Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Oct 1, 2020 21:08:36 GMT -5
Okay, I admit, this is a bit off the wall, but I am looking for ideas on making a homemade vibratory "final stage" rock polisher that is relatively quiet and has a capacity of at least 5 pounds at a time. My preference is a horizontal cylinder hopper and by that I mean the same kind of action used by Diamond Pacific Sonic tumblers which are essentially a sideways cylinder with the center axis horizontal and rock action that rolls from back to front rather than the typical vortex circular action. Vortex vibes are always tremendously loud and I can't do that in my apartment.
And before you say it, yes I would normally just buy a larger MT-10 double mini-sonic to increase my polishing capacity, but Diamond Pacific is not able to produce them right now and there's nothing I can find on the used market. I have a huge bottle neck right now with three Lortone QT series tumblers totalling 5 - 6lb barrels and two Lortone 33B tumblers doing the rough stages feeding to three MT4 mini-sonics for final polishing. I have boxes and boxes of ready to polish material waiting and waiting. Therefore, I am looking for a homemade option to increase my capacity.
So any ideas for driving a horizontal barrel, throw them on over here no matter how crazy. Horizontal cylinder vibes only need linear vibration unlike vortex vibes that need circular vibration such as with an off axis weight on a motor that makes it deflect in a small circle. Linear vibration can be magnetically driven up and down which is what the mini-sonics use, hence the name "sonic".
Okay, knock me out with your smarts.
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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 1, 2020 22:22:34 GMT -5
I've built two cylindrical vib tumblers, one about 1/2 gallon and the other 2 1/2 gallon capacity, both were running in the 90db range at ten feet. Not saying it can't be done quietly, but I'd bet toward not.
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Oct 2, 2020 10:49:41 GMT -5
I've built two cylindrical vib tumblers, one about 1/2 gallon and the other 2 1/2 gallon capacity, both were running in the 90db range at ten feet. Not saying it can't be done quietly, but I'd bet toward not. Hello. Could I get a look at how you built those? I could always look at possible modifications for noise limiting. Thanks.
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Post by oregon on Oct 2, 2020 11:35:47 GMT -5
I've built two cylindrical vib tumblers, one about 1/2 gallon and the other 2 1/2 gallon capacity, both were running in the 90db range at ten feet. Not saying it can't be done quietly, but I'd bet toward not. Hello. Could I get a look at how you built those? I could always look at possible modifications for noise limiting. Thanks. Search is your friend.... large old thread
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Enigman
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2013
Posts: 163
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Post by Enigman on Oct 2, 2020 12:33:52 GMT -5
Hello. Could I get a look at how you built those? I could always look at possible modifications for noise limiting. Thanks. Search is your friend.... large old threadThanks for that. Quite a bit more horsepower than I was thinking, but food for thought. I'm glad to see a design for a cylindrical hopper.
Anyone have other spins on this style?
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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 2, 2020 22:52:11 GMT -5
I got the 10" barrel built but haven't been able to work with it enough as yet to get it perfected. My wife had a 5 vertebrae fusion in Apr. 17, and things went well for 1 1/2 years, but she has deteriorated both physically and somewhat mentally to the point I am maid, butler, cook, janitorial, chauffeur, and support person. Trouble is, the best medical minds in Oregon can't figure out what's wrong. I can find bits of time, but perfecting the machine will be real slow.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,555
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Post by jamesp on Oct 3, 2020 1:23:55 GMT -5
The Lot-O is similar in design to a cylinder vibe since it uses a parallel vibrating shaft. The hopper is bee hive shaped instead. It is darn quiet as far as vibes go. There are not many home made vibes out there Enigman. Did much searching. Most operate at a minimum speed of 3000 vibrations per minute which sure generates a lot of noise. Quiet rock tumblers would be a big selling point but corporate groups with big pockets have not accomplished the task. Apparently 3000+ vibes per minute is the threshold to breaking abrasives down when small rocks are being run. My Vibrasonic is a horizontal cylinder design but is far from quiet. It does run a pair of Mini-sonic barrels well. If I was attempting to build a ~5 pound capacity vibe I would use two Mini-Sonic barrels since they are so thick. Probably thick enough to hold screws for mounting attachments to. It is powerful enough to handle a 50 pound barrel. If it's design was scaled down for only 5 pounds maybe it would be quieter. Man I wish you luck. Mini-Sonics mounted with home made fixture and shaken with a Vibrasonic with counterweights set at a low 20% offset. Excellent performance but the vibrating system was factory made. quartz's machine is the best total homemade I have ever seen and uses a speed increase pulley with a (if not mistaken) slower motor than 3000 rpm motor. The pivot design is brilliant.
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