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Post by RocksInNJ on May 15, 2020 19:17:31 GMT -5
Congrats on the new purchase and hope you have lots of success and fun.
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Post by oregon on May 15, 2020 19:29:50 GMT -5
Ended up buying a Lot-O and have been doing lots of reading. The rockshed was very helpful and added lots of additional information in with my order. From what I've read it needs to be secured to a cement block or floor. The floor is out of the question but as far as cement blocks go are all created equal or has someone found an ideal arrangement? 2x6s make a nice frame for an 80lb bag of sand...screw it down to the top. just another option.
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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on May 17, 2020 21:47:46 GMT -5
We're running our first batch in the lot-o. I know a lot of people like stage one in a rotary and we're new to the vibe tumblers. From what I've read it goes quickly overall but for stage one in the lot-o is it more like a week or are we talking hours? I know that we need to check it to see where we are at depending on material but whats a good starting point? 8 hours? 24 hours? 3 days? It's a bastardized batch or conglomerate if you will of well.. just about everything that was sitting on my kitchen counter...LOL (Solved that problem!)
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Post by knave on May 17, 2020 21:53:31 GMT -5
They should be the desired shape before going into the loto. Hopefully. When using 120/220 grit in the loto it needs quite a bit of attention. Check it after a few hours and then every 8 or so.
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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 17, 2020 23:26:19 GMT -5
We're running our first batch in the lot-o. I know a lot of people like stage one in a rotary and we're new to the vibe tumblers. From what I've read it goes quickly overall but for stage one in the lot-o is it more like a week or are we talking hours? I know that we need to check it to see where we are at depending on material but whats a good starting point? 8 hours? 24 hours? 3 days? It's a bastardized batch or conglomerate if you will of well.. just about everything that was sitting on my kitchen counter...LOL (Solved that problem!) If you are doing stage 1 (rough grind and shaping) don't expect the lot-o to do a lot. You can do stage 1 in a lot-o but you have to use less coarse grit than you would in a rotary. I can't speak to timing of stage 1 in a lot-o because I'd venture 99% of us do stage 1 in a rotary, then use lot-o for polishing steps (2-4 for most).
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ataraktos
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2020
Posts: 140
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Post by ataraktos on May 22, 2020 16:07:03 GMT -5
I've had my lot-o for a few months and have tried, unsuccessfully, to get it to work out the TINIEST flaws with no luck what-so-ever. I don't know how anyone does a true stage 1 in it. The daily clean-outs alone get kind of tiresome. I read Jugglerguy 's thread about trying stage 1 with his agates and I think he tried for 3 weeks or so, but gave up on working out the tiny flaws. I think I only lasted a week and a half and hardly saw any difference (except the extra little dings in a lot of them) ... the vibe is a strange animal, to be sure! I'm currently trying to move toward ingawh 's methods/recipe. i'm finding the fine tuning to be pretty difficult as lots of problems can be caused by x or not-x (slurry too thick or too thin, for example). Reminds me of Goldilocks, lol.
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Post by knave on May 22, 2020 16:45:52 GMT -5
The loto can remove material like nobodies business. But yes, daily clean outs. How much 220 grit are you using?
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ataraktos
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2020
Posts: 140
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Post by ataraktos on May 22, 2020 17:13:04 GMT -5
The loto can remove material like nobodies business. But yes, daily clean outs. How much 220 grit are you using? Maybe not enough? Maybe too much? (haha, see, I know the drill! ) Usually about 1 tablespoon, with a clean-out every 20-24 hours (sooner if it gets bogged down) ... i wet, drain as per the usual loading instructions ... and it will get bogged down in 120/220 daily so it's doing stuff. but the finest little flaws, i haven't been able to get it to work those out. (not that i've tried all that much. but i figure if i'm not seeing any difference in them after a week, i just as well go back to coarse in the rotary.)
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Post by knave on May 22, 2020 17:15:33 GMT -5
I think that’s a reasonable amount. It does really bog down. What material are you using? Petrified wood, Lavic, etc can have internal flaws that will keep showing up.
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Post by Jugglerguy on May 22, 2020 18:06:44 GMT -5
The Lot-O is not going to change the shape of the rocks much. I usually tumble in a rotary for weeks or months before moving to the Lot-O. I can get very shiny rocks in just a week in the Lot-O, but the flaws will still be there. If you want to change the shape of the rocks, you need a rotary tumbler.
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ataraktos
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2020
Posts: 140
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Post by ataraktos on May 22, 2020 18:56:56 GMT -5
I think that’s a reasonable amount. It does really bog down. What material are you using? Petrified wood, Lavic, etc can have internal flaws that will keep showing up. thanks! just regular jaspers, and even some prairie agates. i mean, i guess it could be internal weaknesses that make them susceptible and they get dinged. But I think more likely, I don't have the ratio of rocks/media and slurry consistency just right yet. (and good grief, lavic - i gave up on that (it's pits all the way through!) and have run it as filler in some other coarse runs. unwisely, some rather brecciated chestnut jasper, now I can't even tell which pieces are lavic. but probably it's the chestnut jasper if it's not full of pits!)
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ingawh
starting to spend too much on rocks
The rock wants to shine, I just help it get there
Member since February 2011
Posts: 194
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Post by ingawh on May 22, 2020 19:11:56 GMT -5
I've had my lot-o for a few months and have tried, unsuccessfully, to get it to work out the TINIEST flaws with no luck what-so-ever. I don't know how anyone does a true stage 1 in it. The daily clean-outs alone get kind of tiresome. I read Jugglerguy 's thread about trying stage 1 with his agates and I think he tried for 3 weeks or so, but gave up on working out the tiny flaws. I think I only lasted a week and a half and hardly saw any difference (except the extra little dings in a lot of them) ... the vibe is a strange animal, to be sure! I'm currently trying to move toward ingawh 's methods/recipe. i'm finding the fine tuning to be pretty difficult as lots of problems can be caused by x or not-x (slurry too thick or too thin, for example). Reminds me of Goldilocks, lol. Hi ataraktos I quickly stopped asking the Lot-o to do any shaping - too labor-intensive, and just frustrating results. I started my tumbling odyssey with rotories, so I let them do all the shaping. The way I got down to 2 steps is to use a very course grit (like 17, or 25) in a big rotary barrel (for 6-7 mohs, 12 or 40 lbs) and let it run for a long time - like month, for the 12 lb. barrel. It has to run long enough that ALL the grit has worn down to maybe a 300 or 400 size. Then sort out the rocks ready to polish, and put the others back for another spin in the rotary. Then the 400 AO takes over with the polish-ready rocks and, if all went well in the rotary stage, imparts a pre-polish and polish in one step in 24 hours in the Lot-o. (48 hrs for obsidian). Yes, it takes some noodling to get the feel of the 400 AO slurry proportions, but once you get it, it becomes a low maintenance operation - check a couple times, but largely set it and forget it. After a while you figure out that some stones just don't want to take a polish, and you learn to trust when you got it right, and it was the rocks, or when you maybe didn't quite get it right and the stones deserve another shot. Best wishes on figuring out your own secret sauce. I look forward to results photos.
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ataraktos
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2020
Posts: 140
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Post by ataraktos on May 22, 2020 19:42:22 GMT -5
Hi ataraktos I quickly stopped asking the Lot-o to do any shaping - too labor-intensive, and just frustrating results. I started my tumbling odyssey with rotories, so I let them do all the shaping. The way I got down to 2 steps is to use a very course grit (like 17, or 25) in a big rotary barrel (for 6-7 mohs, 12 or 40 lbs) and let it run for a long time - like month, for the 12 lb. barrel. It has to run long enough that ALL the grit has worn down to maybe a 300 or 400 size. Then sort out the rocks ready to polish, and put the others back for another spin in the rotary. Then the 400 AO takes over with the polish-ready rocks and, if all went well in the rotary stage, imparts a pre-polish and polish in one step in 24 hours in the Lot-o. (48 hrs for obsidian). Yes, it takes some noodling to get the feel of the 400 AO slurry proportions, but once you get it, it becomes a low maintenance operation - check a couple times, but largely set it and forget it. After a while you figure out that some stones just don't want to take a polish, and you learn to trust when you got it right, and it was the rocks, or when you maybe didn't quite get it right and the stones deserve another shot. Best wishes on figuring out your own secret sauce. I look forward to results photos. Thanks for your reply! Not sure I'll get all the way to the two step method but right now starting out with psyllium, soap and will be sorting some aquarium gravel soon. Small impact chipping is my immediate issue. (As well as just not the best surface for polish. Knock on wood, I've been able to get a pretty terrific shine, which then highlights all the little dings and speckles under the surface (easy stuff, like jasper). But yes, that's sage advice about knowing when the stones deserve another shot! That's exactly how I feel about it. (But my 4 year old, the other day, was like, "any rocks that have a problem, you can give them to me and I'll love them!" =)
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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on May 23, 2020 11:10:31 GMT -5
We've done a few loads in it and it seems to do well. You're right it doesn't do much shaping but that's not why we got it. It does a great job of removing saw marks on the poppy jaspers so far. It also has done a great job on the junk quartz crystals. I'll post pictures this week. As far as clean out my hubs is in charge of it and he doesn't seem to mind it. Dish soap really breaks things up.
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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on Jun 7, 2020 10:28:14 GMT -5
Just wanted to add to this thread that I FINALLY took apart the Lortone (I don't know why I was expecting it to be such a chore but it was incredibly easy!) I replaced the belt and blew out the black chunks and now it works like a charm. My new Lot O is getting the motor sent in for repair (it started tripping the outlets again after running fine again over a week.) So happy to have a back up.
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Post by knave on Jun 7, 2020 10:32:42 GMT -5
Too bad about the motor! Hopefully they take care of you. Some tumbler manufacturers have been shut down.
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madman
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2020
Posts: 10
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Post by madman on Jun 12, 2020 10:48:53 GMT -5
I purchased a used MJR Tumbler. Does anyone know anything about them? It says grease bearings every 24hrs of use. Can that be right? New to tumbling.
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Post by rockhoundingwithkids on Jul 10, 2020 21:01:28 GMT -5
I wanted to add on to this... the lot-o is out of service while the motor is replaced (typically not a huge turn around time but I guess the factory that makes them is currently still shut down.) So while we were waiting on that we now have 2 Lortone rotary tumblers going and just received the Ultra Vibe 10 today. Really liked how quickly the lot-O worked so hoping the Ultra Vibe is on that level. I do LOVE that the Vibe doesn't need to be bolted down so I'd suggest that to anyone that doesn't have a place to strap down a lot-o. It is on the quiet side as well but we have them in the spare room with the door closed.
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Post by RocksInNJ on Jul 11, 2020 1:48:42 GMT -5
I’d be interested in hearing your comparison between the Lot-O and the UV-10 and which if either you like better and why.
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celtictexan
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1
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Post by celtictexan on Dec 23, 2020 18:09:05 GMT -5
I purchased a used MJR Tumbler. Does anyone know anything about them? It says grease bearings every 24hrs of use. Can that be right? New to tumbling. I just got a new MJR tumbler and was more than a bit surprised to see that I had to grease bearings every day. There may be a good reason that I'm unaware of, but for $300 I think sealed bearings would have been a better choice.
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