junglejim
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 344
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Post by junglejim on Apr 23, 2015 12:25:57 GMT -5
I just bought a Thumler AR-12 TUMBLER about 2 1/2 months ago and have been running it non stop. It sounded louder this morning so when I picked up the barrel to check it there was a hole big enough to put my finger through in the lid. Some of the slurry had leaked out and dripped down to the pan creating a mess. Is this something that happens regularly with these? Area around the hole is paper thin. I have a decent variety of stones ranging from dime size to about 2.5 inches. Largest rock weighs about 5 oz.' Is this too big? The Rock Shed fortunately has replacement lids for $4 which isn't bad so I ordered a couple along with some other items. Has anyone else experienced this ? Anything different that I should be doing to prevent this ?
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Post by captbob on Apr 23, 2015 12:35:03 GMT -5
I assume that you are speaking of the rubber liner inside the metal cap and not the metal itself?
I have rubber liner material inside the lid on my Thumler's 15 pound Model B barrels which does wear through, but it usually takes about a year or so to do so, not just a couple months. Was the rock load you are tumbling extremely jagged when you started?
I usually save the worn liners to place between the new liner and the metal lid to provide extra cushioning, but that's just me.
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junglejim
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 344
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Post by junglejim on Apr 23, 2015 20:28:10 GMT -5
The hole was in the lid which is made of some kind of plastic which is about 2mm thick.
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Post by captbob on Apr 23, 2015 22:04:03 GMT -5
I'm sorry Jim, I totally misread your post. Must have been trying to multitask which my wife says is totally beyond my scope of abilities. Somehow, I missed the type of tumbler!
I do also have two Thumbler's AR-12 units which I run all the time. I have had the lids wear thin before which I have had to replace. NEVER has this happened in such a short period of time though. Not sure what would have caused such excessive wear so quickly.
I run rocks up to and slightly beyond 2.3 inches regularly with no such fast wearing of the lid. I do flip the lid over every time I do a clean out. This way both sides get the abuse. Not sure that matters, just one of my quirks.
All I can suggest is to keep a closer eye on the lid wear each time you do a clean out or grit recharge. That much thinning is pretty obvious. Well, that and keep a couple spare lids on hand.
Hope your new lid lasts longer than the last one.
Oh.... I recall a thread or two about AR-12 lids from several years ago where someone was making custom homemade thicker lids. I believe this was to try to get a better bite when sealing the lid. I've never had a stock AR-12 lid leak. Will see if I can find that thread.
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Post by captbob on Apr 23, 2015 22:31:26 GMT -5
Didn't find what I was looking for, maybe it was somewhere else... BUT, seems quite a few have had your problem after 3 months or so. Sittin' here wondering why I haven't and it hit me I don't do coarse grit cycles in my AR-12. DUH! Do all my rough in my 15 pound barrels. I assume you are doing coarse grit in yours. Anyway, some of the suggestions for fixes were: 1- glue large tire patches on the inside of the lid. Available where big truck tires are repaired? 2- "paint" the inside with that plastigrip stuff - like you dip your tool handles in. It was suggested to tape off the lid edges where it seats into the barrel before coating with the plastigrip stuff. 3-duct tape. One guy wrote make a + then an x and he was getting 8 months out of a lid EVEN WITH a hole worn through the center. 4- make a new lid out of plexiglass if you have the ability. 5- in 2008, stefan wrote that he would super glue 1/4 inch acrylic to them and get about 5 times the life span. Hope some of those ideas help ya!
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snuffy
Cave Dweller
Member since May 2009
Posts: 4,319
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Post by snuffy on Apr 24, 2015 5:29:27 GMT -5
I eliminated the lid problem with my Thumler. I bought a can of Plastidip spray.I taped the edge of the lid about a quarter to half inch around the edges where it seals.Then I sprayed multiple coats to the lid building the thickness,especially in the center.Let it cure and should solve the problem.Some tough stuff.May help to rough up a new lid with a little sanding to help the spray adhere to the lid.I have fixed barrels that have worn thin at the ends in this manner also.
snuffy
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Post by glennz01 on Apr 24, 2015 10:42:11 GMT -5
Lids can do that... you must have been using a lot of course stones. I just use my ar-12 for final polish now
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junglejim
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 344
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Post by junglejim on Apr 25, 2015 22:06:43 GMT -5
Been using 60/90 for the rough stage in it. Thanks for the suggestions, will give them a try.
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chassroc
Cave Dweller
Rocks are abundant when you have rocktumblinghobby pals
Member since January 2005
Posts: 3,586
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Post by chassroc on Apr 28, 2015 7:43:43 GMT -5
The lid problem is common. I buy new ones when I'm lfush with cash
otherwise I use the innertube patch trick The platsic grip stuff sounds like a better fix.
Charlie
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MommaGem
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 312
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Post by MommaGem on Jun 7, 2019 9:43:26 GMT -5
I guess I'm going to have to try out the Plastidip spray now. This just happened after about 3 months.....
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Post by Son Of Beach on Nov 21, 2021 21:48:42 GMT -5
3-duct tape. One guy wrote make a + then an x and he was getting 8 months out of a lid EVEN WITH a hole worn through the center. I think I'm going to try this after my next check.
PlastiDip spray was somewhat effective but underwhelming. It held up for I would guess 4 of the 7 days in a weekly run. Maybe if you had two lids you could alternate swapping lids with Plastidip it would have to extend the life of a lid.
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redstone
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2014
Posts: 3
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Post by redstone on Jan 4, 2022 19:40:39 GMT -5
I know I'm late to the party here but let me tell you what I did to solve this problem. I went to Home Depot and bought what I think was called, "rubber packing sheets". they measure 6"x6" which is the perfect size. These sheets are sort of a brick red color. I laid the lid,(which is 6") on top of the sheet and traced the diameter of the lid onto the sheet and then with a pair of scissors I cut it round on the line or slightly less. The idea here is that nowhere on the underside of the lid can the rubber sheet extend beyond the edge of the lid. In other words the now round rubber sheet is ever so slightly smaller than the lid. Next take some contact or rubber cement, coat the lid and the sheet as directed on the container. If you've not used contact or rubber cement before just be warned that laying them together needs to be precise, once the two pieces touch each other you can't readjust them. This has worked great for me and I think you'll find that this will take care of the problem your having. Good luck.
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Post by Son Of Beach on Jan 4, 2022 19:48:36 GMT -5
redstone Thanks for the feedback , and welcome to RTH. I have AR12 as well and ran into some issues, somewhat temporarily solved with duct tape It seems to hold week to week, but I'm sure my luck will run out. How many week are you getting out of your setup?
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redstone
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2014
Posts: 3
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Post by redstone on Jan 4, 2022 22:11:42 GMT -5
Oooo that's good question. I made that fix about 6 years ago and I have never had to redo it.......but my rockhounding and tumbling have been intermittent activities for me. I currently have a batch running, but I would say that conservatively I've run about 12-15 batches, start to finish with this rubber sheet backed lid. When I loaded it up with this batch I checked it for wear and honestly it looked pretty good. Sorry, that's about as accurate as I can be. It's been a good fix though.
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