|
Post by tims on Jun 25, 2020 22:05:19 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 25, 2020 21:59:56 GMT -5
The small piece I can cut but don't know what to do with the lunker. I don't like sledge hammers but there's some pretty stuff in there.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 25, 2020 21:41:00 GMT -5
Can you show us the counterweights looking at them end Axel view? They seem like they are counterbalancing each other for little to no vibe action. I don't see an easy way to get an end view without serious disassembly. The normal action of the vibe at this setting is plenty to keep the whole load circulating at a good pace, I don't think I'd want the action to be any more aggressive.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 19, 2020 23:19:02 GMT -5
noooooo hope you can salvage the load at least
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 19, 2020 16:28:36 GMT -5
I don't know if this seller is legit. It's been over 2 weeks and I've tried contacting him for processing / shipping info several times but haven't received a reply.
MrP where did you get your belts? I'm ready to cancel this order and try somewhere else.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 4, 2020 23:03:46 GMT -5
***EDIT*** I don't think that seller is in business anymore, the website and cart work but I never received my order or any reply to phone / email messages, so I requested and received a refund from PayPal.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 3, 2020 22:46:38 GMT -5
oregon I'd wager James' experience with dry loads is accurate, and that having the load solidify wouldn't cause a catastrophic change in the machine's operation. My load, while a little dry on top after sitting for a bit, was mostly still wet throughout, and I've never experienced a load drying out so bad that it solidified. knave That's an interesting idea. I doubt it would happen, at least with the o-rings i use for belts. One of my o-rings does show signs of abrasion (more like skid marks maybe) but if it would've gotten caught up somehow I'd expect it to show more obvious damage. Definitely worth consideration though and not beyond possibility.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 2, 2020 14:01:04 GMT -5
The star bolts and Fafnir bearings sure look new. Could the past owner had the bolts vibrate loose and the whole counterweight system dropped down and cause a catastrophic crash ? Maybe those bearings are the new retrofit from Diamond Pacific ? The Vibrasonic has been around a long time and apparently had several different bearings over the years. I've never had it running without everything set in place first, but as to past owners I can't say. That locking collar does have a scuff on one side, I hadn't noticed that. And yeah it's very possible the scuff on the weight was also there previous to this incident and I just didn't notice it. And again when I found it running after the belts broke the hopper was sitting square on the springs and nothing looked out of place.
I got this machine second hand, as did the previous owner, and I don't know its history beyond the guy I bought it from who'd never even used it.
Thanks for looking and for the advice and suggestions, I'll just keep running it and try to keep a better eye on it while it's running.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Jun 1, 2020 15:11:54 GMT -5
Sorry for the delayed reply. I did run it with one belt attached and there was no hopping, it ran fine with one belt and I couldn't see any obvious difference from running it with both belts. I'm baffled. I got some better pics but they don't show any obvious problems (that i can see anyway).
This is the side where the counterweight got ground down. I'm 99% certain this wear wasn't there before this failed mystery run:
Circled here is the side that didn't show damage to the weight. Some black rubber baked on / around the pulley. The belt from that side shows some obvious scuffs and abrasions like it did some skidding around before it broke.
This is the motor pulley on that side, same black rubber
Here's the motor case on the side with the damage to the counterweight. It looks like the bottom lid of the hopper would need to move a couple inches laterally at least for the counterweight to align with the side of the motor there which makes me think the abrasions on motor and weight can't be related, but I don't remember seeing those abrasions before. Maybe I just overlooked them before and they've always been there ...
A little clearer shot of the weight again
The more I look the less I understand what happened, so I think I'll call it a one-off failure until proven wrong. Both counterweights are set securely at 1.2 and haven't budged. Springs are fine. No indication that running on one belt would cause crazy hopping. I dunno.
Anyway, on an unrelated note, is there a "correct" way to orient the hopper (front and back)? The feet on the base of the hopper are different shapes on the front and back but the hopper appears to be centered ok regardless of which way the feet are pointing. Does it make any difference? Pic for reference:
|
|
|
Post by tims on May 25, 2020 14:50:46 GMT -5
Imagine you've checked the four springs. Was the load extra dry when you found it? Wonder if things dry out enough and the action on a big 'solid' mass could make for interesting happenings? certainly seems like it was violently shaking for some reason. Might be worth loading it up and turning it on for a few seconds with one belt on to see if the first belt failure might have caused it. Mystery indeed. The springs look fine. The load was drying out on top when i found it but seemed plenty wet except for the stuff sitting right on top. The shaft doesn't seem to have any play in the bearings. Nothing looked or sounded odd when i replaced the belts and ran a short burnish after this incident.
I'll try it with one belt just to see what happens and report back.
|
|
|
Post by tims on May 24, 2020 13:12:34 GMT -5
Those garnets fractured in a way similar to poorly annealed glass. Garnets are one of the most impact resistant rocks known.(Yes, questioning your corona garnets ho ho). I missed the implication on first read, but I'm certain they're garnet. Pre-tumble they're big clunky lopsided dodecahedrons ... if you were gonna make glass imitations they wouldn't be this ugly (or heavy).
Total guess here but I think that when the first belt broke on the Viking, the second one managed to hold together for several revolutions before it broke causing the hopper to ... hop. Violently. I'll babysit better next run.
|
|
|
Post by tims on May 23, 2020 20:31:46 GMT -5
Thanks for the reply James. I ran a short burnish (90min) after replacing the belts and everything looked / sounded normal then (except for the rocks they were obviously fubar). I run it on a thin, stiff doormat sitting on the sidewalk; the mat doesn't have any give at all but it seems to muffle the sound a little bit. The belts are o-rings with no visible seam and no stiff spots. The vibe was unattended for ~ 2 hours when the belt(s) broke, and when I checked it both belts had broken and the it was just sitting still with the motor spinning. I couldn't find anything loose and nothing broken but did find some abrasion I hadn't noticed on one of the counterbalance weights, it was jumping hard enough that the weight was making contact with the motor case. The photos are poor but it ground down the counterweight probably 1/16" in that spot and left a little scar on the motor. I believe both sides are set to 1.2 and neither has moved from that position.
|
|
|
Post by tims on May 23, 2020 12:50:47 GMT -5
My latest tumble got chewed up. Rolled in QT12 rotary and finished in Viking VT14 vibe. I ran the rotary stages (rough through pre-polish) with more padding and for longer than usual, and everything looked better than normal after pre-polish with few dings or fractures. After the polish stage in the Viking it looked like someone had dropped the whole batch off a cliff and I'm not sure what went haywire. The Viking did break a belt (well, both belts) but the pros assure me that a blown belt shouldn't cause hopping or any violent motion in the vibe, but I've used the Viking before with no change in settings or method and have never seen such extreme damage to a load of rocks.
Here are some Chinese garnets that had no visible fractures after pre-polish that just shattered:
Some chert / jasper / quartz that looked fine after pre-polish:
Not sure what happened but I destroyed nearly the entire load. Here are a few "survivors" but almost everything shows at least minor damage:
Suggestions welcome, I really like the results I've gotten from the Viking in 2 previous loads but something went terribly wrong this time.
|
|
|
Post by tims on May 21, 2020 0:02:29 GMT -5
Have you guys witnessed how the viking reacts when it breaks a belt? I'm assuming it's pretty violent since the belts hold tension between the hopper and the base.
|
|
|
Post by tims on May 18, 2020 18:54:16 GMT -5
I found some vacuum cleaner belts that fit. Will advise how long they last. They are only about $1.50 each! Did the vac belts hold up ok?
|
|
|
Post by tims on May 17, 2020 22:01:54 GMT -5
I've had decent results skipping the first stage (80 SiC or whatever) when using naturally smoothed material, and generally I skip that first stage with tumbled cabs also. The result is that sharp edges get rounded a bit and minor abrasions and saw marks get smoothed out, but you don't lose nearly as much material and things keep their shape better than when they roll through stage 1.
Some RTHers are seriously good at tumbling and can tackle softer materials with great results, but for a beginner I'd really recommend using the hardest rocks you can get. Hard material like agate, jasper, chert, quartz etc. is usually much more forgiving so you can just follow a known recipe and get a good shine. Patience can be the hardest part.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Nov 3, 2019 15:23:26 GMT -5
Thanks jamesp so I probably used over double what I needed. One of the reasons I've avoided the vibe is the cost of grit but I always forget that you need so much less of it. At 2 tbsp per load I can run several more batches with the 500 i have left.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Nov 2, 2019 13:21:35 GMT -5
pretty awesome I had a grand total of 2 ToTs this year, and only half of them in costume. Kind of depressing.
|
|
|
Post by tims on Nov 2, 2019 13:15:14 GMT -5
Tims - I think those have a great polish. Congrats! What ae the white jelly bean size rocks? Just quartz. I've been wanting to do some Tree of Life wire wraps and thought the monotone white and yellow quartz would be good for them. Not sure what the beans will be good for, i cut them too thick for small cabs then domed both sides ... lots of work and i have no idea why
|
|
|
Post by tims on Oct 24, 2019 21:22:48 GMT -5
gatorflash1 I wasn't able to run a full burnish on this load, it got really cold and wet really quick. Had to make do with about 1/2 hour burnish with ivory soap then the toothbrush cleanup which i know is inferior (and monotonous and painful lol). Next season that will definitely become a regular addition and thanks for the detailed instructions. Most of this load got beat up badly in the rotary; I rolled a bunch of questionable material and i got the answer to my question The cut and shaped pieces of good material took a wetter shine that i'm used to. Will try for some better outdoor pics tomorrow but these are most of the survivors out of 12#
|
|