hope to be as successful as you were! Nice job.
Rob
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Jun 24, 2012 7:49:58 GMT -5
Quite a nice batch.I dont think I ever got a batch of obsidian to look that good. snuffy
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
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Post by quartz on Jun 24, 2012 7:58:14 GMT -5
Well done, thanks for the show.
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Post by NatureNut on Jun 24, 2012 9:05:09 GMT -5
Your diligence and TLC has paid off. They're beautiful. Congrats! Jo
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Post by tntmom on Jun 24, 2012 10:09:55 GMT -5
Those turned out AWESOME!!!!! I sure LOVE OB!!!!
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Jun 25, 2012 1:00:39 GMT -5
Brilliant batch,
You did very well never mind the picture quality they show the polish up excelent
Jack Yorkshire uk
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charles kuchar
spending too much on rocks
getting ready for the second coming
Member since November 2010
Posts: 300
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Post by charles kuchar on Jun 25, 2012 10:25:45 GMT -5
very nice job. i am going back through my old polished batches and polishing them again with the lot-0 with toms recipe. charlie
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