mooresean68
having dreams about rocks
Member since February 2018
Posts: 52
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Post by mooresean68 on Mar 30, 2018 22:05:26 GMT -5
Hey All, Quick question/observation I hope the wise people here can advise on but first a little background: So I started with a Lortone 3A about a month ago now and after some 20ish days I ponied up for a QT12/66 opting for the 12lb barrel. (Ok I pick up 2 6lbs barrels too) Now after only 7 days running 80 SiC in the 12lb, the resulting stones are significantly more shaped and smooth compared to the stones running in 60/90 SiC in the 3A for the last 30 days. I'd say after the first week in the 12lb I have a good 1/3rd of the stones that can go into stage 2. Long way to ask: Am I correct in contributing the difference to the physical dimensions of the container providing more movement within the 12lb barrel hence a more aggressive grind? At any rate I have to say I'm thrilled with the results of QT12/66, I'm excited to charge it up another time or two which ought to net enough material to charge it for stage 2. And the noise difference between the 3A and the QT12 is pretty minimal. We have it running in the laundry room and it just sounds like the dryer is running Thanks -Sean & Rebecca
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,432
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Post by Wooferhound on Mar 31, 2018 7:13:46 GMT -5
I have had those two machines for over a year now. They are great fun. The Lortone 3A with the 3 pound barrel is much milder in action. I like to use it for small loads where I don't want to mix different rocks together. Also great for softer material like shells which it does very well. The QT66 with dual 6 pound barrels can be quite aggressive depending on how you fill it. At half full or less, it is a grinding machine, but fill it up over 80% and it will have the same action as the 3A does but on a lot more rocks. I considered getting a 12 pound barrel, but I'm starting to accumulate too many rocks already so I'll stick with the smaller ones. I do have an extra barrel for each machine for the last polish stage. My tumblers are sitting on a couple of layers of foam rubber carpet padding which reduces the noise noticeably. After I took this picture I cleaned it all up considerably . . .
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Post by gmitch067 on Mar 31, 2018 11:14:05 GMT -5
I no longer use grit coarser than 60/90 in my 3A rotaries. The 45/70-grit doesn't do as well. That is NOT the case in the QT66/12 using either 6 inch or 12 inch barrels though... The 45/70 works great there. jamesp ran a thread a few weeks ago that touched on the pros and cons of using coarse grit vs barrel size and speeds... and interesting read. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/82571/coarse-grit-observationGlenn
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mooresean68
having dreams about rocks
Member since February 2018
Posts: 52
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Post by mooresean68 on Mar 31, 2018 17:56:28 GMT -5
Wooferhound Ah ha I didn't think about the amount of material affecting the grind, that makes sense half full would do more. I had to go with the 12lb barrel just to process the rocks we've been picking up from the beach every weekend heh. Love the use of old computer cases for the table gmitch067 After seeing the results of the QT12 I'm include to just do pre-polish and polish of small bits or specialty stones in the 3A now. Looks like I'll need to pick up a 2nd or 3rd 12lb barrel Thanks for the link I'll read up on that thread. -s
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charles kuchar
spending too much on rocks
getting ready for the second coming
Member since November 2010
Posts: 300
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Post by charles kuchar on Mar 31, 2018 19:30:14 GMT -5
hopefully the dealers have the lortones back in stock. even in late feb the factory was out of stock. I do the 15 pound thumbler tumbler for grind as well as my two 12 lb lortones and a 66 lortone. couple of them are quiet until I get a couple of motors for them. the motors were out of stock but I think the dealers have them now. been away from home for easter for a couple of weeks and will start things going next week again. chas
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Post by Starguy on May 16, 2018 21:54:20 GMT -5
I have a 12 pounder and a 3 pounder. I use the 12 pounder exclusively for coarse grit. While the 3pounder is running stage two through polish, the 12 pounder has produced enough to fill the 3 pounder again. Tumbling agate almost exclusively.
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Post by arghvark on Jun 5, 2018 11:23:49 GMT -5
Hey All, Quick question/observation I hope the wise people here can advise on but first a little background: So I started with a Lortone 3A about a month ago now and after some 20ish days I ponied up for a QT12/66 opting for the 12lb barrel. (Ok I pick up 2 6lbs barrels too) Now after only 7 days running 80 SiC in the 12lb, the resulting stones are significantly more shaped and smooth compared to the stones running in 60/90 SiC in the 3A for the last 30 days. I'd say after the first week in the 12lb I have a good 1/3rd of the stones that can go into stage 2. Long way to ask: Am I correct in contributing the difference to the physical dimensions of the container providing more movement within the 12lb barrel hence a more aggressive grind? At any rate I have to say I'm thrilled with the results of QT12/66, I'm excited to charge it up another time or two which ought to net enough material to charge it for stage 2. And the noise difference between the 3A and the QT12 is pretty minimal. We have it running in the laundry room and it just sounds like the dryer is running Thanks -Sean & Rebecca I too have 2 lortones, a 33 and a 66. I've had similar experiences. Most of what I tumble is extremely rough agate and jasper, and the 33 is virtually useless for rough grind of this material as it just takes forever to get anywhere. Marginal improvement can be had by filling less, but it still just sort of rolls stuff around compared to the 66. The 66 on the other hand is pretty amazing. Using 46/70 and a proper fill, 6-7 days yields silky-smooth slurry that has NO remaining grit detectable to the touch. Just add grit, adjust water to maintain slurry thickness and roll some more. Being a bit of a math and classical physics geek, I attribute this really quite large difference in performance to a longer fall of any given rock as it tumbles. All other things being equal, longer fall implies longer acceleration implies greater kinetic energy at collision implies more grinding action. Jeez I guess that's my longwinded way of saying "yes". Argh
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agatemaggot
Cave Dweller
Member since August 2006
Posts: 2,195
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Post by agatemaggot on Jun 5, 2018 13:33:37 GMT -5
I suspect the larger tumblers grind faster because of the weight of the stones forces the stones and grit to grind faster. Think of grinding with a stone on a Dop stick, the harder you push the faster the wheel eats the stone. It's the weight of the stone pushing down that does the work in the tumbler.
Make sense ?
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