Tommy
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Post by Tommy on May 10, 2019 14:26:53 GMT -5
As the title says this is the first purely Lot-O batch that I have run. As some know from my other threads I bought it in December, moved to a new house in January, fired it up in March only to have the motor crap out. Lot-O replaced the motor at no charge which I'm very grateful for and so now this is the first batch start to finish after receiving the replacement motor. It's a mix lot - kind of like the cabochons I make - I'm all over the place with it. Regarding the grit sequence I followed Drummond Island Rocks Chuck's recipe. Starting off I loaded the barrel 1/3 full with pre-formed and manicured flats, and for the 120/200 cycle I filled the barrel to the top with small tumbling scraps off the trim saw. I didn't try to presort the tumbling scraps and consequently I added more tumbling scraps as time went on to keep the barrel full. All subsequent cycles (500 AO, 1000 AO, and AO polish) were ran full the rim with dedicated small ceramic media. At the polish phase I did add a handful of other flats that I had polished in my old Gemstone vibe and which needed a better finish. At the end the process the barrel was still less than half full and the rest ceramic. The finish is "OK" ... not fantastic though. There is definitely still some room for improvement especially on the three pieces of pink limbcast but I'm happy with it in general because as I've said before I create these for giving away as gifts with every cabochon order I ship on Etsy. Some Owyhee jaspers, I might drill a couple of these for sale as pendants. Pink limbcast and an unknown pet wood. Super thin Aqua Nueva agate. I watched this one closely from start to finish thinking it would chip or break but it turned out beautiful. I might drill this one also. Gary Green jasper Wonderstone Lavic Moss agate (self collected) Mescalero jasper Sage plume agate Cosmo agate from Utah Mexican I think flame agate Thanks for looking
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Post by aDave on May 10, 2019 14:35:17 GMT -5
I think those turned out pretty darn nice, and I think that's great for a first-time run with the machine. The Lot-O is not idiot proof, as it's taking me some time to figure out some quirks. Maybe that says more about me than the machine. But, the more I run it, it's a bit easier to identify what is going on and how to rectify any issues. For me, I've found it easy to over-water and slow things down - at least with my tumbler.
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on May 10, 2019 14:56:19 GMT -5
I would agree with Dave - turned out really good in my opinion.
Grant
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saxplayer
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since March 2018
Posts: 1,327
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Post by saxplayer on May 10, 2019 14:58:05 GMT -5
As the title says this is the first purely Lot-O batch that I have run. As some know from my other threads I bought it in December, moved to a new house in January, fired it up in March only to have the motor crap out. Lot-O replaced the motor at no charge which I'm very grateful for and so now this is the first batch start to finish after receiving the replacement motor. It's a mix lot - kind of like the cabochons I make - I'm all over the place with it. Regarding the grit sequence I followed Drummond Island Rocks Chuck's recipe. Starting off I loaded the barrel 1/3 full with pre-formed and manicured flats, and for the 120/200 cycle I filled the barrel to the top with small tumbling scraps off the trim saw. I didn't try to presort the tumbling scraps and consequently I added more tumbling scraps as time went on to keep the barrel full. All subsequent cycles (500 AO, 1000 AO, and AO polish) were ran full the rim with dedicated small ceramic media. At the polish phase I did add a handful of other flats that I had polished in my old Gemstone vibe and which needed a better finish. At the end the process the barrel was still less than half full and the rest ceramic. The finish is "OK" ... not fantastic though. There is definitely still some room for improvement especially on the three pieces of pink limbcast but I'm happy with it in general because as I've said before I create these for giving away as gifts with every cabochon order I ship on Etsy. Tommy - completely OFF topic - for your photos for this thread (for ex), how are you uploading them for others to view? I hate uploading pics here because I have to individually copy and paste each url over from FlickR. Wondering how you are doing it and I'm sure there is an easier way I don't know (yet). Feel free to PM me if you don't wanna clog this thread. Thanks - Grant
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Tommy
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Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,881
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Post by Tommy on May 10, 2019 15:05:01 GMT -5
Tommy - completely OFF topic - for your photos for this thread (for ex), how are you uploading them for others to view? I hate uploading pics here because I have to individually copy and paste each url over from FlickR. Wondering how you are doing it and I'm sure there is an easier way I don't know (yet). Feel free to PM me if you don't wanna clog this thread. No worries Grant - I'm using the drag and drop interface provided by signing up for a Cloudinary account. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/84163/introducing-new-upload-file-button
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Tommy
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Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,881
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Post by Tommy on May 10, 2019 15:09:02 GMT -5
I think those turned out pretty darn nice, and I think that's great for a first-time run with the machine. The Lot-O is not idiot proof, as it's taking me some time to figure out some quirks. Maybe that says more about me than the machine. But, the more I run it, it's a bit easier to identify what is going on and how to rectify any issues. For me, I've found it easy to over-water and slow things down - at least with my tumbler. Agreed Dave - my first attempted batch before the motor died was an attempt to finish the load I had started in my old Gemstone tumbler before IT died ... and it did not go well for the same reason you described - if a little water and grit is good then a lot is better right? This time I forced myself to stick to the recipe even though it wasn't easy at times - and the result is a big improvement. I can still think of a few little things I did that probably had a negative affect on my outcome.
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jimaz
spending too much on rocks
Member since July 2018
Posts: 463
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Post by jimaz on May 10, 2019 15:33:04 GMT -5
I think they turned out pretty good. I really like the Gary Green Jasper.
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Post by MsAli on May 10, 2019 16:31:20 GMT -5
I think they came out pretty darn good and people that get them will love them
I would drill holes in those as well along with the wonderstone and lavic
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Post by Toad on May 10, 2019 18:24:22 GMT -5
Like the highest one in the second pic
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Post by Rockindad on May 10, 2019 18:34:34 GMT -5
Great first run, it will only get better from here!
Al
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Tommy
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Member since January 2013
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Post by Tommy on May 10, 2019 19:42:14 GMT -5
Great first run, it will only get better from here! Al We can hope
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 10, 2019 21:23:17 GMT -5
Great to see you aboard the Lot-O train, Tommy. Great first run! I'm not surprised that Augua Nueva survived, I've run some thin, delicate pieces through that machine and it usually works out fine. Use it enough and you'll develope a feel for what's needed and what you can get away with. It really is forgiving.
Oh, great looking batch BTW. That's really good looking material. I'd hate to know how many pieces like this you've had over the years that never made the final grade as a Tommy Lay Original, but never got this second lease on life in that new Lot-O.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on May 10, 2019 22:52:55 GMT -5
Excellent results on a first batch! Lots of those stones I would drill and make pendants out of. They're too nice to just give away.
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Post by fernwood on May 11, 2019 6:40:44 GMT -5
Congrats on a great looking bunch.
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MommaGem
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 312
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Post by MommaGem on May 12, 2019 15:02:54 GMT -5
Fabulous! I especially love the petrified wood!
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on May 13, 2019 14:03:34 GMT -5
The lavic and Owyhee's look really good in the photos. Do you think those could get any better? Just curious if it was hit or miss on the shine with some being great and others having room for improvement. Others may disagree but I stand behind my opinion about large flat areas being the most difficult thing to get polished. If you were at 50% ceramic that's a good start. Earlier this year I tumble polished some 2-1/2 to 3" slabs and only had 4 or 5 per load with the rest all ceramics. I tried 8 slabs the first time and that was a fail with the flats not polished at all. splitting those into two separate loads was night and day difference. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/86260/tumbled-slabs-1-26Chuck
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Tommy
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Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,881
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Post by Tommy on May 13, 2019 16:24:37 GMT -5
The lavic and Owyhee's look really good in the photos. Do you think those could get any better? Just curious if it was hit or miss on the shine with some being great and others having room for improvement. Others may disagree but I stand behind my opinion about large flat areas being the most difficult thing to get polished. If you were at 50% ceramic that's a good start. Earlier this year I tumble polished some 2-1/2 to 3" slabs and only had 4 or 5 per load with the rest all ceramics. I tried 8 slabs the first time and that was a fail with the flats not polished at all. splitting those into two separate loads was night and day difference. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/86260/tumbled-slabs-1-26Chuck Hi Chuck I hear you on the flats being difficult and have taken it to heart. I would say the Owyhee's were very good - maybe not quite as good as I would polish them by hand but better than I've ever achieved in my old Gemstone tumbler. The Lavic is a tough material in general - these two pieces came from a slice of a super hard moss agate I found out there and and I'm happy with the shine that I got on those two. The only reason those are giveaways is I didn't prep them well enough and both have a saw mark groove across the face on one side ... amateur hour for sure lol. My next load just now went in and the barrel is about 25% flats 75% small odd shaped trim scraps up to the rim.
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,314
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Post by mossyrockhound on May 16, 2019 13:56:53 GMT -5
Those are nice Tommy! Glad to hear Lot-O replaced your motor. That Gary green turned out suprisingly nice.
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Post by rockjunquie on May 16, 2019 15:31:53 GMT -5
Inspiring. Hope my first batch comes out as well. I didn't think about it before, but I could do tumbles for giveaways, too. I've been sending out B stones. I'm getting excited about tumbling!
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 16, 2019 15:52:27 GMT -5
I'm getting excited about tumbling!
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