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Post by Jugglerguy on May 14, 2014 9:25:45 GMT -5
Any rock that will fit through the hole can go in the Lot-O. The hole is 2.25 inches across. I wouldn't buy a Harbor Freight tumbler, but I think they're the same size as the Lortone 3 lb. tumblers. Lortone recommends rocks one inch or less in diameter. You can put in a slightly larger rock, but only about one. Golf ball size is about as big as I'd go.
You can't use 46-60 in a Lot-O. 120/220 is the largest grit you should use. You could use the 46-60 in a rotary tumbler though. I've heard that it wears out the barrels faster so I've never tried it. I know other people here use it, so they could tell you about the effect it has on the barrel.
Ceramic is used in the Lot-O as filler. It can be used with any rock without damaging them. It won't carry grit to other stages like rocks can, so it's safer that way. If you use pea gravel as filler, you'd have to make sure they went through all the other stages and didn't have any holes left in them, which requires careful, time consuming inspection. You can also use ceramic in rotary tumblers. I'd highly recommend getting some when you order your tumbler. I use a mix of large and small sizes.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,546
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Post by tkvancil on May 14, 2014 10:37:39 GMT -5
I might of been one to say stay away from HF tumblers. I ran the one I got second had for about a year, 60/90 only. The lid liner wore a hole in the middle and the barrel is so thin now I won't use it anymore. My lortone barrels are going on three years and are still holding up well.
In a three pound barrel a tennis ball sized rock would be too large. A golf ball sized or three would be fine as long as there were a good mix of smaller sizes.
As to filler or smalls. Ceramic is good, but will tend to grind away faster in 60/90 than you might like. The river gravels would be fine although I would suggest trying to collect and use quartz and quartz varieties. Softer rocks will tend to grind away very fast when mixed with harder rocks such as petwood or agate. Too much soft stuff in the mix and your slurry can get thick enough to actually slow the process down. If a good pocket knife or file won't scratch the rock it will be hard enough to use as filler/grit carrier.
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 14, 2014 11:07:28 GMT -5
Good point, Ken. I don't like to wear my ceramic out in 60/90 either and I use small beach pebbles for that purpose. I use the ceramic from there on in the Lot-O. I do not use beach pebbles in the Lot-O.
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Post by Starguy on May 17, 2014 21:02:48 GMT -5
I use rotary tumblers exclusively. I have a 12 lb Lortone and a 3lb Lortone.
The 12 pounder runs 60/90 exclusively preparing the stones for fine, pre-polish and polish. The three pounder does the glory work, making them look nice. The Lortones seem to last years. If you oil them regularly there are few problems. You may need to replace a belt now and then, but they are pretty low maintenance and quiet.
My 12 lb Lortone is old and has very little cost in replacement parts. The 3 pounder will put a killer polish on about any rock that will polish. The important thing is use the correct polish for the material being tumbled.
It it is important to have a good mix of sizes. I start with 50% small, 25% medium, 25% large. You usually need less water than you think. With 69/90, you should have a nice thick slurry after one week of tumbling. If it's not thick, there was too much water, not enough grit or your rocks are too uniform in size.
tumbling rocks is a learning experience and everybody has their own "recipe". Don't mix rocks of different hardness when in the finer grits.
Have fun. Rock tumbling is addictive.
later
Brent.
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