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Post by oregon on Apr 19, 2016 17:04:15 GMT -5
Been playing around with a few lines of code to create templates... The 3D printer has a tougher time with wide flat objects, but sure beats cutting things out by hand. Started with the standard oval sizes, and then made a mesh grid for ovals, adding/subtracting a few percent in each direction. Realized it'd be simple to do for any shape. Pretty new to all this, so aside from free form, and standard finding sizes - do folks like templates where the proportions stay fixed and only the size changes, or ones that might vary the shape to fit the patterns of the rock? Might have to give a few custom shapes away...
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Post by oregon on Apr 17, 2016 23:37:35 GMT -5
I guess it's sort of a rite of passage to pull the vise back when the auto feed hasn't gotten completely tripped yet, but after one baptism, that was enough. I'm sure some of you never forget, but I get excited looking at the rock.... and am likely to forget. And it is minor-ly dangerous to have the saw start up unexpectedly. Simple way to cure this, you need a 120v relay, and a momentary push button switch, a few wires & terminals. Google a latching relay circuit. Basically the push-button momentarily energizes the relay, and the relay back feeds to keep itself closed (latched). That back feed is routed through the cutoff switch, so if the circuit is broken the power is now cut and it won't restart until the push button is pushed again. ie no start if I pull the vise back and the cutoff switch isn't completely tripped. All fits easily inside the lortone motor box up front... and no more oil showers!
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Post by oregon on Apr 17, 2016 22:08:38 GMT -5
Hope to head out there later this spring - any hints of what direction to head from the main parking spot? Found some float and a few darker pcs last summer digging, but hoping for a bit more color. Pretty stuff.
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Post by oregon on Apr 15, 2016 22:05:04 GMT -5
Finally managed to get the 18" saw back in operation at the local HS, yeah! An endeavor to get a few missing parts made and things back to a safe working order. But the first cut was beautiful, smooth as. Hopefully a few kids will get the bug before the saw gets abused. I have a couple Lortone's at home with the vise plates that screw downwards, so this type of 'normal' vise is a new beast to me.
Anyway, the lortone's have a thumbscrew to tighten down the crossfeed after adjusting it as far as you want. Is there no such mechanism for the vise on these saws? There was a little bit of play in the cross feed, so we tightened the bolt, but could probably still slip another thin shim in there. I looked for a locking mechanism, but didn't see anything jump out at me.
Is it standard fare that you just feed the rock over where you want it, and hope vibrations/misalignments don't make the crossfeed screw start turning? Probably missing something obvious...
Thanks
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Post by oregon on Apr 12, 2016 19:53:21 GMT -5
I've never looked inside a old Viking tumbler, but think they have a mechanical vibe mechanism as well - Not sure about the minisonic tumbler.. At any rate, I've been using a lot-O. Maybe the shape of the bowl helps, but it seems like the amplitude of the motion is pretty small - which makes it nice and quiet as well. No belts or additional bearings.
So I'm wondering if you get a double shafted motor, put your offset weights on the motor directly, and mount the motor directly to the platform with the hopper, if that would quiet things down. Sort of the Mega-Lotto version. I guess the motor bearings might take the wear rather than the pillow blocks, but the lot-O motors seem to last quite a while. If the entire motor is free to vibrate, that probably also lessens the impact on those bearings.
Seems like it's the frequency (3000 rpm) of contacts that allows vibes to work so well, rather than the amplitude? I don't know but I can envision that a large part of a rock's time is spent unproductively in a rotary vs each motion being a potential grinding action for every rock in the vibe. You might get away with a smaller motor that draws fewer amps as well. (I imagine mounting it closer to the hopper is better if you do that). Just 2c.
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Post by oregon on Apr 2, 2016 22:51:24 GMT -5
Thats awesome. How long did it take to print the lid? think that took ~ an hour to print.
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Post by oregon on Apr 1, 2016 15:57:40 GMT -5
yes, Imagine all those plastic broken parts that cause you to throw out things. Call the manufacturer and they send you a file to print a new part... Of course that assumes their real motivation isn't to build things to fail so you have to buy a new one. 3D printing is really fun, but just makes you want a CNC as well. If you haven't ever wandered around thingiverse.com take a look. The amount of creativity out there is amazing.
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Post by oregon on Mar 31, 2016 15:33:02 GMT -5
My Lot-O came without a cap. Yeah, you can buy a replacement for a couple bucks, but what's the fun of that. Designed & printed a nice lime green cap and added some rubber band holds... I can upload the file if anyone wants to print one. Lot-O seems like light speed compared to the rotary, liking it a lot.
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Post by oregon on Mar 18, 2016 0:21:05 GMT -5
Just working through my first load on a new to me Lot-O... much more interactive than the closed drum indeed.
Anyway, I have two cement blocks sitting on the patio that I was going to attach it to, but my equipment always seems to be in the wrong spot, and I was worried about having to move two solid blocks of concrete with the tumbler attached... So when I tripped over the lead bricks I had sitting around the other day, I came up with a more movable solutions. The lead bricks are about 30lbs each, I just cut up some 2x6 to slide them in, and screwed/glued most of it together, save for one side. I can slide the individual bricks out and move things easily in parts, but it's heavy enough assembled to stay put.
I imagine you might be able to do the same with sand bags or such, and make it a little taller. I like being able to pick it up and move it without breaking my back.
Seems like a fun tumbler...
Rick
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Post by oregon on Mar 10, 2016 1:57:33 GMT -5
Check your local distributors.... I just paid $10/gal thought that was bad because it was $7 a few months earlier.
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Post by oregon on Mar 8, 2016 13:35:46 GMT -5
Nice job... Does anyone remember what RPMs the Lot-O motors run at?
I'm also curious why you chose pairs of offset weights on the shafts instead of a single weight like the lotto does. Maybe a single one of those produced too much vibration? If the 4 counter weights are all equivalent seems like it should almost be balanced. I like it. Maybe like the lotto, you could just make a snug barrel holder so it's simple to remove & clean out. Looking forward to the results.
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Post by oregon on Dec 14, 2015 14:40:08 GMT -5
Picasa is great for these as well.
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Post by oregon on Dec 11, 2015 0:00:54 GMT -5
Thanks for all the help... few minor issues and the vice lock seems to be missing, but otherwise looks in reasonable shape.
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Post by oregon on Dec 9, 2015 13:53:03 GMT -5
My son's High School has a 18" Frantom buried in the corner of the woodshop, so he's interested in getting it going again, hopefully get some teachers/students interested etc (there was a bucket of thundereggs under it I haven't checked it out yet, but pics look like most of it's in great shape, but the vice clamp screw isn't pictured and some other minor issues I can see. Nice Red blade with almost all the paint! I've been scouring the web for a manual and or diagrams but have come up empty. If anyone has such a manual or diagrams that'd be great. Any idea what years Frantom manufactured saws? Did Highland Park buy them or anyone know the history? Thanks!
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Post by oregon on Nov 19, 2015 16:31:10 GMT -5
I've been searching a bit but can't seem to find any site with pros/cons of the various Vibratory tumblers out there.
Anyone know if such a resource exists, or want to add your 2c to the list here? Thanks
I'm just thinking moderate sized, not commercial.
Thumlers, RayTech, GyRoc, Lot-O, Viking (Diamond Pacific), Harbor frieght etc. Older NLA used ones to look for as well..
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Post by oregon on Nov 3, 2015 19:37:46 GMT -5
Etsy analytics give counts on search of key words. Veiws: fire pit 1,645 fire pits 252 outdoor fire pit 180 fire bowl 156 outdoor fire bowl 113 metal fire pit 76 fire pit bowl 33 Everything is marketing. Art, business, politics, I even tell the kids partial credit on their exams is really marketing. Hate it but so it is, we're human. You don't have to be a great artist to be successful on etsy or elsewhere, but you do need successful marketing. My take on that table above is: Cool, as long as I have fire pit in the title/listing (search area) my ad will show up. The next trick is getting someone to click on your ad rather than others. Showing up high in the search results is a bonus, on CL it's just chronological? Not sure how Etsy default ranks listings. Also CL the default searches the entire ad, not just the titles. The Atlanta CL link now has a 'luxury' fire pit listed... That caches eyes (mine) much more than a list of long numbered sizes on your title. Captnbob has a long list of great suggestions. I would tighten up the title(s), loose some of your more cluttered pictures, show the features he mentions, expand your description a bit. Really - if you have some pictures in commercial settings in action, that'd give you huge credibility points... Which reminds me, people have been studying marketing for a long time, and they know what works. Every ad you see is tugging at basic instincts, some in devious ways (ever wonder why so many Amazon ads say "Hurry, only a few Left!"?). Here's an old Scientific American article I like... digitalintelligencetoday.com/documents/CialdiniSciAmerican_01.pdf2c...
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Post by oregon on Nov 3, 2015 11:17:15 GMT -5
Your fire pits are in a whole different class from what barrel boy is selling. I seriously doubt that his seemingly endless barrel supply is drawing from your customer base. agreed - burn barrels do not equate to fire pits. Anyone searching for an actual fire pit should find your ad easily (as long as it's on the first page). Those few just browsing might more likely to miss it. But my 2c, throw another adjective on your listing title to distinguish it, like Elegant Fire Pits, or High End, Commercial, Heavy Duty, Lifetime, something to help distinguish even more from the burn barrel. - Do you have any pictures from the ones that have gone to restaurant locales?
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Post by oregon on Oct 27, 2015 15:18:03 GMT -5
Try RA012 CRS-2 bearing (zero instead of an O)
think the latter letters (CRS-2) refer to contruction/seals etc, RA012 seems pretty popular...
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Post by oregon on Oct 22, 2015 17:13:58 GMT -5
So I've been collecting parts for something like Chuck's with two levels below a workspace top. Anyway, I have an 8' length of 3/4 steel in the shed I was planning on using, but today, I remembered salvaging a couple Treadmills this summer for the DC motors (nice adjustable drill press/saw motors) and they both had Rollers for the treadmill on bearings - turns out they're 5/8 rod ~28" with decent bearings on either side. And I already have a collection of pulleys in 5/8. So I think I'll go that route. I have 3 12lb Murray/Thumlers steel barrels with liners, and the fourth has the split liner, same barrel, but a 6lb liner on either end. Idea is to have 2 on top, 2 on bottom.
What I was wondering about was the posi-traction notion? (coupling the front/rear rollers). The treadmill rollers have a ~2" outer metal sleeve with an adapter and bearings, so that could very easily be the rear bar if you just wanted it to freewheel. (just bolt down the bar and let the outer casing turn). The treadmill bars probably won't even need cutting, about the perfect length, but the rubber hose on the old tumbler shaft is pretty quiet, and I imagine gives much better traction. Seems like I've seen comments in both camps about it being necessary or not to drive the rear bar.
$ for 8 pillow blocks adds up as well, thinking about how to reuse normal bearings that are on the rods from the treadmill.
Getting closer. Thanks, Rick
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Post by oregon on Oct 19, 2015 23:10:56 GMT -5
Really nice - those were done in a vibe not a rotary I assume?
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