brazos
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by brazos on May 10, 2015 16:12:14 GMT -5
This is my first post and I have never tumbled a rock. My wife, daughter and I go to Colorado every year and come home with tons of rocks. Last year we intended to buy a tumbler and never got around to it. My wife wanted to try and make some jewelry out of some of the rocks. My wife is a teacher and my daughter is in the 4th grade. I figured for Mother's Day I would get my wife a tumbler and the two of them could polish rocks this summer while home from school. I bought a Thumbler's Model B. I noticed when my daughter and I gave it to my wife this morning the box had a sticker that said High Speed. That clued me off there may be a low speed model and that would be better for rocks. Turns out I was right. I plan to call Thumbler's tomorrow and see if they will swap motors with me (in my opinion they should since their website does not tell you they have two different versions). If not and I have to return it, is there a better option out there for $200 or less? We have a lot of rocks piled up so I spent more for a bigger model since it's such a long process. I wish I would have found this site before I selected a model. I spend a lot of time on forums learning how to do stuff. Should have known there was a rock polishing forum. Thanks in advance for your advice.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 10, 2015 16:35:06 GMT -5
Greetings [brazos] firstly may i welcome you to RTH Forums, the high speed Thumbler's Model B is for tumbling brass shell casings, I would return it to the vendor. The Rock Shed (SD) USALortone Model QT66 2x 6lb Barrels - 5.5kg (12.12lb) capacity each barrel = $189. Lortone Model QT12 1x 12lb Barrel - 14kg (30.86lb) barrel capacity = $174. Thumbler's Model B Out of Stock at the moment. Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,711
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Post by Fossilman on May 10, 2015 16:58:29 GMT -5
All Lortone models are top dogs.....I have two of them-thumbs up
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Post by captbob on May 10, 2015 17:18:46 GMT -5
Hello brazos and welcome to the forum. I hope you can get the tumbler motor swapped out with not too much trouble. Where did you buy it? Hope you shopped around! I don't think you can get a much better tumbler than the Thumler's Model B - I have 4 of them. So you started right off at the top there. But, Model B units have their niche where they shine. A Model B is a super way to feed smaller barrels. Tumbling a load of rock in a Model B (say 12ish pounds of rock because the water and any fillers -such as ceramic media- will add to the load weight) will probably yield you maybe 8ish or so pounds of rock to move on to the next step. You will grind off quite a bit of weight in the initial rough step. Therefore, you either need to run more rough to fill the Model B for the next step or add a lot of filler. OR have smaller barrels to move the rock on to while the Model keeps doing what it does best - grinding & shaping rough. Did anyone tell you this can be an addictive hobby? There is a ton of stuff I could add here, but I have other obligations at the moment. Hopefully, others will be along to chime in, or I can make it back soon and explain what I'm getting at better. Again, welcome to the forum.
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Post by captbob on May 10, 2015 17:22:18 GMT -5
All Lortone models are top dogs.....I have two of them-thumbs up pffft... Thumler's ugly step sister! neener neener brazos - it's kinda like Ford vs Chevy or AK vs AR! We all have our own opinions.
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brazos
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by brazos on May 10, 2015 17:39:17 GMT -5
You guys are getting expensive. Should have known as this hobby is no different than any other. The QT66 looks like a good option. I can see where the big Model B would be a great first stage, high volume tumbler, followed by a two barrel tumbler. I may just do that. To refine the question would you rather start out with a tumbler like the QT66 or a Mod. B?
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Post by captbob on May 10, 2015 17:56:38 GMT -5
30 second fly by... I don't know your budget, but the optimal solution would be keep the Model B for the rough grinding & shaping, and get a Ultra Vibe 10 vibrating unit to finish the rocks up in a quickness. second unit down on this page: www.therockshed.com/tumbler3.html
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Post by orrum on May 10, 2015 18:25:55 GMT -5
X2 Captbob!
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matt2432
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2014
Posts: 171
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Post by matt2432 on May 10, 2015 18:46:08 GMT -5
X3 captbob. This is the setup I have. The model B is good for rough shaping and smoothing. Once the stones are shaped, the UV-10 does a good job of polishing them in a relatively short amount of time. For someone just starting off, the model B is a good place to start. Hopefully you can swap the motor on it. Check out rocktumbler.com/questions.shtml#gsc.tab=0 There is a lot of good info on there for beginners.
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brazos
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by brazos on May 10, 2015 19:20:49 GMT -5
The UV-10 does sound like a good partner with the Mod B. I have a big Lyman vibratory polisher for brass casings. Would it work for rocks?
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brazos
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by brazos on May 10, 2015 19:29:52 GMT -5
I just looked and I have a Lyman Turbo 1200. I got it years ago to polish/clean brass casings. I have no clue if it is suitable for rock polishing. I really was hoping to get by with one unit this summer to see how the girls like it. Then add whatever I need if they like it. If the Lyman would work well in conjunction with a tumbler then that would be great. My fear is rocks, grit, & water weigh a bunch more than brass cases and corn cob media. I am also not sure the Lyman is water tight. It may be water tight thought as dust would be everywhere.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,910
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Post by Tommy on May 10, 2015 19:50:40 GMT -5
Welcome Brazos you are officially hooked!
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brazos
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by brazos on May 10, 2015 20:22:27 GMT -5
Hooked? I haven't even loaded the first rock in the tumbler yet! Your right though we have been wanting to do this for a while. We love rock hunting. My daughter has boxes of rocks she carries all over the house. We mainly hunt for Amethist (sp?). I guess we can try and polish some of those while we are at it. We have a bunch of sows belly Amethist my wife wants to polish.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 11, 2015 6:26:09 GMT -5
Greetings [brazos] I would first return it to the vendor; if the vendor has both models, just swap boxes. Note: You may have to pay more for the rock version as it runs 24-7, if not just get a refund then check the price including postage at "The Rock Shed", then check Sticky #1 below for a vendor on your doorstep if any. Personally I would get a Lortone QT12; then get 45lb of F80 Silicon Carbide from Kingsley North (MI) USA for $77 including Postage for mainland USA or 55lb from a local vendor if any. Note: One thing to remember is that all recipes are valid in rock tumbling there is no right or wrong recipe (amount of grit and polishes) and how many days it takes before refilling the barrel; all rock tumbling recipes are valid, but some recipes are very wasteful on expensive grits and polishes. With my recipe in Sticky #5 the 12lb Lortone barrel eats 480g (1.05lb) of F80 or 60/9 grit in just 5 days. Then later on get a single barrel Belt Lot-O the quietest vibratory tumbler, but it needs to be attached to a concrete slab, other vibratory tumblers see Input on a vibe make/model. I bought a Lortone QT66 from Shawn at The Rock Shed, but now only use the 12lb barrels, that I had from my late Lortone C300 with 2x 12lb and 2x 6lb barrels. Please check out my Sticky's below. -- Please click images to open larger images in a new Tab, same with everything that is Underlined! I currently have a 3lb Beach (UK), Lortone QT 12/66 (USA) rotaries & 2x Viking Vibrasonic (Diamond Pacific) (USA) virbrating tumblers, with Silicon Carbide grit F80, F220, F600, F1200, with Tin Oxide (1.0 micron) & Aluminum Oxide (1.0 micron & 0.3 micron) polishes. I hail from (The Barony of Seabegs) Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, U.K, where aliens (15mb) sometimes come for a visit & about 4 miles west from that monstrosity & 7 miles west of this new monstrosity! Sticky's: their contents are resource information 1#: Vendors worldwide (2mb), 2#: How to use the forum, 3#: How to identify rocks & minerals, 4#: Save money on expensive grits & polishes, 5#: Aussie Lapidary Forum: Rock Tumbling Guide!
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Post by gingerkid on May 11, 2015 8:33:15 GMT -5
brazos, here's a pdf on Lyman's tumblers. I read that the Lyman 1200 Pro, Turbo 600 and 600 Pop Top can be used to polish rocks. www.lymanproducts.com/lyman/catalogue-download/pdf/Tumblers-and-Accessories.pdfRick has a Thumler's UV-10 Industrial grade vibe for polishing brass, and from what I understand it may also be used for polishing rocks. I thought about purchasing separate bowls for it to use for tumbling rocks when he was not polishing brass, but he didn't agree, lol. You may want to call the manufacturer and ask if you can use your Lyman Turbo 1200 for tumbling rocks. Imagine you will be able to use it, and if you can, you could purchase extra bowls for it so you won't get your brass contaminated and maybe keep the Thumler's Model B (?). I don't have that much rock to tumble, so I have one of the baby Thumler's models, the AR-2, with a set of extra barrels.
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brazos
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by brazos on May 11, 2015 11:25:39 GMT -5
Thanks for the responses. The storms knocked my internet out so I have made no progress on returning my high speed model B. I am thinking now it would be easier just to return it. I got it from MidwayUSA and it appears they only sell the HS version. In its place I may just get a QT12 or QT66 from the Rockshed. That will get me started. If it looks like my wife and daughter are having a good time with it then I will get a second unit like the UV-10.
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Post by captbob on May 11, 2015 11:34:52 GMT -5
Yeah, Midway and other similar places Cabala's / Buffalo Arms etc. sell the high speed model to clean shell casings.
Tumbling stones isn't for those with a short attention span. A quality load can, and will, take months. That's why a vibe to do the finishing stages once the stones have been shaped in a rotary is a pretty good idea.
Instead of waiting 4 to 6 months to have finished stones, you could easily cut that time in half - depending on the rocks and how long it takes to get shaped & smoothed in the rough grind.
I prefer rotary barrels only, but I've got the time and no concern about keeping a youngster interested.
Good luck with your new addiction hobby! Hope you stick around and keep us updated.
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brazos
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2015
Posts: 11
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Post by brazos on May 11, 2015 15:39:42 GMT -5
Well I got my high speed Mod. B packaged up and ready to ship back to Midway. I went ahead and ordered a QT66 and grit from the Rockshed. I wasn't sure if I should have got the QT12 model or not. I then started looking at the QT6 thinking maybe in reality it would be all I need to get started. Then I went back to the QT66 as I figured the two barrels would add some versatility over the QT6 and approach the volume of the QT12. I guess you have to start somewhere and the QT66 it is. If we get into rock polishing I am sure I will wind up with a handful of tumblers in the future. I still may use my Lyman or buy a dedicated vibratory polisher in the near future. For now I will just study the forum posts to get a game plan together when all my stuff gets here. Thanks again for everyone's help.
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tkvancil
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2011
Posts: 1,547
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Post by tkvancil on May 11, 2015 15:47:58 GMT -5
Lortone's 12# barrel will also run in the QT66 frame. More options to spend on.
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Post by captbob on May 11, 2015 16:16:47 GMT -5
Buy more coarse grit just sayin' you'll figure it out soon enough!
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