Post by thewall on Jul 18, 2012 13:49:52 GMT -5
Hey guys, cool board you've got going here! I admit I'm a bit of an interloper, rock tumbling really isn't my thing. I do however need some help. So it's story time. Jump down the page to the heading 'Gist of my question' to get to the guts of my post
My sister is into jewelry making, and uses all sorts of stones, glass, etc in her creations. She is lucky enough to live near a beach and so wanders around looking for suitable rocks, etc.
Which is great, and I think she enjoys the exercise. But I know one thing she bemoans is a lack of colored glass suitable for such creations.
I remembered my old Geology A levels says, and my teacher using an old rock tumbler to get what he wanted from rocks. It struck me that was a good idea for my sister, so I took to Google. And boy was I shocked!
I had no idea people did it for a hobby, that there was an entire industry based around it. It makes fascinating reading.
But I didn't want to just buy one. I am, by profession, a sales person (well, recruitment consultant, sorry). I enjoy what I do and make a good living from it - but it doesn't give me that 'achievement' feeling of creating something.
So I've decided to take that on myself - and look to create things. I looked around and took on twin hobbies of learning coding (Java) and learning more about basic engineering stuff.
THE GIST OF MY QUESTION
For my first project I wanted to create a DiY Tumbler for my sister. Ideally something that will take shattered colored glass and rub it down, taking off edges and putting it into shapes she can use.
Now my engineering knowledge is basically none, my DiY skills, close to zero, and any other useful factors (programming and the like), nonexistant. But I'm keen to learn.
The first part of this project (and I will be posting on here as each step of the project is completed, if I'm going to ask a community for help I should, after all, give something back to it) has got to be a simple one, understanding the parameters of what I am doing.
To that end I need your help. I've looked around and grabbed a basic understanding. I need a motor, a 'tumbler', grit and the like. Probably an axel to turn the tumbler (and a free wheeling rod for support), and a mount for all this. It'll need power supply, etc. All stuff I'm reading up on to understand atm.
But parameters...I need basic guidance in what I should be creating here.
What sort of RPM matters?
Is there need for a high torque motor?
How much capacity for the drum is needed? (occasional, hobbyist use)
Can glass be manipulated in such a way? if so are there any special requirements vs stones (I should imagine she would want to do both)
And of course, any basic pitfalls and common mistakes I should avoid?
Your help is greatly appreciated. This project will be done in my spare time so I envisage it taking a few months to completion and, as I say, I'll post up the various steps along the way so others might find a 'how to' guide should they need it (btw links to other how to guides would be greatly appreciated)
Thanks
Nick
My sister is into jewelry making, and uses all sorts of stones, glass, etc in her creations. She is lucky enough to live near a beach and so wanders around looking for suitable rocks, etc.
Which is great, and I think she enjoys the exercise. But I know one thing she bemoans is a lack of colored glass suitable for such creations.
I remembered my old Geology A levels says, and my teacher using an old rock tumbler to get what he wanted from rocks. It struck me that was a good idea for my sister, so I took to Google. And boy was I shocked!
I had no idea people did it for a hobby, that there was an entire industry based around it. It makes fascinating reading.
But I didn't want to just buy one. I am, by profession, a sales person (well, recruitment consultant, sorry). I enjoy what I do and make a good living from it - but it doesn't give me that 'achievement' feeling of creating something.
So I've decided to take that on myself - and look to create things. I looked around and took on twin hobbies of learning coding (Java) and learning more about basic engineering stuff.
THE GIST OF MY QUESTION
For my first project I wanted to create a DiY Tumbler for my sister. Ideally something that will take shattered colored glass and rub it down, taking off edges and putting it into shapes she can use.
Now my engineering knowledge is basically none, my DiY skills, close to zero, and any other useful factors (programming and the like), nonexistant. But I'm keen to learn.
The first part of this project (and I will be posting on here as each step of the project is completed, if I'm going to ask a community for help I should, after all, give something back to it) has got to be a simple one, understanding the parameters of what I am doing.
To that end I need your help. I've looked around and grabbed a basic understanding. I need a motor, a 'tumbler', grit and the like. Probably an axel to turn the tumbler (and a free wheeling rod for support), and a mount for all this. It'll need power supply, etc. All stuff I'm reading up on to understand atm.
But parameters...I need basic guidance in what I should be creating here.
What sort of RPM matters?
Is there need for a high torque motor?
How much capacity for the drum is needed? (occasional, hobbyist use)
Can glass be manipulated in such a way? if so are there any special requirements vs stones (I should imagine she would want to do both)
And of course, any basic pitfalls and common mistakes I should avoid?
Your help is greatly appreciated. This project will be done in my spare time so I envisage it taking a few months to completion and, as I say, I'll post up the various steps along the way so others might find a 'how to' guide should they need it (btw links to other how to guides would be greatly appreciated)
Thanks
Nick