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Post by orrum on Jul 19, 2013 15:25:53 GMT -5
Hello, well as a cowboy " Aint but one way to ride, get on and stay on !!!" So just loaded my used freebie Lot-o from Marinedad/Mark for my very first ever vibe tumbler success! Yes I have faith this is gonna work beautifully! Still rotary tumbling to try to get a batch ready for the 120/220 and got tired of waiting so I cut with my lil trim saw 150 tumble pendants using Bikerrandys measurements. Hell yeah, right Randy!!!! LOL Put them in and topped them off with ceramic mixed size pellets, added 2 tbsp 120/220 and some borax. Watched a while and sprayed a little water, been looking at it every hour or so and spraying water. Looks good to me but hey I am a newbie!!!! The worst chocolate in the world is the best if its all you ever tasted! Only question is it seems like my barrel wants to keep settling down to almost bottom out, wonder what happens if it bottoms out?
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Post by orrum on Jul 20, 2013 9:50:18 GMT -5
Not progressing well, aparently too much water. Just dumped the water out, I sparyed too much and too often. Then added one tablespoon of grit back. Some of thr pendants that were thin are really thin now, some edges are chipped, no rounding of corners are apparent. Remember this is straight from trim saw to loto with 120/220. We will see......
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Post by connrock on Jul 20, 2013 9:56:21 GMT -5
It doesn't take much water adjustment at all to get the load right. As you found out,too much water raises havoc!
I've never read Randy's instructions on tumbling pendants but I have found that grinding the edges of small slabs fresh out of the trim saw helps to not get chipped edges in the Lot-O.
Good luck,,,
connrock
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Post by orrum on Jul 20, 2013 13:18:32 GMT -5
Yes u r right Connrock too much water creates a lot of problems but just checked it again and all the ceramics and pendants are grey with sludge on them like in the pics on here!!! Yea success!!!! It dont take any water hardly at all! How do u keep the bowl from settling down in the holder, I thought I read that the bowel should be suspended?
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Jul 20, 2013 13:30:56 GMT -5
Yes u r right Connrock too much water creates a lot of problems but just checked it again and all the ceramics and pendants are grey with sludge on them like in the pics on here!!! Yea success!!!! It dont take any water hardly at all! How do u keep the bowl from settling down in the holder, I thought I read that the bowel should be suspended? I run 2 Lotos constantly.I'm unclear on the settling of the bowl you mentioned.When I place my bowls in,I put my thumbs on top the bowl,with fingers underneath the frames and push until the bowl is snug.From how I read this,you are letting the bowl start loose? snuffy
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Post by orrum on Jul 20, 2013 13:43:23 GMT -5
Hello Snuffy. No I push the bowl in until it is snug but when I go back to check on it the bump that is on the bottom of the bowl is down against the frame, it still vibrates and the stuff moves around like its suppossed to. I read somewhere about fixing it with duck tape building out the inside of the frame. I tried that about 6 layers thic but it doesna help.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jul 20, 2013 13:52:27 GMT -5
HELL YEAH!!
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Jul 20, 2013 14:04:58 GMT -5
Hello Snuffy. No I push the bowl in until it is snug but when I go back to check on it the bump that is on the bottom of the bowl is down against the frame, it still vibrates and the stuff moves around like its suppossed to. I read somewhere about fixing it with duck tape building out the inside of the frame. I tried that about 6 layers thic but it doesna help. I get the picture now.I have one loto that the bowl sets lower in than the other,but both have about a inch clearance at the bottom.I have often wondered if the frames can be pushed in to narrow them,so the bowl sits up higher,but didn't want to jack with something that was working. snuffy
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,564
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Post by jamesp on Jul 20, 2013 19:07:03 GMT -5
Hell yeah too (two)
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Post by connrock on Jul 21, 2013 9:44:50 GMT -5
The only time my barrel sinks down and the "nub" on the bottom hits the bottom of the frame is when I polish Apache Tears. The "tears" are covered with water to slow down the action which helps to not chip the tears. I can only guess but I think you may still be using too much water.
When starting out a load and you completely cover the rocks in water and drain them you may still have too much water in the barrel. Sometimes you have to "rock" the barrel back and forth while holding the rocks in the barrel with your other hand. The only other solution I can think of is to put the rocks in a container of water,drain the rocks in a colander and then put them in to the barrel.This way you can be certain that you don't have too much water in the barrel. Start the unit and add your grit very slowly,,,let the grit "sprinkle" onto the rocks as they turn in the barre.Continue adding grit until the rocks are covered with grit and look dry,,,,like sand sticking to wet feet at the beach. Now squirt water on the rocks a LITTLE at a time,,,,be patient.One - 3 squirts at a time with the squirt bottle nozzle set on mist,,,NOT a full stream. Look at the rocks as they turn and when they look wet and sort of "creamy" stop adding water. This will take several minuted to do so again,,,,,be patient.It is MUCH better to have less water then it is to have too much! Check the load in a short time,,,,about 5 minutes and see how the rocks/grit look.If they look dry,,,add a LITTLE more water until they look creamy again.
Another thing is that the finer the grit the less water needed. Once you get the feel for the amount of water and grit you use it will become second nature,,,,like tying your shoes.
Something I do that I think helps in a few ways it that before I add my grit I put in 1-2 teaspoons of powdered laundry soap.I use Dreft.I sprinkle it on just like I do with the grit.I watch the load to see if the rocks are covered with soap and it's usually pretty dry.I keep adding water a little at a time until the soap is "dissolved" and I cans see a soap film that looks like a "soap bubble" forming between the rocks.I now add my grit slowly and add water accordingly.
I think the soap helps to get into any small impurities that may be in the rocks before the grit can get in there.I do this in all my stages and never have grit or polish stuck in any of my polished rocks. Some rocks,such as rose quarts is notorious for having cracks and other flaws which seem to suck up the grit into them and after the polish stage look terrible to me. I thin that by putting the soap in before the grit also helps to prevent grit cross contamination when doing the polish stage,,,,if the flaws are clean they can't carry grit into the polish stage. I also think the soap helps to carry the grit and polish around the rocks.
Mt thoughts,,,,
connrock
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Post by orrum on Jul 21, 2013 20:46:11 GMT -5
Thanks my friends I think I am getting the idea now. Too little wster is better than too, much. Connrock thanks for all the tips, they r helping. I think most important is to shake the barrel to get excess water out plus the bubble comment, yes if you look close there are bubbles down in between the rocks! Gonna change out n put 500 in next. How long do I burnish with borax to cleant the stones before rinsing them and putting the 500 in? They r looking very good! The chips r gone and things r rounding on corners nicely!
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marinedad
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since December 2010
Posts: 813
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Post by marinedad on Jul 22, 2013 6:57:59 GMT -5
anxious to see how you do bill with the lot-o, when I got that one from my buddy I thought there was something not right. I couldn't understand why it would hop around so much. I had no idea it needed to be mounted to a cinder block, but it makes sense now. good luck and if things go well for you I may have to snag the other 2 lot-o's from my buddy.
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Post by orrum on Jul 23, 2013 10:57:36 GMT -5
Hey Mark I am gettin the hang of it. Too much water and nothing moves and the rocks chip on the edges. Rocks move but a little too much water and they dont pick up the grit. Water perfect, key here is to look for Connrocks bubbles down between the rocks, this is when it is just right. Not enough water rocks dont move and some get ground very thin! When loading its very important to do the " Connrock Shake" to get all wster possible out of bowl filled with rock, ceramics and water. It will be near perfect. Also key is to add a sray of water and give it a few minutes to see if it needs more, the reaction takes a while. Thanks Connrock, I rinsed and switched to 500 grit yesterday and it went off perfect! I am not sure about the quality of my tumble pendants, not sure if it was my troubles or what but some of my pendants developed a pebbled look and feel. A loto is not like rotary where you fill it and set it to rolling and check it two weeks later.
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Post by connrock on Jul 23, 2013 11:32:13 GMT -5
A bit late but,,,,I don't burnish with Borax.Many do and have great results. I use Dreft for everything including burnishing. After you get a few loads under your belt you can start to perfect your results and before you know it you'll have to decide weather or not your rocks even need a polish stage,,,, These are Montana Agate(left) Brazilian Agate(right) pieces that haven't seen a polish stage,,,,I guess you can call them a pre-polish ,,, Good Luck,, connrock
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Post by orrum on Jul 23, 2013 11:39:24 GMT -5
Wow thats my goal!!!!
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bgast1
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2010
Posts: 1,076
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Post by bgast1 on Jul 30, 2013 11:45:14 GMT -5
How critical is it to have a 2nd bowl for polishing? I am starting my first load on a used double barrel Lot-O that I recently acquired. My bowls are already filled with rocks. Should I remove some and put in the ceramic pellets. They are rocks that I picked up from a Lake Michigan beach and I am anxious to see if they will polish.
Or is it possible to really wash out your bowl well for the polish stage?
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jul 30, 2013 11:55:26 GMT -5
I got my lot-o 6-8 months ago and it has run non stop since. I keep saying I need a second bowl for polish but that money keeps going to buy more grit so it has not happened yet. I do scrub my barrel good between every stage. This is out of last weeks load so I don't know if it could get better? I still want the extra barrel its just not at the top of my ever growing want list. Chuck
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bgast1
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2010
Posts: 1,076
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Post by bgast1 on Jul 30, 2013 11:59:37 GMT -5
Those look pretty darn good. I am heading out now to start my first load.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Jul 30, 2013 12:42:25 GMT -5
I would still say getting a second barrel is a great idea when you get a chance but you sure don't have to wait for it to get some batches done either. It would sure save me some time in cleaning that's for sure. I would probably use one barrel for 120/220 and 500 then the polish barrel for 1000, polish and burnish.
chuck
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Post by connrock on Aug 2, 2013 8:29:25 GMT -5
There are polished rocks and then there are polished rocks. A separate barrel will help to achieve the highest quality possible. I use my "polish barrel" exclusively for Tripoli and polish,,,no grit of any type or grade. connrock
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