Chris Sikk
having dreams about rocks
Member since September 2021
Posts: 73
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Post by Chris Sikk on Sept 28, 2021 14:10:48 GMT -5
I should make some money on the side by buying up the Lortone tumblers here in town and reselling them.
Prior to joining the forum, I read the threads on suggested tumblers. I saw the Lortone was the "it" machine for many people. I got curious about the price and saw everywhere was out. I wanted to know the price before I started searching locally because I assume I will always be hosed on prices living in Canada.
I looked at my local supplier and their website said they had 6 Lortone 33Bs.
I paused. "What are you doing, Chris? You have a tumbler." Breath.
After 2 weeks of having to do some maintenance on my Thumler and still having issues, I was convincing myself again.
Breath. "You should not spend this money you do not have, Chris."
A week later, Thumler and I are still butting heads. Check the website for the store again-- just looking I swear. WHAT? There's only 3 left?
"Chris, these seem to be sought after tumblers and no one can find them. There's only 3 left, where there were 6 a few weeks ago. GO!"
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,211
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Post by quartzilla on Sept 28, 2021 20:13:34 GMT -5
Loretone is my tumbler of choice. They are like the Honda Civic of tumblers. I did just pick up a Nat Geo Hobby tumbler but it was only 10 bucks at the flea market and unused in the box to boot. Just the barrel is worth more than that IMO. It was missing the power supply so that’s been ordered for about 12 bucks from Amazon and when it arrives I will give it a whirl. Worst case scenario I have a back up barrel, some grit, and a bag of rocks that came with it for 22 dollars total.
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Oct 7, 2021 21:27:30 GMT -5
A few tips:. Bigger is better... a 3 lb barrel isn’t much less work than a 12. Home-made is better... spinning a half dozen 12 lb barrels is highly efficient. Vibe is much, much better, for everything after coarse. Happy tumbling!
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afterburnt
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since June 2021
Posts: 152
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Post by afterburnt on Oct 9, 2021 12:08:20 GMT -5
I went from zero to six in three months. Make that zero to seven in four months. I just ordered another 66.
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Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
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Post by Benathema on Oct 9, 2021 14:33:27 GMT -5
I can't remember my exact timeline, but it started with a 33b, then added a 3x1.5b, thinking the 3lb barrels would be my large coarse grinders, and the 1.5lb barrels would finish. That worked for a little bit until I started putting in bigger stones. Then a QT66 came home and I think in less than a month I added a QT12, and then another 12lb barrel to swap with the 6lbs. So I have 4 base machines that can run up to 8 barrels. Sister has a ye olde 45c that I've been using as well, so 9 barrels on 5 units.
The 33b and 3x1.5b don't see as much use these days unless I have an abundance of material ready for stage 2, or a special project in mind. They're on standby for whenever Sister and BiL decide to tumble some of their horde of agates.
I've been wanting a vibe, but not sure if I have the time to babysit it, so I've held off.
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LazerFlash
Cave Dweller
The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the toilet.
Member since September 2021
Posts: 548
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Post by LazerFlash on Oct 9, 2021 15:29:43 GMT -5
I went from zero to six in three months. Make that zero to seven in four months. I just ordered another 66.
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ericabelle
spending too much on rocks
Instagram acct: @erica_shoots_everything
Member since April 2021
Posts: 482
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Post by ericabelle on Oct 10, 2021 18:40:28 GMT -5
Welcome to the obsession...I mean hobby, LazerFlash ! I have been a rockhound since I was a kid. Even as an adult, I had piles of rocks in my backyard. My husband got me a Thumler's Model B (15lb) for Valentine's Day this year (he says "go big or go home"). And it was great because I could make rocks that I already thought were beautiful, even more beautiful! So a few months later, I bought a Lot-O vibe. I would have bought another Model B, but they just haven't been available in months. I guess I just need to build one! I'm glad you are having fun with tumbling - I have learned a lot from the forums here. There are lots of really nice, creative people here.
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osuguy0301
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since December 2015
Posts: 203
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Post by osuguy0301 on Oct 11, 2021 19:15:16 GMT -5
I started out with a Lortone 45c as a Christmas gift from my wife 5 or 6 years ago. After the first full batch i knew i was gonna buy more. First i bought a 2nd barrel for just polish a couple months later. Then a couple months after that I upgraded to a Lortone 66QT. Then shortly after that I bought a Lot-o vibe for finishing and only use rotery for coarse grit.
I was on the verge of buying a saw and flat lap, but my wife started to give me strange looks. They are still part of the plan though..lol
You can go down the rabbit hole pretty quick. That doesnt even count the rocks.
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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 Oct 14, 2021 19:54:15 GMT -5
Welcome to the addiction! I've got Lortones to do all the shaping: a double 3 lb., a double six lb., two 12 lb, and the 40 lb. I got everything but the 40 lb in the first few months. I finally sprang for the 40 lb, and LOVE it - though they are pretty pricy - if you can even find one these days. I'm getting my shop back up and running, and when it is, I usually have all 8 rotary barrels going at the same time (though if I don't have delicate material, the 3-pounders get a rest). Most everything then gets polished in a single Lot-O-Tumbler vibratory tumbler. Since I can slap a polish on most of my rotary output in 24 to 48 hours per 4 lb. load, it easily keeps up with the slower rotary output, and I almost always have a batch I can run to scratch that tumbler's itch! So, with the vibe, that's 9 barrels, rated for a total of 86 pounds processing at any given time. I guess that's enough! Only if I can't fit a rock into the Lot-O-Tumbler will I do a polish batch in rotary. This photo isn't the whole line-up, but you can see that the three-pounder was definitely the gateway drug, as I kept going for bigger and bigger barrels.
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Post by Mel on Oct 16, 2021 21:36:34 GMT -5
Hi, all! My wife and I are new to this fascinating hobby. On a lark last year, we bought three (3) on-sale 3-pound tumblers from Harbor Freight to give as gifts to a couple of our grand-children, keeping one for ourselves. Initially, we tumbled some semi-precious stuff to see how to do it. Our first two tumbles had some mixed results - some good (red jasper is a marvelous first stone to tumble), some not-so-good (green opal doesn't polish well).
Since then, we have become enthralled with this hobby having done several tumbles, again with mixed success. (Each tumble is certainly a learning experience.) I did multiple tumbles using pounds of river rock from our garden for a specific project that my wife has in mind. (A rock-based back-splash for our kitchen sink.) My 'problem' is that I'm stuck doing only one tumble at a time, having only a one-barrel tumbler. I'm now experimenting with a polish tumble using aluminum oxide polish, which I've read can be a very long tumble. My wife thinks that I've gone a bit over the edge, since I've commented that I'm thinking about buying (at least) another tumbler, so that I can have multiple projects going at one time.
So, my question to this group is: At what point did you realize that you were so hooked that you went out and bought your second, third, fourth, etc tumbler? Took about a week before I wanted another tumbler. About 2 months later, I had six tumblers running (3x 33Bs, 2x3A, and a vibratory). Then I started bringing in grit to sell to others in my area because shipping was ridiculous, and then selling the smaller machines so others could get into the hobby just to test the waters. Then bought a saw, a Genie and most recently a flat lap. Now I'm on the hunt for a 44 pound Lortone... I currently run 3x QT66/12 machines for tumbling. Somewhere along the way my major hobby turned into a small business There are worse ways to spend time and money.
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