Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,981
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Post by Tommy on Apr 3, 2019 15:46:53 GMT -5
I know there will always be variations, depending on the person and what they know works and doesn't work, and what the material is etc. Please take the time to write out your Lot-O specific general recipes that produce stellar results consistently, and post them in this thread. It seems like every time I get serious about this I have to try to search out what others are using and it's not as easy to find as it sounds. If this thread grows it will be immortalized as a sticky or part of the tutorials page.
Edited: changed the wording of post and the title to make it less about me and more about an enduring thread of Lot-O recipes.
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Apr 3, 2019 15:47:59 GMT -5
Saving a spot - will edit and add later.
EDIT - *see post below me*
This post pretty much is my exact recipe, except I *try* to do 120/220 x 48 hrs in the lot-o, then AO 500 for 3-4 days. I usually end up getting 24-36 hrs in 120/220 and 48-72 hrs in the AO 500 and haven't seen much difference in quality (for normal Mohs 6.5-8 rocks).
Grant
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Apr 3, 2019 16:43:30 GMT -5
Here's my general rule of thumb recipe. I may tweak from time to time but this is the start point. I should add that part of my goal is to have the Loto run 24-7 and start a new Batch every Sunday. This means I have 7 days to work with.
Stage one rotary 46/70 S/C for as long as needed with complete weekly washouts and grit recharging.
Stage two Loto 2 tablespoons of 120/220 S/C for 24 hours. Ceramics added if the proper amount of smalls are not in the batch.
Stage three Loto 1/2 teaspoon 500 A/O for 48 hours + 1 tablespoon of borax. 25-50% of volume to be mixed sizes of ceramics. Amount required is dictated by the material being tumbled.
Stage four Loto 1/2 teaspoon 1000 A/O for 48 hours + 1 tablespoon of borax. 25-50% of volume to be mixed sizes of ceramics. Amount required is dictated by the material being tumbled.
Stage four Loto 1/2 teaspoon A/O polish for 48 hours + 1 tablespoon of borax. 25-50% of volume to be mixed sizes of ceramics. Amount required is dictated by the material being tumbled.
Stage five Loto 2 tablespoons of borax for a couple hours to burnish and clean the stones.
My most common variation lately is to run stage two (120/220 S/C) for 48 hrs instead of 24 and then run stage three (500 A/O) for 96 hours instead of 48. I then skip stage four and move right to A/O polish. I am also on the fence with burnishing. I do not always do that.
When using the Loto try to start the 120/220 stage early in the day. The Loto works fast and in 120/220 the slurry thickens pretty quick. After 8-12 hours it will probably need some squirts of water to get the action corrected. If you start that stage at 7:00 PM it may not need any water before bed but then might not be moving at all when you get up in the morning.
The recipe above is for general mixes of rocks. Cabs, small slabs, softer rocks and obsidian require a little more direction. We can cross that bridge when you get there.
Chuck
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Post by Garage Rocker on Apr 3, 2019 17:00:34 GMT -5
I started with the 'standard' recipe, which I'm sure you are about to get in detail here...and is great for anyone learning to use the Lot-O. Since then, I have adopted a more simplistic approach, which has given me the same results as with the standard recipe I started with. I now go into the Lot-O with AO 220 and leave it alone for 4-5 days, then a couple days in polish. It's the same amount of time overall, but with much less hassle cleaning out and changing grit. Also, I am now only buying Sic 46/70 as needed for my rotary tumblers. With 10 lbs of AO 220, a pound of polish and the amount of each used by the Lot-O, I shouldn't have to buy those again for a long, long time. I haven't posted pics in quite a while, but I'll try to do that this weekend and let you be the judge on finish quality. ETA: I knew that recipe would be up before I got done typing.  |
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Apr 3, 2019 21:22:58 GMT -5
I started with the 'standard' recipe, which I'm sure you are about to get in detail here...and is great for anyone learning to use the Lot-O. Since then, I have adopted a more simplistic approach, which has given me the same results as with the standard recipe I started with. I now go into the Lot-O with AO 220 and leave it alone for 4-5 days, then a couple days in polish. It's the same amount of time overall, but with much less hassle cleaning out and changing grit. Also, I am now only buying Sic 46/70 as needed for my rotary tumblers. With 10 lbs of AO 220, a pound of polish and the amount of each used by the Lot-O, I shouldn't have to buy those again for a long, long time. I haven't posted pics in quite a while, but I'll try to do that this weekend and let you be the judge on finish quality. ETA: I knew that recipe would be up before I got done typing. Randy, Regarding the AO 220 - where are you purchasing that from? Also - does it thicken up and require as close attention as does 120/220? I agree with the above post that the 120/220 needs to be started in the morning because it often times becomes too thick that if water isn't added - it will slow down so much the rocks chatter / chip. I'm trying to decide to deviate from the "Standard" to your AO 220 for simplicity sake, but I wanted those few details? Thanks, Grant |
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illusionist
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2017
Posts: 137 
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Post by illusionist on Apr 18, 2019 17:17:42 GMT -5
I started with the 'standard' recipe, which I'm sure you are about to get in detail here...and is great for anyone learning to use the Lot-O. Since then, I have adopted a more simplistic approach, which has given me the same results as with the standard recipe I started with. I now go into the Lot-O with AO 220 and leave it alone for 4-5 days, then a couple days in polish. It's the same amount of time overall, but with much less hassle cleaning out and changing grit. Also, I am now only buying Sic 46/70 as needed for my rotary tumblers. With 10 lbs of AO 220, a pound of polish and the amount of each used by the Lot-O, I shouldn't have to buy those again for a long, long time. I haven't posted pics in quite a while, but I'll try to do that this weekend and let you be the judge on finish quality. ETA: I knew that recipe would be up before I got done typing. Can you share where you can buy 220 AO? I would like to try your method. Thanks. |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Apr 19, 2019 19:58:41 GMT -5
I started with the 'standard' recipe, which I'm sure you are about to get in detail here...and is great for anyone learning to use the Lot-O. Since then, I have adopted a more simplistic approach, which has given me the same results as with the standard recipe I started with. I now go into the Lot-O with AO 220 and leave it alone for 4-5 days, then a couple days in polish. It's the same amount of time overall, but with much less hassle cleaning out and changing grit. Also, I am now only buying Sic 46/70 as needed for my rotary tumblers. With 10 lbs of AO 220, a pound of polish and the amount of each used by the Lot-O, I shouldn't have to buy those again for a long, long time. I haven't posted pics in quite a while, but I'll try to do that this weekend and let you be the judge on finish quality. ETA: I knew that recipe would be up before I got done typing. Can you share where you can buy 220 AO? I would like to try your method. Thanks. I got mine on eBay at the Abrasive Armory. It's been awhile, so can't remember what I paid. Wasn't much though. I still need to snap a couple photos of tumbles finished this way. |
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Post by aDave on Apr 20, 2019 16:08:08 GMT -5
My most common variation lately is to run stage two (120/220 S/C) for 48 hrs instead of 24 and then run stage three (500 A/O) for 96 hours instead of 48. I then skip stage four and move right to A/O polish. I am also on the fence with burnishing. I do not always do that. My last three test batches have been this, but I've even excluded polish and have been very pleasantly surprised. One run was a large rio, and the other two runs were Condor agate nodule halves that I've had sitting around. In all honesty, I think folks would be hard pressed to identify that polish was not used. Since I still have some cut halves, I'll add the polish stage to see if there's a difference, though I might need a loupe to see the finer details. Visually, I can't see a difference. As far as a final burnish stage, I haven't always done it since getting the Lot-O. Since a drop or two of dish soap is used to start the cleaning process, I'm on the fence if it's still needed. Like Randy Garage Rocker, I have lots of photographs to take. |
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gruner
off to a rocking start
Member since August 2019
Posts: 7
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Post by gruner on Oct 19, 2019 21:15:43 GMT -5
Hi All,
I know this is a recipe thread, but on a related note, I'm curious about how anal you experts are about contamination between steps. I'm using two Lortone 33Bs for course and a Lot-o for the rest. I often rinse and wash rocks in plastic containers before the next step using a toothbrush. Should I be using specific containers for each step, and a toothbrush for each? Is grit so elusive that I need to separate gear for each step, or is good cleaning/rinsing enough to erase any issues?
Sorry if this is off-topic. Any help on this is appreciated.
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Post by knave on Jan 11, 2020 12:58:13 GMT -5
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Post by aDave on Jan 11, 2020 13:32:44 GMT -5
I've been too darn lazy lately. Most of my Lot-O mixed batches have been blended in with others, or they have been given away. I'll get around to the condor agate halves one of these days. Oh, and for your other tag, I think you meant Garage Rocker.  And, gruner, I just saw your question, so I'll try to briefly address it. Contamination, IMHO, becomes less of a potential issue the smoother and more flawless your rocks are as they come out of coarse. If they're perfect, there's really nowhere from grit to become trapped. If your rocks have lots of pits, cracks, etc., then you'll have to be more diligent about making sure grit is not embedded anywhere. Fortunately, a toothbrush and good scrubbing is all that's needed to clean the rocks, as long as the rocks are wet. If they dry for any length of time, embedded grit/slurry can harden like concrete and be difficult to remove. As far as using stage specific containers for cleaning, I'm not so sure it's necessary, as long as they can be easily cleaned. I've used one plastic colander for dumping barrels into, and that same colander is used for all stages. Maybe I've just gotten lucky, but I haven't had any negative outcomes from doing that. Hope this helps a bit. |
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Post by knave on Jan 11, 2020 13:34:35 GMT -5
I've been too darn lazy lately. Most of my Lot-O mixed batches have been blended in with others, or they have been given away. I'll get around to the condor agate halves one of these days. Oh, and for your other tag, I think you meant Garage Rocker. And, gruner, I just saw your question, so I'll try to briefly address it. Contamination, IMHO, becomes less of a potential issue the smoother and more flawless your rocks are as they come out of coarse. If they're perfect, there's really nowhere from grit to become trapped. If your rocks have lots of pits, cracks, etc., then you'll have to be more diligent about making sure grit is not embedded anywhere. Fortunately, a toothbrush and good scrubbing is all that's needed to clean the rocks, as long as the rocks are wet. If they dry for any length of time, embedded grit/slurry can harden like concrete and be difficult to remove. As far as using stage specific containers for cleaning, I'm not so sure it's necessary, as long as they can be easily cleaned. I've used one plastic colander for dumping barrels into, and that same colander is used for all stages. Maybe I've just gotten lucky, but I haven't had any negative outcomes from doing that. Hope this helps a bit. Hey your are right. I tried to remember his tag and misspelled it. Thx! |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Feb 20, 2020 17:33:53 GMT -5
Apologies, Evan, I've been awol for a minute. Been trying to go back through notifications and respond where it's still relevant. Let me see if I can't round up some photos of those last batches. My tumblers have sat idle since June, so nothing recent to photograph. |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Feb 24, 2020 21:48:58 GMT -5
Apologies, Evan, I've been awol for a minute. Been trying to go back through notifications and respond where it's still relevant. Let me see if I can't round up some photos of those last batches. My tumblers have sat idle since June, so nothing recent to photograph. Alright knave, I found a good thread to look at to judge the effectiveness of the method I was using before I went on the IR. Some of these rocks were tumbled using the 'standard' Lot-0 recipe that I used for a long time. Then I got the AO 220 and eventually went to the rough grind, 220 in the Lot-0 and polish routine mentioned above. Check it out and see if you can tell the difference... lost tumble photos |
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Post by knave on Feb 24, 2020 22:02:41 GMT -5
That is very amazing. It deserves a bump..... Thanks for that! Garage Rocker |
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Post by knave on Apr 22, 2020 12:39:05 GMT -5
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Apr 23, 2020 14:45:48 GMT -5
I started with the 'standard' recipe, which I'm sure you are about to get in detail here...and is great for anyone learning to use the Lot-O. Since then, I have adopted a more simplistic approach, which has given me the same results as with the standard recipe I started with. I now go into the Lot-O with AO 220 and leave it alone for 4-5 days, then a couple days in polish. It's the same amount of time overall, but with much less hassle cleaning out and changing grit. Also, I am now only buying Sic 46/70 as needed for my rotary tumblers. With 10 lbs of AO 220, a pound of polish and the amount of each used by the Lot-O, I shouldn't have to buy those again for a long, long time. I haven't posted pics in quite a while, but I'll try to do that this weekend and let you be the judge on finish quality. ETA: I knew that recipe would be up before I got done typing. I got some AO 220 to try this. Are you using 2 TBL (like 120/220) or 1/2 TSP of the AO 220? Thanks Randy. |
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on Apr 24, 2020 10:30:18 GMT -5
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Post by knave on Apr 28, 2020 0:26:36 GMT -5
Thank you ingawh, this is using sugar, psyllium, and AO500. Much more shine than I had before.  |
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sujo
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2020
Posts: 2
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Post by sujo on Jun 26, 2020 22:05:40 GMT -5
I just got finished with the first step and took the rocks out of the tumbler. I noticed some of the rocks have a gold streak on them...what is this from? It's not the end of the world, but I'd rather it not be there.
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