michaelk74
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2023
Posts: 8
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Post by michaelk74 on Mar 11, 2023 9:19:26 GMT -5
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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michaelk74
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2023
Posts: 8
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Post by michaelk74 on Mar 11, 2023 9:20:48 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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michaelk74
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2023
Posts: 8
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Post by michaelk74 on Mar 11, 2023 9:24:06 GMT -5
Trying to figure out how to start a thread, or find the answer that may have been previously discussed. With the Covid thing Lortone 4 Step Grits are hard to find ( at a reasonable price). I see on line that Johnson Bros has a small 4 step kits... they seem to have a different material for steps 3 and 4. Do they work as well? take a look here: The Rock Shed /grit |
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michaelk74
off to a rocking start
Member since March 2023
Posts: 8
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Post by michaelk74 on Mar 11, 2023 9:55:28 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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dillonf
fully equipped rock polisher
Hounding and tumbling
Member since February 2022
Posts: 1,164
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Post by dillonf on Jul 23, 2023 17:21:57 GMT -5
I've been using the Lot-O now for a couple of months consistently, and as such I feel I can contribute to this thread. I have a water softener, and I am starting to think this impacts things in the Lot-O quite a bit. I have stopped adding borax to my tumbles in the Lot-O and I contribute that to my water. I usually have anywhere from 1/4-1/2 the barrel filled with ceramics depending on the amount of stones ready for polishing. I have one barrel for 220 & 500 grit and another for polish and pre-polish. Prior to the Lot-O my stones are shaped in a rotary with 60/90 grit, then run in a rotary for one week in 120/220. 1 Tablespoon of 220 SC run for 24-36 hours. - Fill the barrel with rocks ceramic and water. Dump the water out. Place in the frame and plug in the machine. Slowly add the grit while the stones and media are cycling. Add 3-4 squirts of water from a spray bottle.
- This stage requires more water additions than the other stages. Check it every 1-2 hours and add water as needed. I can usually get a good slurry consistency in about 4-8 hours that will hold for 24 hours with minimal additions of water.
- When the slurry looks sticky and thick it is time to wrap up the run. In most instances after 36hrs the slurry starts getting too thick.
- I have found I can run it for ~48-60 hours if I reduce the amount of grit down to a teaspoon, but there appears to be no advantage to this.
1 Teaspoon or 500 AO run for 36-48 hours - Fill the wet barrel with wet rocks and ceramic. Place the barrel in the frame and plug in the machine. Slowly add the grit while the stones and media are cycling. Add 2-3 squirts of water from a spray bottle.
- Check in about 4 hours and add water as needed. This stage usually needs 1-2 squirts of water each day.
- When I remove the rocks depends on how thick the slurry gets. I shoot for 48 hours. When the slurry looks sticky and thick it is time to wrap up the run.
- Sometimes I run 500 SC if I want the stage to be a bit more aggressive/remove some light bruising. I always do a 500 AO stage after doing a 500 SC run.
1 Teaspoon of 1000 AO run for 48-72 hours (pre-polish) - Fill the barrel with rocks ceramic and water. Dump the water out. Place in the frame and plug in the machine. Slowly add the grit while the stones and media are cycling. Do not add any additional water.
- Check in about 4 hours and add water as needed. I usually need to add 1-2 squirts of water every 24 hours after the initial slurry is good.
1/2 Teaspoon of rock shed polish run for 48-72 hours (polish) - Fill the barrel with rocks ceramic and water. Dump the water out. Place in the frame and plug in the machine. Slowly add the grit while the stones and media are cycling. Do not add any additional water.
- Check in about 4 hours and add water as needed.
- I don't generally need to add much water to the polish stage - 1 or 2 squirts here and there (sometimes no water additions).
In general I check my barrel, at minimum, 3x a day: In the morning, when I get home from work, and before I go to bed. I find if I have real bad circulation and I can't resolve it with water it is best to start over - wash the rocks and start again.
I've gotten to the point where I can get "most" my pre-polish and polish stages to run longer than 3-days, but there appears to be no advantage to this in my opinion. I think a good goal for me is 48 hours in each stage, but take out the 220 stage a bit early. For what it is worth . . . Cheers! |
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arentol
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2023
Posts: 10 
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Post by arentol on Aug 11, 2023 11:10:46 GMT -5
I do stages 2 and 3 in my UV-10/HFT frankenstein tumbler. I do burnishing/cleaning in-between in the Lot-O since it is so much simpler to use for those short stages. Then I do stage 3.5 (1000 grit), if needed, and final polishing in the Lot-O. Splitting the work lets me process more stones and lets me keep the Lot-O bowl limited to the much finer grit which reduces the chance of larger grit ending up in the final polish stage.
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