mooresean68
having dreams about rocks
Member since February 2018
Posts: 52
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Post by mooresean68 on Oct 29, 2018 21:55:52 GMT -5
Hi All,
First off this is all centered around rotary tumbling, though I'd be curious if any of this applies to vibe tumbling.
I'm curious to know how many use a dedicated barrel for the different stages? Do you have a dedicated polish barrel? If so has it had a significant impact on the results?
The second question is more around sound; I wonder how much emphasis everyone puts on how the tumblers are sounding. For instance I've come to recognize too much click/clack/clank probably means the slurry is too thin, a particular "thud", I've discovered, is that one big rock bashing on the smaller ones stuck in a think slurry. Little to no "rumble" noise then the slurry is likely too thick. Just wondering if anyone else has played it by ear like this.
Thanks -Sean
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
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Post by quartz on Oct 29, 2018 22:29:43 GMT -5
I use a separate barrel for rough, intermediate stages, and for polish, which I re-use. Make my barrels, so it's pretty easy. That way too, the cleanout process isn't as time consuming. I do, as I think most do, pay attention to the sound of the operation, seems to be one of the basic parts of tumbling rocks successfully.
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Post by aDave on Oct 29, 2018 22:55:25 GMT -5
I use dedicated barrels for each stage I do. I'm purely rotary and don't transfer stuff to a vibe. As far as sound, there can be a difference with what is rolling. If you're picking up sound issues, you're right on top of things. I've learned to figure out what sounds the tumblers will make under varying conditions.
ETA: For a while, I was only a one barrel guy for all stages. Then, when I came here to RTH, I followed the advice of others and got a dedicated polish barrel. Problem was, if I had that polish barrel on the tumbler, I couldn't be running a coarse stage to get things going again. So, I bought a second tumbler which gave me my third barrel. A very short time later, I bought a QT66 to do my perpetual coarse stage which allowed me to dedicate the other three barrels to specific stages.
So, I guess that's the long way of me saying that I didn't initially plan to have separate barrels for everything. I just kind of grew into it.
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kskid
Cave Dweller
Member since July 2014
Posts: 98
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Post by kskid on Oct 29, 2018 23:16:37 GMT -5
I'm also a tumble only guy, but relatively small time compared to most here. I use one barrell for everything up to polish, but keep a dedicated polish barrel that also could be used if I needed a spare in a pinch. Don't know that I ever noticed a difference before & after I bought the polish barrel, but it gives me peace of mind that there's one less source of contamination that might ruin a batch during the final and (arguably) most critical step.
I agree completely with the other responses about the sound. It tells me a great deal about the status of the contents. I also tend to overload a bit and run longer than some, but I know by the changing of the sound as the days pass if it's loosening up as expected or I went just a little too full.
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Post by grumpybill on Oct 30, 2018 6:10:35 GMT -5
I use dedicated barrels and bowls for the final polish stage because...well...umm...everybody here says to. And my used Lot-O came that way. I've done every load after my very first one that way, so I can't say whether it makes a difference or not.
I listen for problems as the barrels roll, but also open them every couple days to check the slurry and grit breakdown. (I only use the rotaries for course grinding these days.)
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 30, 2018 9:35:23 GMT -5
I'm a different duck in the water.. My barrels are used foe every cycle all the way to polish.. I don't see the difference (my opinion only though).. I do listen to sounds though, they tell stories that should be listened to...
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