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I've been lurking in these forums since the summer, and wanted to first say a huge thank you to you all for this amazing wealth of information and inspirational pics! It's a great community you've got here, and I am excited to finally join!
I used to have a 3lb rock tumbler when I was a kid, and loved it. I've continued to collect tumblestones, clusters etc. since, and recently decided to get back into it again. I purposely saved up some cash during lockdown and, after a lot of research on these boards, bought myself some new kit, namely a Lortone QT66 and 33b. The plan is/was to use the QT66 exclusively for stage one, and the 33b for the remaining stages.
A few weeks into using the QT66, it broke (blue sparks came out from around the switch when I tried to turn it off, and it wouldn't switch off). So that went back. While waiting for a replacement, which took 4 weeks, I opened the 33b to continue rolling my rough. I had one barrel with just amethyst, clear and rose quartz, and another barrel with all sorts (around the same hardness), e.g. botswana agate, carnelian, bloodstone, tiger's eye, dendritic agate, blue lace agate.
I had some ceramic media in with the quartz mix, as I read here that amethyst in particular was very prone to fracturing.
Yesterday I finally got a new QT66 but, unfortunately in the meantime, the 33b has broken! After just 4 weeks use, it was squeaking like a demon. I won't go into the details here but can elaborate if anyone's interested. I did find an awesome thread here with loads of advice, but decided that, since it is so new, it needs to be returned as well (if I'd had it running for a year or something, I would try to fix it myself, but 4 weeks is just not on).
So, to get to the question, I've been tumbling since about August, and am yet to run a barrel for stage 2, haha. I've been setting stones aside as they're ready, and now have enough to probably fill one of my 6lb barrels for a stage 2 run. My question is:
Would you recommend throwing everything in together? (The quartz mix and all the other ones I mentioned above)? Or would it be best to wait and keep the quartz mix separate like I did at stage 1, and run smaller stage 2 loads once I get my 33b returned/replaced? It's taken so long to get enough ready for stage 2, and I have some really lovely amethyst in there, so I don't want to mess it up now by putting everything in together.
Fyi, once I started with the tumblers, I soon got the bug in a big way, and bought a Hi-Tech Diamond 6" trim saw and 8" Slant Cabber. So you might see me popping up in the cabbing threads as I try to get started with those. I am a total newbie in that respect (so far I have just trimmed some rocks that needed tidying up during stage 1 and done some face-polishing on blue lace agate chunks) - it's so addictive.
As soon as I get the time to set up photo sharing, I will start sharing some pics of my efforts so far.
Post by hummingbirdstones on Dec 19, 2021 11:14:03 GMT -5
Welcome from Northern Arizona!
I don't tumble myself, but as you already know we have some master tumblers here. Someone will answer questions pretty soon. Sorry to hear about both of your tumblers taking a header, though.
Robin
"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
Post by LazerFlash on Dec 19, 2021 16:01:51 GMT -5
Welcome from Charles Town WV. (Think John Brown's pre-Civil War raid.) I'm still pretty new to this hobby and have learned a lot from the folks here. I don't have the experience needed to address your tumbling questions. But, as brybry said, there are quite a few experienced (ie, "experts") folks on here who can.
In my experience, I would run the quartz separate from the agates in the fine through polish stages. They’re both about the same hardness but you will find that the agate is much more durable or tough. Agates will beat up on the quartz and you may not be happy with the results on the quartz. The agates won’t care and will probably polish fine.
Either way, be sure to have a good mix of sizes in your tumblers. I’m surprised you had two Lortone tumblers go bad on you so quickly. It was a good idea to send them back. I’ve got a QT-12 that is at least 20 years old and I just retired a 3A that was 28 years old. I may eventually fix the 3A. All Lortones are easy to work on with just a screwdriver and a small crescent wrench.
It’s good to see you here. I’m looking forward to seeing some photos.
Last Edit: Dec 19, 2021 18:14:37 GMT -5 by Starguy
kjl What Starguy said. Quartz is the same hardness as the agate but not the same toughness. As you go to a bigger diameter tumbler barrel the "drop" increases. the bigger the drop the more peening takes place on the rocks. Yes I know that is why you use small stuff and ceramic pellets but in my experience they are better separate. However if you mix them in the 3A barrel it is not a problem.
Now back to the squeak. There are probably just a couple of adjustments you need to make on the tumbler. Make sure the nylon bearings have lub. take off the skin and check the pully make sure it is tight. Make sure the pully is not rubbing against the housing. Make sure the lid is not rubbing the housing. All are small tweeks that happen due to heating and cooling.
I’m pretty new too. I have 2 lortone 33b’s and a lot-o. The lortones are very basic. Oil them regularly, and if the plastic “stopper” (white round plastic disk) gets run flat, it’ll squeak. I just use a blunt object to bump it so the rounded edge is facing the tumbler. (As shared from other much more experienced members) There is very little that can go wrong with these tumblers. Mine have been running 24/7 since august, and I expect may more years from them. The lot-o is a game changer for the time:patience problem for finishing I have. Look into one if you’re having that problem. Rotary until the shape is right, and lot-o to finish to a nice shine.
-Heather
Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin. -Barbara Kingsolver
I don't have the experience with tumbling to voice a valid response to your questions...but I did want to say welcome to the forum from South Dakota!
Favorite Quotes: "It always seems impossible until it is done." - Nelson Mandela "Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got." - Robert Brault "You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy." - Nightbirde (RIP 2/19/22)
Thanks for such a warm welcome and all the advice! I will keep my quartz mix aside and run it in a separate batch from hereon in.
I was also really surprised about the problems I had with my two brand new Lortone machines, from what I've read (and heard from members in this thread) they are real workhorses! Hopefully I was just spectacularly unlucky. I haven't lost my faith in the brand. My supplier initially asked me to send just the base unit of the QT66 back (without the two 6lb barrels) to see if it could be repaired. They couldn't repair it, so I instead got sent a complete brand new unit along with two new barrels, which they let me keep, so that was a huge bonus and much appreciated.
I meant to mention in my introductory post, I am originally from England, but now live in the Netherlands. I am certainly envious of the rockhounding opportunities over in the US! I have to buy most of my rough from various sources, but once the weather is a bit warmer we will go on a few family trips to collect beach pebbles (my 3.5yr old is super excited about my new hobby and calls herself my "stones assistant" ).
Re: the 33b, I will try to oil it as advised. It was only running for four weeks from brand new when the problem began. I just created a Cloudinary account, so hopefully this video works. (If so I will follow up with some pics of everything I have ready to move to stage two).\
It seems to be the drone roller that is squeaking.
One last question, and I appreciate this is probably quite a stupid one, but what kind of oil can I use? I read that WD40 is a big NO. I found the following oil on a Dutch website, which is described as "A mineral household oil that is acid-free due to an intensive refining treatment. In addition, the product is practically colorless and odorless. Intended for many purposes." Here. Might this be OK?
Oh and I meant to add, I would love to get a vibratory tumbler, but they are so hard to come by over here on the continent unfortunately! I may look into getting a Lot-O sent over from the US in the future, but my concern is that there is nowhere local to help me fix it if problems arise. That said, I did order my trim saw and slant cabber from the US (for the same reason - that options are very limited here, and the few options that exist were so much more expensive, even counting the import duties) but I would prefer to minimise that risk. I am lucky there is a Lortone supplier here in the Netherlands.
kjl Looked at the vid and it did not show the end toward the motor. Make sure the nylon ring is on that end as well and that the aluminum lid is not rubbing the housing. Beyond that I would pull off the top and check the pulley inside and see if it is rubbing. It should not be making that sound, it is metal on metal somewhere.
When you are rock hunting be careful about which stones you take from the dike. You don't want to flood everyone or stand around with your finger in it.
I’m a newer yo the tumbling experience…I’ve had my lot-o for only a few months. But is seems pretty basic…maybe someone who’s had one for years can verify…it really doesn’t seem to have much that can go wrong…but, you have had some bad luck with the lortones…sooooooo? Good luck and can’t wait to see your pics. You’re very luck to have a good rock assistant. The one who “assists” me is a west highland terrier who live to dig on the beach, and always where you’re reaching to pick up the next stone! 🤣🤣🤣
Oh and I meant to add, I would love to get a vibratory tumbler, but they are so hard to come by over here on the continent unfortunately! I may look into getting a Lot-O sent over from the US in the future, but my concern is that there is nowhere local to help me fix it if problems arise. That said, I did order my trim saw and slant cabber from the US (for the same reason - that options are very limited here, and the few options that exist were so much more expensive, even counting the import duties) but I would prefer to minimise that risk. I am lucky there is a Lortone supplier here in the Netherlands.
-Heather
Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin. -Barbara Kingsolver
Post by LazerFlash on Dec 23, 2021 13:30:08 GMT -5
3-IN-ONE is a great household oil. We use it just about everywhere a general lubricant is needed. We have several containers of it throughout the house. It's what I've used on my Harbor Freight 3-pounder, so far with success. Sadly for this discussion, I'm not sure exactly what it's ingredients and processing are.
We use WD-40 only where a penetrating "oil" is needed, such as to free up a stuck nut or bolt or where there's excessive rust to get through.
Last Edit: Dec 23, 2021 13:31:43 GMT -5 by LazerFlash
We use WD-40 only where a penetrating "oil" is needed, such as to free up a stuck nut or bolt or where there's excessive rust to get through.
I remembered another use for WD-40 that I thought I'd share... Every other month, I spray the wind-up springs of our garage door opener with it. This was recommended to us by a garage door contractor. He told us that this helps reduce the friction on the spring coils, which is the most common cause of spring failures.
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Members with real questions or comments that need an actual response, please post on the main forum - not here! Casual PG-13 posts only, no politics or religion please!
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