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Post by TheRock on May 29, 2018 13:27:33 GMT -5
I like the Thumbler B's Construction and many guys like them captbob likes them too and operate many of these. They give me the confidence that the construction with the lid being held on with 6 WING NUTTS on the lid is a good way to go. I have pretty strong hands Squeezing sheet metal snips for many years working on ductwork has helped with that. So I kno the lid is tight. After a few days of running altho I don't see any water leakage I must be getting some evaporation. I clean the rubber lid disk on both side and the Barrel rim mating seal surface real good but is there anything that I am missing or not doing that will improve my success in that area is there anything that can be used on the Gasket or mating surfaces that will improve the seal? Any TIPS or TRICKS on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ~Duke
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Post by woodman on May 29, 2018 13:38:47 GMT -5
I fail to understand your problem, If you do not see any leakage then it osunds good to me. If it leaks you will have no doubt about it leaking.
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Post by TheRock on May 29, 2018 13:49:34 GMT -5
Also just to confirm and as a comparison how much material do you add to the barrel + plus How much Ceramic Media + plus how much Kitty Litter + plus how much water and how much air Gap or how full is the barrel with everything in it when you screw down the lid on the unit. Thanks Duke
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Post by TheRock on May 29, 2018 14:02:04 GMT -5
I fail to understand your problem, If you do not see any leakage then it osunds good to me. If it leaks you will have no doubt about it leaking. Woody, hope ya dont mind me callin you that! Well When I add all the Rock in there its about 1/2 full then I add about a good cup of Ceramic media. Then a cup of kitty litter and fill with reverse osmosis filtered water and leave about a inch air gap tighten it all up and in about 3 days of running it is way tho thick like all the water has seaped out. It maybe all the kitty litter and absorbed all the water. That's why i thought I would answer my own question someone may have a good recipe for the amounts of each material added to the barrel that may help me in achieving the right mix. I think I will break out my digital scale and measure till I get it right.
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Post by aDave on May 29, 2018 14:08:49 GMT -5
Also just to confirm and as a comparison how much material do you add to the barrel + plus How much Ceramic Media + plus how much Kitty Litter + plus how much water and how much air Gap or how full is the barrel with everything in it when you screw down the lid on the unit. Thanks Duke Barrel is filled to 2/3 - 3/4 full. For a coarse grind, I wouldn't bother with ceramic, unless you are wanting to "cushion" some softer material. Agates and jaspers can go without it. Besides, I wouldn't want to waste the grit on the ceramic, so just use some smaller rocks which should roughly be about 25% of your load. After your coarse grind, you can use ceramics to build back up the level after the material is reduced (in size) in the first stage. Water goes up to the bottom of the top layer of rocks. I don't use kitty litter, so I can't help you with an amount. ETA: Just saw your post above. Sounds like you had way too much kitty litter, even with you overfilling with water. I'd simply start with a few tablespoons, then check the thickness in a couple days. Add more if you need to then.
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Post by TheRock on May 29, 2018 14:23:58 GMT -5
How many Tablespoons Of Grit Should I Use? Ok No Ceramic On The First Stages I Guess I Will Use Pea Gravel for Cushioning Is That OK? Anyone else use the Thumblers That May Have A Recipe Please add it here. Thanks ~Duke
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Post by aDave on May 29, 2018 14:30:10 GMT -5
How many Tablespoons Of Grit Should I Use? Ok No Ceramic On The First Stages I Guess I Will Use Pea Gravel for Cushioning Is That OK? Anyone else use the Thumblers That May Have A Recipe Please add it here. Thanks ~Duke Shoot, going out the door, so no real time to hit this in detail. 1 tbsp per pound of barrel capacity. Hold on the pea gravel. Sometimes that stuff it too soft and just pulverizes/disappears. Hopefully someone else will jump in to hit this in more detail.
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Post by aDave on May 29, 2018 16:53:16 GMT -5
How many Tablespoons Of Grit Should I Use? Ok No Ceramic On The First Stages I Guess I Will Use Pea Gravel for Cushioning Is That OK? Anyone else use the Thumblers That May Have A Recipe Please add it here. Thanks ~Duke Duke, here is a decent article about rock tumbling. It should give you a decent overview of the process. rocktumbler.com/tips/rock-tumbler-instructions/ .Disregard the grit amount listed, as it is referring to 3 lb tumblers. If you haven't guessed yet, I'm a pretty big advocate of not using filler like ceramics or pea gravel if possible in the coarse stage. My thought, considering how grit intensive the first stage is, is that I wouldn't want to waste grit on material that I don't care about (the filler). If you absolutely have to top off your load just to get the right amount, then you have to do what you have to do. However, I would recommend smaller sized rough to get the variety of size that you need and to top off your load.
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Post by HankRocks on May 29, 2018 17:34:31 GMT -5
The only time I use any Pea Gravel(filler) in the first stage is if I have a load of Pre-forms or bytroidals. It helps with the cushioning and with the grinding on the flatter and the recessed surfaces. Having said that I believe it is important to have a blend of sizes in the Load, you can't have all 2 to 3 inch diameter rocks, some 1/2 inch or smaller and 1 inch should speed the grinding process.
My tumbling process runs the first two stages in a 15 pound rotary and then to an 18 pound vibrating tumbler for polishing so I use previously polished Pea Gravel to fill the extra space. It seems to work well for me. I also go a bit light on the slurry additive until I check 12 hours into the run to see if the slurry is thick enough. Of coarse you can always pour off some of the too thick slurry and add more water.
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Post by johnjsgems on May 29, 2018 18:20:50 GMT -5
Since you have saws, save all the "smalls", the saw trimmings good for nothing else. Any brand rotary if you fill the barrel 2/3 full then add ceramics, small filler rocks etc. to bring up to 3/4 full you should be fine. One table spoon per lb. generally works (B is 15 lb. but Highland Park used same drum and called it 12 so use 12-15 tbs. coarse and medium and probably can use a little less fine grit. What does Kitty Litter do for you? My cat uses it to make Almond Rocca but I wouldn't want that in my tumbler either.
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Post by TheRock on May 30, 2018 19:45:40 GMT -5
Thanks to All! Guess I was reading too much into it and took a wrong turn at Albuquerque! Ok except for the (2) LIL FART Lortones tumblers right now I have 4 Thumbler B's Spinning and two Lortone 33B's spinning 12 lbs total for those so somewhere in the vicinity of 70 lbs of Stone and media is churning. So tonight the wife and I emptied out and cleaned up all tumbler tools etc. I graded all the rocks again and added them to the appropriate tumbler stage added 15 TBLS of the correct grit to each one and then added water 1/2" over the stone. I then added 5 TBLSP of Kitty Litter to the mix. Before replacing the lid I cleaned all the rubber mating surfaces with Mothers VLR Vinyl - Leather - Rubber let me tell you that stuff is AWESOME It has LANOLIN in it and it is great for rubber leather and Vinyl. The way I figure the more Pluttle, Soft and crack free those surfaces are the better off the seal will be. I use about 4 bottles of it on my RV Roof every year 2 upon opening and 2 upon closing the RV. The water just beads off due to how nice and preserved it keeps the Rubber. I can here those stones now! I will Let you know how I turn out! ~Duke
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Post by johnjsgems on May 31, 2018 11:35:48 GMT -5
I still question the kitty litter. Being a somewhat new cat owner it obviously absorbs liquid. Why add something that absorbs liquid and then wonder why your slurry is too dry? Save the litter for oil spills on the garage floor. Water level to near top of rocks with some sticking out works well. When I tumbled a lot I never measured grit (except on a 40 lb. HP). The old books called for "burping" after 3-4 days so I opened bsrrel and added grit or adjusted water level then.
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Post by glennz01 on Jun 1, 2018 13:50:05 GMT -5
I use 1 to spoon of grit for 4 lbs in my 40 lb capacity, works good. Don't be decieved the small hole in the metal lid, when the gasket goes, will make a huge mess. Just watch your gasket. Semi truck flat mudflaps are what i use for gaskets now. Lasts a lot longer and i got some material free. Much thicker than normal gasket.
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goatgrinder
spending too much on rocks
Make mine a man cave
Member since January 2017
Posts: 368
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Post by goatgrinder on Jun 1, 2018 15:57:23 GMT -5
I use 1 to spoon of grit for 4 lbs in my 40 lb capacity, works good. Don't be decieved the small hole in the metal lid, when the gasket goes, will make a huge mess. Just watch your gasket. Semi truck flat mudflaps are what i use for gaskets now. Lasts a lot longer and i got some material free. Much thicker than normal gasket. I like that mudflaps idea. Can they be purchased at the nearest truck stop store?
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Post by glennz01 on Jun 1, 2018 16:49:05 GMT -5
I use 1 to spoon of grit for 4 lbs in my 40 lb capacity, works good. Don't be decieved the small hole in the metal lid, when the gasket goes, will make a huge mess. Just watch your gasket. Semi truck flat mudflaps are what i use for gaskets now. Lasts a lot longer and i got some material free. Much thicker than normal gasket. I like that mudflaps idea. Can they be purchased at the nearest truck stop store? common item I imagine so. Possibly an RV dealer as well. They are tough to cut but worth it. I'm thinking of trying to find some old rock conveyor belts, as long as my wing nuts go on it will work
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Post by TheRock on Jun 4, 2018 0:13:13 GMT -5
I use 1 to spoon of grit for 4 lbs in my 40 lb capacity, works good. Don't be decieved the small hole in the metal lid, when the gasket goes, will make a huge mess. Just watch your gasket. Semi truck flat mudflaps are what i use for gaskets now. Lasts a lot longer and i got some material free. Much thicker than normal gasket. Glenn you talking the Gasket with the 6 wing Nuts on the thumbler B? If so you can buy thicker material at any Industrial Supply Store. I buy mine from Southwestern Supply In St. Joseph Mi. 40 lbs you using the Diamond Pacific 40T? If so how ya like it. ~Duke
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Post by TheRock on Jun 4, 2018 0:15:38 GMT -5
I still question the kitty litter. Being a somewhat new cat owner it obviously absorbs liquid. Why add something that absorbs liquid and then wonder why your slurry is too dry? Save the litter for oil spills on the garage floor. Water level to near top of rocks with some sticking out works well. When I tumbled a lot I never measured grit (except on a 40 lb. HP). The old books called for "burping" after 3-4 days so I opened bsrrel and added grit or adjusted water level then. John the kitty litter and yeah I was using to much is mean to be a carrier for the Grit to help in the tumbling process. I was indeed using way to much. ~Duke
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Post by glennz01 on Jun 4, 2018 9:15:54 GMT -5
I use 1 to spoon of grit for 4 lbs in my 40 lb capacity, works good. Don't be decieved the small hole in the metal lid, when the gasket goes, will make a huge mess. Just watch your gasket. Semi truck flat mudflaps are what i use for gaskets now. Lasts a lot longer and i got some material free. Much thicker than normal gasket. Glenn you talking the Gasket with the 6 wing Nuts on the thumbler B? If so you can buy thicker material at any Industrial Supply Store. I buy mine from Southwestern Supply In St. Joseph Mi. 40 lbs you using the Diamond Pacific 40T? If so how ya like it. ~Duke I use a lortone c40. I won't go back to tumblers unless it was the 15 lb... If I got it used. They just wear parts fast. My 40 lb has 3 nuts which is plenty. I like mudflaps as it's usually better material as it's designed for rock impacts. But if I can get old conveyor belt I'm still looking for something that will last forever... Or at least a year lol
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Post by TheRock on Jun 4, 2018 11:08:09 GMT -5
Glenn you talking the Gasket with the 6 wing Nuts on the thumbler B? If so you can buy thicker material at any Industrial Supply Store. I buy mine from Southwestern Supply In St. Joseph Mi. 40 lbs you using the Diamond Pacific 40T? If so how ya like it. ~Duke I use a lortone c40. I won't go back to tumblers unless it was the 15 lb... If I got it used. They just wear parts fast. My 40 lb has 3 nuts which is plenty. I like mudflaps as it's usually better material as it's designed for rock impacts. But if I can get old conveyor belt I'm still looking for something that will last forever... Or at least a year lol Nice Machine Tumbler do you use any Vibratory Tumblers once you get to a certain grit? ~Thanks Duke
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Post by johnjsgems on Jun 4, 2018 11:45:51 GMT -5
If you have an industrial supply try "two ply neoprene" or similar. Very tough stuff. And center hole must be talking Lortone. B Thumlers has flat and very inadequate gasket. When I was a dealer it was common to have customers complain about fast lid gasket wear. Thumler warrantied the metal drum and liner for 5 years. The lid gasket I could sometimes shame them into sending a replacement if it wore out first load but they generally said no warranty if tumbling rocks.
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