Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 17, 2018 15:05:49 GMT -5
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 16, 2018 22:17:54 GMT -5
well . . . which is worse ?
too tight of a belt burns the motor up. not tight enough and the belt slips.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 16, 2018 18:41:30 GMT -5
I refurbished my Lortone 3A tumbler coupla months ago. Replaced the belt at that time and it has already stretched, losing friction and the barrel will eventually slip to a stop. The motor mount screws for the unit go through slots in the side of the machine to allow the motor to move changing the belt tension. The adjustment was already Maxed out so I decided to make the slots longer allowing for a tighter belt. Used a regular hand drill and just forced the drill bit sideways making the slots about 1/4 inch longer. Now the belt is tighter but not tight enough. Need to add another 1/4 inch to the slots before I will be happy with it. This will involve cutting away a small portion of the blue housing cover. ![](http://www.rockshow.rocktumblinghobby.com/upload/2018/04/16/20180416162254-fd16a772.jpg)
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 14, 2018 7:27:24 GMT -5
I bought a can of belt dressing to see how it would work on my Lortone 3A and I'm a believer now. Interesting you mention the 3A tumbler. The belt has been slipping on my 3A machine too, the belt tension adjustment was maxed out. The tension is changed by sliding the motor-mount screws in long slots making the belt tighter. Yesterday I took the cover off the 3A and drilled the slots another 1/4 inch longer to get more ability of adjustment. The belt that came with the machine lasted over a year before I refurbished and changed the belt. The Rock Shed had sent a spare belt and i used it to replace the first one. The new belt lasted 3 months and is stretched enough to require me to modify my machine. I kept the old belt and thinking about changing it back to the original. Interesting thoughts about using 3M on the 3A .
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 13, 2018 6:35:49 GMT -5
I was not aware of an oil hole(s) in the motor though... I have to check my next clean-out. X2 The oil holes are on each end of the motor. Not on top but part of the way down the side. A couple of V notches with a small tube leading down to the motor bearings. Had to look close, almost missed them. Every time I get close to this tumbler I'm amazed at how much better and quieter it sounds
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 12, 2018 14:47:37 GMT -5
Well I don't know, The amount of work that you are describing sounds more like Rebuilding. I was just doing a deep cleaning which is taking the existing parts and Refurbishing it to be as good as possible. I would think of Maintenance as something like oiling the bearings once a month and checking/tightening the belt tension. Seems like a semantic issue?
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 12, 2018 11:19:36 GMT -5
Hey , jamesp . . . have you tried an Ultraviolet light on any of that glass ?
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 12, 2018 9:25:34 GMT -5
I have had my Lortone QT66 for 13 months now. In that time I had a barrel Blowout bad, and another blowout mildly. A small amount of grit got into the roller bearings. So now that i'm more experienced and can hopefully keep from blowing out another barrel, I decided to refurbish the machine.
Took off the belt/pulley cover and noticed that the belt was rather loose even though it was working wonderfully. Had about a teaspoon of black powder in there that had come off the belt from more than a year of operation. Brushed that all out then cleaned up the pulleys and belt.
Popped the clips off the end of the barrel rollers, then removed the rollers along with the plastic bearings. Had been putting a drop of 3-in-1 oil on the bearings every month as Lortone suggests in the manual, but the stuff being cleaned off of the bearings and rollers was a thick black sludge. Removed the gunk with paper towels and cleaned the frame. The ends of the rollers had been scratched up a bit when the grit got in there from a blowout, but it was not too bad so did not try and smooth them down any.
Then it's time to put it all back together. Popped the bearings and rollers back in, snapping the retaining clips back on the roller ends. Added plenty of oil to the bearings and the rollers operate so easily. Also added a couple of drops of oil into the 2 lubrication holes on each end of the motor. Put the original belt back on, making sure to properly tighten it up, I've got a spare belt but the old one looked fine even after losing some material as powder in the housing. Added the belt housing back on and it and now the thing looks and operates like New again.
Rather easy to do and it only took about an hour to do. It's running great and the sound it makes is smoother and much quieter than before. Now to pay more attention and prevent any future blowouts. no pictures ... sorry.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 11, 2018 11:24:13 GMT -5
Quick Update--- Last cleanout was Monday, finished a week of SiC600, laid out some pieces to photograph but they looked just like the glass from after last weeks SiC220 run, so no photo, just imagine some finely frosted colored glass parts. Moved it all into Stage 4 out-of 5 using AO 1000 and plastic beads. These should be completely finished with polish stage on Monday April 23, watch for pictures then . . .
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 11, 2018 7:12:43 GMT -5
Seems like i always have 3 barrels running in Stage 1 Course. But not right now . . .
6 pound barrel of Theater Glass rolling in Prepolish AO 1000. Will be finished on April 23rd. 6 pound barrel of rocks from the Traveling Rock Box rolling in Stage 3 SiC 600. Will be finished on April 30th. 3 pound barrel always rolling rocks from the Dollar General store. Also have some teeth in there this time.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 8, 2018 17:31:40 GMT -5
Had a hard week and have been looking forward to drinking tonight. Did spotlight for 4 performances of a ballet company doing Cinderella, great show. Rode my 10 speed bicycle about 1.2 miles away and picked up two 6-packs of "Cheatin' Heart" IPA from my favorite brewery "Yellowhammer". ![](http://www.rockshow.rocktumblinghobby.com/upload/2018/04/08/20180408152235-130eba76.jpg)
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 8, 2018 9:13:18 GMT -5
Over the years , I have learned to rebuiled my tumblers . with Lortone 12 lb . the first thing I do is replace the Plastic bushing with Olite forever bronze bushing. they do make a size That just snap in . One you convert To Bronze They never ware Out Is this the Bronze bushing you are talking about fir the QT tumblers ? About to rebuild mine . . . www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B006AWFBCO/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 8, 2018 7:15:19 GMT -5
Yeah . . . I want to know more about the tumbler and barrels ?
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 7, 2018 7:18:04 GMT -5
Sometimes the rocks will have defects throughout the interior and not just on the surface. You can't completely tumble-away those problems.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 3, 2018 9:01:59 GMT -5
Finally got most of my Rock Box rocks rounded in stage 1, some of the harder stones are still in there. Wanted to get a polish started so everything that was ready has been started in stage 2 using SiC 220 grit. Had to add a lot more rocks to fill up the 6 pound barrel so less than half of the load is from the Rock Box.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 2, 2018 17:52:13 GMT -5
Items to help your head to feel better
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 2, 2018 17:22:00 GMT -5
Todays cleanout looked good. The the 220 grit removed the pits from the course stage so it all got sent to stage 3 using 600 grit and plastic beads. This will be a 5 step process using A0 1000 and Cerium Oxide polish sorry but no picture this time.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Apr 1, 2018 17:57:12 GMT -5
My absolute favorite beer is from one of the 5 breweries within a couple of miles from home. The brewery is Yellowhammer and the beer is Rebellion. Super smooth flavor and a very mild hangover. They have been bottling their beer for years but recently changed to a canning line. In the picture you can see both but only cans will be available in the future. The Yellowhammer is the Alabama state bird which is where the name comes from. www.yellowhammerbrewery.com/beersWhen I can't get my favorite beer, I like Samuel Adams Rebel IPA. It has a very refreshing strong hops flavor making a great IPA. Now to make a great ending to the Easter holiday using my RTH Tumbler. ![](http://www.rockshow.rocktumblinghobby.com/upload/2018/04/01/20180401153231-dfa2762e.jpg)
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Mar 31, 2018 8:16:15 GMT -5
Long ago on a different forum there was a discussion about how to separate grit. The method that stuck in my mind involved water flowing upward in a pipe. Large particles settle faster than small ones. At a low flow rate, fine particles rise upward in the pipe and can be collected. Turning up the flow rate causes the next-larger set to rise. Sort of a dynamic settlement tank. In this system there isn't a steady flow rate. I'm rinsing Rocks, Barrels, Lids and the sink it's self. Plenty of On-Off cycles. But the tub that recovers the slurry catches anything bigger than powder and that works great for me, makes a great slurry starter.
|
|
Wooferhound
Cave Dweller
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,431
|
Post by Wooferhound on Mar 31, 2018 7:37:11 GMT -5
It is possible to do a 2 step process but the results may not be the greatest. Do the rough grind rounding using Aluminum Oxide 80 grit. Keep adding more and continue till you like the roundness of the stones. Then don't add anymore grit and let them roll for 2 weeks unattended. at this point they may already be shiny, but a good polishing will help. Here is a 3 step process that I was messing around with. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/78692/running-polish-barrels-using-normalIf you don't get the results you are looking for, you can restart the rocks at any earlier stage.
|
|