ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 1, 2006 15:01:00 GMT -5
I've been tumbling for a bit over a year and have a lot to learn yet. I'm also new on this forum and don't have a clue yet. My question: I have a new home-made 4-barrel tumbler which I think may be a bit fast on the revolution speed. I have the 15 lb barrel size and it is currently turning at about 32 rpm's. My store-bought Thumbler's tumbler rev'd at about 20 rpm's. How critical is the rpm of the barrel? I would have to use a 15" pulley to get it down to 21 rpm's but a 15" isn't available at the local supplier. Anybody ?
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earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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Post by earthdog on May 1, 2006 15:20:50 GMT -5
There is nothing wrong with your speed, actually you could go faster. My Lortone 12# runs at almost 45rpm, after I changed the small pulley to a 2" pulley. When they run faster like mine you have to watch that thin rocks don't break, slamming into the bigger rocks, use pellets through all the grits. My 12# uses all the grit in 3 days running that fast, and I beleive the rocks get done faster. Do you have any pics of the home-made tumbler? I'd like to see the pulleys you have on that thing.
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inflight22
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2006
Posts: 710
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Post by inflight22 on May 1, 2006 15:22:27 GMT -5
The smaller the barrel, the faster it should go. On the three pound barrels, 50-60 rpm is most desirable, although my Lortone only goes at about 44 rpm with no big difference. I'm sure others can get more specific about this.
jj
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blarneystone
spending too much on rocks
Rocks in my head
Member since March 2010
Posts: 307
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Post by blarneystone on May 1, 2006 15:43:02 GMT -5
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KG1960
has rocks in the head
Member since August 2008
Posts: 512
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Post by KG1960 on May 1, 2006 15:48:09 GMT -5
I asked this same question some time ago. Someone pointed out that the Lortone manual mentions RPM - Duh! Anyway as Inflight said the speed for a 4 inch diameter barrel (the 3 lb. one) is 50 - 60 RPM. A 8 inch barrel should be around 25 to 30 RPM. Your 32 RPM should be all right. As Earthdog mentioned, increased speed makes the grinding and polishing go faster but with increased risk of breakage. If the amount of breakage is tolerable and you are happy with the results, stay at 32.
Another way of looking at this, is surface speed of the outside surface of the barrel. Doing the arithmetic, one gets about 12 inches/sec for both the 4 and 8 inch diameter barrels at Lortone's recommended speed. Earthdog gets up to 18 inches/sec at his 45 RPM.
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 1, 2006 16:50:52 GMT -5
Thanks all. Earthdog - I don't have any photos of the tumbler yet, but I'll get some. Is there a way to post photos on this site, or what. I'm not much of a computer whiz either.
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earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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Post by earthdog on May 1, 2006 21:37:00 GMT -5
Get a photobucket account for free, upload the pics there then copy/paste the link in your thread. I only get breakage in my thin shapes, if I don't use pellets. Chunks or rounder rocks, not so much, maybe a chip here or there. In a 12# barrel, a chip or two aint bad.
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 2, 2006 9:47:00 GMT -5
OK Thanks. Got the photobucket acct set up. At this time my computer and camera are not on speaking terms via USB. Gotta jump through some hoops to get the photos out. I'll get them on here as soon as I can figure things out.
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 2, 2006 13:29:41 GMT -5
I've got a couple good photos of this 4-barrel tumbler in my computer and on photobucket now, but I'll be dipped if I can figure out how to get them on this forum message. Can anyone assist a techno-moron in the ways of the world? The "insert image" procedure on this reply page is foreign to me
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Post by akansan on May 2, 2006 15:04:22 GMT -5
If the images are on photobucket already, just copy the last piece of code there - it should start with an [ img ].
Then just paste that over here and your pics will be posted!
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 3, 2006 7:11:36 GMT -5
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 3, 2006 7:18:14 GMT -5
OK, Here's the pictures. Something went wrong on the previous try, but I think I got it covered now.
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,095
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Post by stefan on May 3, 2006 12:05:28 GMT -5
Beautiful Tumbler!!!!!!! What size motor?
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Post by dracco on May 3, 2006 18:30:59 GMT -5
Greetings Ethel
Noticed both rollers are driven, a well thought out setup!
Be Well
Dracco & Rockpup
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 3, 2006 18:41:27 GMT -5
The motor is 1/3 HP, 1725 rpm, continuous duty, 110 electric.
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Post by Original Admin on May 4, 2006 18:47:35 GMT -5
Ethel - that is one great looking set up you have there - neat as hell. On the speed front - my only input is that as long as the rocks dont spin with the barrel and stick to the sides as its too fast (centrafugal force but I probably cant spell it) - then it would depend on the hardness of the rocks and how much padding pellets you get in. There was a thread a long while back about speeding up the rotation speed of the barrel by wrapping thick tape around the drive shaft - I stuck my rocks to the sides of the barrel by taking that one a bit too far
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 10, 2006 17:12:50 GMT -5
I've read some of the different threads in Lap-tips Forum about tumbler speed. Much of the information was for smaller barrels. One of the replys on this thread talked about calculating the distance the rocks travel in a time period. I haven't gotten around to doing that yet. I'm going to open the barrels and have a peek this evening and see what's going on in there. Hope it's all good. None are in polish yet, so it won't be anything too exciting.
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rumbletumble
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2005
Posts: 308
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Post by rumbletumble on May 10, 2006 18:30:48 GMT -5
Hi Ethel, welcome to the board. I admire you knowledge of mechanical pieces or having friends who do, sounds like both.
Sally
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ethel
off to a rocking start
Member since May 2006
Posts: 23
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Post by ethel on May 12, 2006 19:14:21 GMT -5
Thanks Sally. I'm glad I found this web-site. I've learned a whole lot already and now I know where to take my questions. The 4-barrel tumbler was the brain child of my friend Ron. My husband consulted with him a bit, too. Ron is an auto mechanic, so I guess his brain just works that way. Lucky for me, huh?
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