Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Jun 14, 2023 15:41:42 GMT -5
The softer media like walnut shells are best for very soft stones. Medium softness stones work well with volcanic pumice.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Jun 2, 2023 6:02:38 GMT -5
Never let the rocks Dry out before they are finished.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 28, 2023 18:29:37 GMT -5
I was using some glass Marbles as tumbling media and noticed that some of them were getting flat on one side.
Figure what is happening is they are getting stuck on one end, or they are getting stuck in some resonate tumble action where they are repeating a cyclic motion over and over in the barrel.
So everyday I take the barrels off the tumblers and flip them end-over-end a few times to help prevent this from happening. Almost everytime I do this, the sound of the tumbling changes.
Haven't used marbles in awhile, so I really don't know if it's truly working.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 28, 2023 17:07:58 GMT -5
I'm tagging Wooferhound to see if he has any thoughts... Where am I . . . OH , here I am ...
I have 2 Lortone tumblers , the dual 6 pound, and the single 3 pound as described under my Avatar picture. They seem to run a little bit rough in Stage 1 tumbles, especially at the very beginning of the run. But I haven't seen anything aggressive enough to vibrate things around. Make sure that you are using 3-in-1 Oil monthly on all the moving parts of your tumblers. It shouldn't have any bad Effects on your vibratory tumbler except for things moving around too much, as long as you are getting good Rolling Action you should be fine. I have squares of Carpet pad under my Rotary tumblers to make them quieter and it absorbs lots of the vibration from transferring down into the table.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 26, 2023 9:19:39 GMT -5
Material is what Girls Like.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 25, 2023 13:54:22 GMT -5
Dead Minerals are Mineral Spirits
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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…
May 24, 2023 15:21:15 GMT -5
jasoninsd likes this
Post by Wooferhound on May 24, 2023 15:21:15 GMT -5
Oops…accidental double post.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 12, 2023 8:22:51 GMT -5
What kind of polish are you using ? Cerium Oxide is very hard to remove from cracks .
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 5, 2023 16:26:40 GMT -5
New to the hobby but has anyone tried using distilled water to reduce blowouts? I make my own moonshine so no problem getting plenty of distilled water. Blowouts are generally caused by the reaction of the rock to the water. Tumbling Glass will release a lot of gas too. And sometimes you can do the same tumble 15 times, and the 16th time you do it will be a blowout for No Reason at all. I check the barrels on the tumblers all the time, at least every 2 days looking for gas expansion.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on May 4, 2023 16:10:44 GMT -5
Got back to Huntsville Alabama from Yuma on Wednesday at 8:AM. We were flying on the definition of a RedEye flight.
Didn't cause an international incident in Mexico and they let me back into the United States. Forgot to look for rocks in Mexico though.
Did spend a day Rockhounding in my usual spot North of Yuma Arizona finding the Fractured Brown Quartz that I like so much. Spent a little extra time looking for some good quality material, really solid quartz with good color. Only got enough rocks to fill 2 Medium Flat Rate boxes, Promptly mailed them back, about 30 pounds of rocks should be waiting on my front-porch when I get home from work today.
Will post some pictures when I can get them off of the camera and see what I got . . .
Both of my tumblers are Down for Refurbishing right now. Got all the parts but I just need a couple of hours free to get them fixed back up.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 26, 2023 19:19:17 GMT -5
So far , the only thing I have done on this trip to Yuma is to visit Mexico for the first time . . .
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 19, 2023 22:34:49 GMT -5
It's looking like another vacation in Yuma Arizona next week , sometime between April 26 & May 2.
There will surely be another full day of rockhounding north of Yuma on Highway 95.
Going through Phoenix for the first time , twice .
and , when in Yuma , drink beer like the Yumans do . . .
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 15, 2023 6:48:18 GMT -5
Don't screw the lid down too tight.
There are 2 lids . . . The inner lid that seals the barrel,I will call it the -Seal- The Outer metal lid that holds it all together, I will call it the -Lid-
When you push the Seal down into the barrel, it is not holding it's self in place and can easily be pulled out if you grab the threaded rod in thr center and just pull,
It all gets Locked together when you add the outer Lid. The edges of the Lid are Tapered/Angled. So when you tighten the Knerlled Nut it pulls the inner Seal up into the tapered Lid and it is all wedged together preventing it from popping open while tumbling.
If it is all tightened too much then it will get really wedged together (a wedgie), preventing it from comming apart easily.
Maybe , don't tighten it too much before tumbling -or- When you try opening the barrel, use a tool to push Down the threaded Rod on the Seal which will release the wedge making everything come apart easily.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 6, 2023 14:44:38 GMT -5
When the box is labeled `Flat Rate' then the weight is irrelevant
I sent Medium flat rate boxes with 20 pounds of rock from Arizona to Alabama Taped up to the Max but arrived in decent condition
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 6, 2023 14:39:45 GMT -5
For a Real Treat , try taking rocks on an airplane in your Carry-On luggage.
I've never done carry on, but I did bring back a bunch of rocks from Cali in my checked luggage. Thankfully it didn't tip the scale to too heavy I bet you got some looks haha. X-ray machine kicks out my Carry-on for Hand inspection They dig out a Baggy full of Rocks . . . and yes they will give you The Look.
Happened to me twice , that's why I mail them now.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 6, 2023 12:15:09 GMT -5
For a Real Treat , try taking rocks on an airplane in your Carry-On luggage.
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Mar 30, 2023 13:18:10 GMT -5
No need for 20 mules in stage 0 or 1
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Mar 30, 2023 10:55:45 GMT -5
When I first started tumbling, I would always clean the rock by tumbling in plain water for less than an hour. I called it "Stage Zero".
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Mar 29, 2023 16:54:04 GMT -5
The extra crust should be softer and wear away faster in stage 1
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,423
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Post by Wooferhound on Mar 28, 2023 9:46:14 GMT -5
I've been using some marbles I had around as filler in the tumbler. They start off round and end up triangular shape. Very Interesting I have used marbles frequently in tumbling and they usually stay round Sometimes they will flatten out a little Using a Loretone QT66
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