jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,325
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Post by jamesp on Sept 18, 2016 10:15:34 GMT -5
I don't want to sound offensive and I am bad about practicing opinionated logic.
The effects of a blow out and constantly patching a barrel are time consuming. Takes a lot of time for clean up, etc. Possible damaging bearings and motor if the slurry goes there. Rocks usually get damaged and causes re tumbling.
Investing in a reliable barrel seems the only way to go. A container made for coffee is just that.
Amusing thread. Hate to see you wrestle with leakage and blow outs though.
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tbvet3
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Member since March 2016
Posts: 123
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Post by tbvet3 on Sept 18, 2016 16:13:30 GMT -5
Been working good so far. On my 3rd load.
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
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Member since May 2016
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Post by huskeric on Sept 19, 2016 9:03:31 GMT -5
I don't want to sound offensive and I am bad about practicing opinionated logic. The effects of a blow out and constantly patching a barrel are time consuming. Takes a lot of time for clean up, etc. Possible damaging bearings and motor if the slurry goes there. Rocks usually get damaged and causes re tumbling. Investing in a reliable barrel seems the only way to go. A container made for coffee is just that. Amusing thread. Hate to see you wrestle with leakage and blow outs though. jamesp, I am finding out (the hard way) that you are at least mostly correct here. I spent about $40 or so on pieces/parts/materials to make my own barrels, and at the end of it, I made one successful barrel that will hold about 4lbs of rock. If you add in the time value of money, I am probably into that one barrel for about $1,000 (and that's paying me minimum wage, but I bill hours like a consultant). The one thing I will tell you though (and this is the only reason I said you were only "mostly" correct), I learned a HELL of a lot about rock tumbling with every failure to build a better mousetrap. For me, a good deal of the passion for this hobby is the discovery, and that can come from finally getting a good polish on a batch of stones, experimenting with silly things like adding cat litter or dog food as a thickener, or creating three or four Franken-barrels that won't even hold water. I would have a really hard time trusting a coffee barrel to do any tumbling. My brain would not let me leave it unattended for more than 15 minutes, but that's because I'm crazy, and because for me, the success/failure of the barrel would be just as important as the contents. Opinionated logic that has a basis in ACTUAL logic rarely comes across negatively, so don't worry about that. Suggesting (in hindsight) some pretty foolish things on this board has taught me as much about PVC, electric motors, mineral oil and 1,000 other ancillary topics as I have learned about the rocks I find themselves. I think of that as the "Zen of Rock Tumbler Maintenence."
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,325
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Post by jamesp on Sept 20, 2016 3:01:59 GMT -5
I don't want to sound offensive and I am bad about practicing opinionated logic. The effects of a blow out and constantly patching a barrel are time consuming. Takes a lot of time for clean up, etc. Possible damaging bearings and motor if the slurry goes there. Rocks usually get damaged and causes re tumbling. Investing in a reliable barrel seems the only way to go. A container made for coffee is just that. Amusing thread. Hate to see you wrestle with leakage and blow outs though. jamesp, I am finding out (the hard way) that you are at least mostly correct here. I spent about $40 or so on pieces/parts/materials to make my own barrels, and at the end of it, I made one successful barrel that will hold about 4lbs of rock. If you add in the time value of money, I am probably into that one barrel for about $1,000 (and that's paying me minimum wage, but I bill hours like a consultant). The one thing I will tell you though (and this is the only reason I said you were only "mostly" correct), I learned a HELL of a lot about rock tumbling with every failure to build a better mousetrap. For me, a good deal of the passion for this hobby is the discovery, and that can come from finally getting a good polish on a batch of stones, experimenting with silly things like adding cat litter or dog food as a thickener, or creating three or four Franken-barrels that won't even hold water. I would have a really hard time trusting a coffee barrel to do any tumbling. My brain would not let me leave it unattended for more than 15 minutes, but that's because I'm crazy, and because for me, the success/failure of the barrel would be just as important as the contents. Opinionated logic that has a basis in ACTUAL logic rarely comes across negatively, so don't worry about that. Suggesting (in hindsight) some pretty foolish things on this board has taught me as much about PVC, electric motors, mineral oil and 1,000 other ancillary topics as I have learned about the rocks I find themselves. I think of that as the "Zen of Rock Tumbler Maintenence." I slowly learned from tumbling rocks barrels should best be built bulletproof Rick. If you gave me a barrel that was molded 1 inch thick plastic with a easy to open cap problem solved. Don't care if it weighs 40 pounds. Nuff problems getting the rocks tumbled with a 100% perfectly reliable barrel. Spending money on quality barrel a good logical investment. I had one spill eat 2 bearings and a motor in short order. And beat a bunch of fine stones to pieces tumbling dry.
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tbvet3
starting to spend too much on rocks
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Member since March 2016
Posts: 123
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Post by tbvet3 on Sept 20, 2016 19:52:34 GMT -5
No offense taken team. Besides, it'd take more than a couple posts to chew through all the scar tissue to reach nerve. I suppose if you run enough loads you're bound to have an issue sooner or later. However in my hands this seems to be working just fine. This load has been running since Saturday and aside from being a bit loud (hard plastic rather than a rubber compound) it's chugging along nicely. And if I do see any issues developing in the future I'll just delegate the barrel to holding rocks and pull another one off the shelf. I use these tubs for everything from storing my ratchet straps to holding the 60 penny nails I use to keep my goose decoys from blowing away. Handy size, relatively unbreakable although backing over one with a 6 x 10 cargo trailer puts a hurtin' on 'em, and convenient hand grips molded in. When I built this machine I did make use of some comments I read on other threads. I built a catch basin into the base in case the barrel pukes. It's about 1 1/2" deep all around and there's a drain tube at one corner that leads down to a bucket on the floor. Finally I always put the barrels on the rollers with the lids facing away from the motor/pulley end. Still have bearing shields to design and put on but so far haven't been motivated to get that accomplished. Even if the bearings do get toasted they're only $ 10 for 4 and easy enough to replace that I'm not overly concerned. Just 4 screws on the idler roller and 4 screws plus one pulley set screw on the drive roller. Mostly what I'm using this barrel for is a 4 or 5 day run in 60/90 grit to see what pieces I want to put into a smaller load and which ones need some help on the wheel before moving done the line. Keep the comments coming. They help me to learn and figure out where improvements can be made.
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huskeric
spending too much on rocks
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Member since May 2016
Posts: 353
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Post by huskeric on Sept 21, 2016 8:43:01 GMT -5
No offense taken team. Besides, it'd take more than a couple posts to chew through all the scar tissue to reach nerve. I suppose if you run enough loads you're bound to have an issue sooner or later. However in my hands this seems to be working just fine. This load has been running since Saturday and aside from being a bit loud (hard plastic rather than a rubber compound) it's chugging along nicely. And if I do see any issues developing in the future I'll just delegate the barrel to holding rocks and pull another one off the shelf. I use these tubs for everything from storing my ratchet straps to holding the 60 penny nails I use to keep my goose decoys from blowing away. Handy size, relatively unbreakable although backing over one with a 6 x 10 cargo trailer puts a hurtin' on 'em, and convenient hand grips molded in. When I built this machine I did make use of some comments I read on other threads. I built a catch basin into the base in case the barrel pukes. It's about 1 1/2" deep all around and there's a drain tube at one corner that leads down to a bucket on the floor. Finally I always put the barrels on the rollers with the lids facing away from the motor/pulley end. Still have bearing shields to design and put on but so far haven't been motivated to get that accomplished. Even if the bearings do get toasted they're only $ 10 for 4 and easy enough to replace that I'm not overly concerned. Just 4 screws on the idler roller and 4 screws plus one pulley set screw on the drive roller. Mostly what I'm using this barrel for is a 4 or 5 day run in 60/90 grit to see what pieces I want to put into a smaller load and which ones need some help on the wheel before moving done the line. Keep the comments coming. They help me to learn and figure out where improvements can be made. Amen, brother! If the only feedback we ever get is positive, it means that we probably aren't pushing our personal boundaries or testing our limits. I have a HUGE amount of respect for the opinions shared here. There is so much combined knowledge and experience on these boards, and I haven't seen ANYONE post comments that are trolling. So on the one hand, I agree with jamesp and his logic, where you build it once, make it bulletproof, and use it for years without worrying about finding what looks like a monkey and a goat, both with diarrhea, got into a poop fight in your shop. I don't know him outside of his postings, but I suspect that his testing and pushing boundaries is tied to variations that make his barrels that could almost literally, take a bullet. That work makes us all better at making our own barrels just rock-solid without 1,000,000 failed attempts. I can't thank him enough for what his posts have given me, and I have thrown a few "what-ifs" his direction to see if I can help him build an even better mousetrap. On the other hand, I also LOVE that you push boundaries and test to see more of the "ordinary items doing extraordinary things." It makes the hobby more attainable and shows that someone who is wanting to dip their toe into the water of rock tumbling, that they can do it "on the cheap," and also shows them that there are some precautionary steps that are VERY important if they want to try it for themselves. I also am guessing that you would be the first person to report back if you had a failure, explaining where it failed and why, and having a good sense of humor about it. Me, I'm the guy who wants to reinvent the world a la Dr. Frankenstein. I want to use garage door opener motors and PVC death machines, and I want to build machines that can tumble mountains into diamonds. I would tell you that 99.9% of what I have tried thus far has been a catastrophic failure, but I've had a lot of fun trying things out and sharing my failures with the other pioneers out here on the boards. Who knows, one of my wild-hair-up-the-wazoo ideas might just work some day, and CHANGE THE FACE OF ROCK TUMBLING HISTORY!!!!! I WILL RULE THE WORLD!!!!! Bwa ha ha ha (That's my evil laugh) Keep pushing boundaries, as long as it doesn't kill anyone.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2016 14:41:11 GMT -5
Something about a barrel 3/4 full of rocks rotating 24 hours a day.
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