jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Jul 28, 2014 9:58:19 GMT -5
you got it figured. I hope my accent did not damage the Youtube sound track. i should have subtitled it haha.
There are Boston seafood places in Florida. Snowbirds that come down for the winter and open up for 6 months. I actually eat at their places more so than the local fare. Once the seater greeted me and asked 'how many in ya pody', pody sounded like toilet. I said, 'let me go lift the seat and count'. Whole restaurant laughing...
My buddy gets glass building blocks and cuts a hole with a 2" diamond hole saw to put his tumbles in.
The rocks were 6 inches lower when standing on end in the 36 inch barrel. Had to add 5 pounds of rock. After 48 hours rolling. Slurry formed and must have done some grinding to get that much volume reduction. A good sign...
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Post by connrock on Jul 29, 2014 9:19:33 GMT -5
Not to worry James,,,,,,,,,,,I play the audio on Youtube through a elaborate audio software system/program I have that is set up to detect foreign languages and convert them to "proper" English! LOL It spit yours out fast and I had to reset it but it finally worked! LOL
My son-in-law is from Bahston and we have life long friends from Cambridge Mass so were in tune with the lingo! I have Aussie rockhound friends that visit every 2 years and I was making fun of their lingo.One of them said,,,"Well you guys sound like gangstahs!" LOL Never knew we had an accent! LOL
Your tumbler is grinding pretty fast to have to add 5 lbs of rocks after only 2 days!WOW!I assume most of the grinding was the limestone? Thinking of how hot it is in Florida,,,do your barrels get fairly hot in the sun? Being s handy as you are the next project could be an industrial size vibe unit? The Lot-O is great but the down side of it is it will only take rocks/slabs to about 2" - 2-1/2" in the barrel opening.I've tried to think of something to use as a bigger barrel and make a unit for it but the barrel shape has a LOT to do with the units action and is an odd shape to try to duplicate.The bigger vibe units have a "cone" right in the center so that type of design isn't the way to go.Some day,,,,maybe I'll come onto something,,,,if I live long enough! LOL Drank a LOT of coffee this mornin so I'm headed for the pody! LOL connrock
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Jul 29, 2014 9:38:08 GMT -5
Glad you are in tune w/the Bostonians. We have developed a love/hate relationship. They hate me and I love to them, they smile when coming in the door. Not so bad.
The Aussies must watch the Sopranos. They can be a hardy bunch.
yes there was some limestone and sharp edges but the drop in volume was as good as I have seen. I believe it's a go on the long barrel though. I got to weigh it. Heavy thing.
It does get hot. It is in a greenhouse too. Great place to wash out since it is a gravel floor. Nice in winter, hot in summer. The heat does not seem to affect it except you do not want to undersize the motor.
As far as making a vib, hmmm, that may be out of my league. You know some engineer got a hold of those and did some fancy calculations. The barrel has to be right. But a small vib would probably keep up with all a rotary can rough out. i have never seen such a shine as you Lotto guys put on the rocks. But limits on opening...
Coffee setting you free huh. Universal laxative.
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Post by connrock on Jul 30, 2014 11:52:48 GMT -5
Many years ago me and the family stayed at a friends father's lake side cabin in Maine.The father was quite a character and LOVED to "play"!So much so that he built an out house for a "Pody" of two!LOL Side by side seating,,,and a HUGE picture window overlooking the lake too! LOL He even had 2 Sears catalogs next to both seats! LOL
I asked about the tumblers getting hot cuz I thought maybe the heat has something to do with the fast grinding?Dunno what but it was a thought I had. Building a vibe isn't all that difficult but finding something for a barrel is! connrock
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Jul 30, 2014 12:21:19 GMT -5
Pody for 2 very cozy. Perhaps too cozy ? I am thinking good ventilation. Two fans ? Two fan switches ? i certainly hope two corn cobs.... The grit salesman stops by on occasion and he gives me tips and free grit samples or mixed grit mess ups. I in turn give him rocks for his Mom-in-law and son to tumble Nice arrangement eh He has said two things that caught my attention 1 SiC breaks down faster at 100F than 40F. Not sure what that relates to in rocks grinding faster. Not sure why such a high temp compound could be effected by a few degrees. could be a chemical thing. 2 This caught my attention. 6,8,16 grit is too coarse. The most efficient size he sells for hard materials like agate is 30 46 and 60. Reason being is the large grit fractures inefficiently, like flat plates. He thought 46 was best. when they crush the stuff the screening process catches most of the round well broken shapes for each grit size. rounder sharp grit cuts more efficient than flat sharp grit. I know lapidary blades have smaller diamonds than marble blades. not sure if there is a relationship there or not. But he got my attention. lot of his grits are used in military apps. atlanta has a lot of parts finishing places. A warehouse/distributor near Atlanta Airport has vib in 2,3,4 foot and bigger diameters. They are crazy big. I think most are out of Germany. I will not forget the concept of a 2 seat outhouse. That is socially unique. and too funny.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,341
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Post by quartz on Jul 30, 2014 22:54:06 GMT -5
2 seat "pody" is called co-ed.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Jul 31, 2014 7:14:48 GMT -5
2 seat "pody" is called co-ed. I may lock the door on that out house.
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Post by connrock on Jul 31, 2014 8:40:01 GMT -5
No fans in the pody,,,it had a shed roof with the back lifted up about 6" or so with rabbit hutch wire so the big bugs and bats/birds,squirrels can't get in.No lights either,,,you have to bring a flashlight or lantern! There was a farm right at the top of the dirt road leading to the cabin so we picked our own corn,ate it and saved the cobs for the pody! LOL Didn't cost us a single doallah either! Funny thing about asking directions from people in Maine and Vermont,,,they always have the same answer,,,Ya can't get theyah for heah! LOLToo funny! LOL
That's a great deal you have with the grit salesman!I've never tried 46 grit,,,,after my fun with the 30 grit I went back to 60/90 and have used that for a long time. I don't see how the lightly higher temps affect the grit either?When I asked about the tumbler getting hot I was thinking more of pressure in the barrel then a reaction of grit or rocks.
Those vibe units you mentioned are just a tad bigger then I'd want! LOL WOW! connrock
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Jul 31, 2014 8:57:06 GMT -5
Many years ago me and the family stayed at a friends father's lake side cabin in Maine.The father was quite a character and LOVED to "play"!So much so that he built an out house for a "Pody" of two!LOL Side by side seating,,,and a HUGE picture window overlooking the lake too! LOL He even had 2 Sears catalogs next to both seats! LOL I asked about the tumblers getting hot cuz I thought maybe the heat has something to do with the fast grinding?Dunno what but it was a thought I had. Building a vibe isn't all that difficult but finding something for a barrel is! connrock Have problems with washing grit down on that long barrel. Hard to figure the water level below the rocks on that tall barrel. Did a wash out and lowered the tilt to let more water out. I just tilt the barrels to a pre measured angle to let the water out to desired level. Short on smalls too, so added them. So far your concerns about the length seem to be the problem. Less water will hopefully get er join. Still like the sound. Florida camp 'open air' out house. It's a ship toilet and been there 15 years.
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Jul 31, 2014 9:02:05 GMT -5
Here in Atlanta everyone is from every where else and accents are well spread out. Fun to guess their origins. Boston and New York are easiest.
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Post by connrock on Aug 1, 2014 9:12:01 GMT -5
I would imagine odd size homemade tumbler barrels would be difficult to gage water level and especially a barrel that's 36" long!Are you using the 30 or 36 grit,,,can't remember! LOL The amount of grit:I use 60/90 @ 1 lb grit for every 10lbs of rocks. Is this close to what you use? I don't really know why but in my (small) mind I see the rocks separating by size in a long barrel???Too bad you can't see in there to see what's happening! When I started out tumbling I was soooooooooooooooooooooooo confused,frustrated and out of patience I made a plexiglass cover for my Model B barrel so I could see what the heck was going on in there.It wasn't long before the plexiglass cover was all "frosted" but I did get to see a little anyway! LOL I still had problems and couldn't find the last piece of the puzzle.I had no one to turn to, to ask for help so I just kept plugging along until one day it dawned on me about "surface contact" in the barrel! It'd funny how the mind works but me and a buddy were filling my pick-up with pea stone at a near by rock processing plant.It wasn't long before the truck started to "sag" a bit and my brain thought about all those tiny rocks rubbing against each other and how completely the filled the truck as opposed to a load of bigger rocks,,,,if I had big rocks and filled all the gaps with pea gravel,,,I would have a much "fuller load" in the truck,,,,,all the rocks would be touching each other! I couldn't wait to throw in some small stones into the load I was running in the tumbler and ,,,it worked!
That guys legs HAD to fall asleep after sittin on that crapper for 15 years! LOL When I was in either Rhodes or Corfu Greece in the 60's they had "road-side" urinals RIGHT on the curbs of the streets!There was a "trough" you peed in with a shoulder high "baffle" in front so people stopping at a red light couldn't see you peein!The trough ran right into the gutter! LOL
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Aug 1, 2014 10:31:22 GMT -5
If that grit gets picked in the slurry i will be happy. If not, it will get divided into two. I could see the benefits of mixing in a short barrel. I may have to run it too dry, and that's not good. I use 30 and 60, a mix. But I had to buy a 5 gallon bucket. The grit salesman got too many rocks from me, hmmm. stopped coming by for a spell.
So the window frosted. I gave up on theory and started listening and watching the slurry. You were reaching for straws on that deal, a short window of opportunity.pun I like the rotaries. They are simple and reliable. Vibrating equipment seems to break. They must really do some soft rubbing cause they make a shine fast.
The first thing that often breaks on an overloaded P/U is the axle. Costlier than a tire ! Just saying...gravel an efficient axle breaker. The dump trucks seem to ruin our asphalt streets here when doing deliveries in the summer when the asphalt is soft. Gravel is heavy.
I had to entertain a Norwegian electrician one Saturday so I took him to the apartment pool. He just whips his clothes off right in front of everyone. Had no concept that we were modest. I got some funny looks that day. Ya never know.
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Post by connrock on Aug 3, 2014 8:23:52 GMT -5
Being that you have to use less water running heavy grits does pose a problem with the load getting dry but if you catch it at the right time you can add some water without the rocks banging into each other too much.I would imagine that running the tumbler in the hot weather in Florida more then likely drys the slurry faster then up here in CT.The few times I tried to wash off the rocks out doors in summer I was amazed at how fast the slurry dried out and I had to hurry things up before I had rock/mud pies! LOL Indoors things happen much slower with our well water at about 45-50F and no hot sun! LOL I think you spoiled the grit salesman with too many goodies! LOL
Yes it was a very short window of opportunity and not worth my effort.Cutting a round piece of 3/16" plexiglass and drilling all the holes without breaking the plexiglass is a trip won't take again very soon! LOL Funny how we keep things,,,I think I still have that plexiglass cover here after over 20 years! LOL I AM a "keeper" and this place well shows it too! LOL
My pick-up was a 1950 Ford flat head V8 with the bed off and a flat bed with plywood/angle iron sides on it.That load of pea stone set the 2"x12" flat bed RIGHT on top of my studded snow tires and I wore grooves in the bed/planks and took quite a few miles off the tires too!It's only about 1-1/2 - 2 miles from the stone processing plant to my house and that load cost me a whopping $2.50 out the door! Pea stone was $1.25/ton back then so my 1/2 ton pick-up came home with a worn bed,almost flat tires at about 3MPH cuz I had it shifted down into low-low gear allllllllll the way home! No one believed me that my truck hauled that load but I saved the receipt from the rock plant that showed the weight on it! LOL Wish I still had that truck,,or what was left to it! LOL
Vibrating equipment does take a beating and the frame on my 1st Lot-O did crack from metal fatigue.The frame is guaranteed for life so I sent the unit back and they send it back to me with a new frame. I think getting the right "oscillations" for a homemade vibe would be the most difficult part of making one? The mechanics of one isn't all that difficult once you decide what the type "mechanics" you'd use to create the vibration and what to use as a "barrel". Being a poor mans Fred Sanford and having the mechanical background you have,,,it should be a piece of cake for you to design and build one? LOL
That's tooooooo funny about your Norwegian buddy!Too bad he wasn't a gal! LOL connrock
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Aug 3, 2014 9:31:36 GMT -5
That truck would be a treasure. Not usually a good idea to sell one. I keep them well over 300,000 miles and they look like it,ha. Two Toyotas in 22 years. and give em hell. By the time they are a year old they are scratched up and the newness is done. Who has time to look pretty? I see a shiny pick up and wonder why. Georgia is big on gravel. Mined out of our granite bedrock. Quarries everywhere about 10-20 stories deep. Very impressive sight w/their vertical walls. Pumps down there to get rid of the ground water. They ship it by train to Florida to avoid mining in their sensitive aquifers. The rock crushing equipment is impressive too. Thick steel plates mounted on springs that vibrate to a given thickness to make various sizes. A lot of blasting to break the granite up. They added a 4 or 5th run way to the Atlanta Airport. And built a conveyer to carry the gravel in from a quarry several miles away. Interesting operation. Telling how difficult moving that stuff is. Unfortunately, it is not with much attractive material for rock hunters. A lot of the quarry industry here is similar to the same in Vermont. A good many of the employees are from Vermont. Some of the process involves SiC, so supply is good here. Much of it comes from a manufacturer near Niagara Falls where electricity is cheap. The environmentalists have about out lawed mining river worn gravels.
I had a tumbler barrel of PVC that had ridges on it. Like an out of balance tire. I was laughing at it's vibratory effect. A rotary vibrator. funny Surely it did not vibrate at the proper speed. As you mentioned 'oscillations'. But the concept is a thought. They can build anything, why not.
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Post by connrock on Aug 4, 2014 9:09:33 GMT -5
We don't get rid of ANY of our vehicles until they die,,,,twice! LOL Most quit at about 200,000 - 300,000 miles and they all look it too! LOL I think the vehicle we owned with the least mileage when I get rid of it was an 88 Dodge Ramcharger.It was a V8/stick shift and I hauled my cuddy cabin boat from here to Lake Ontario almost every weekend during the warmer months,,,,,April-early November.It's about 5 hours each way and that truck didn't owe me a single dime when I got rid of it with over 200,000 miles on it. We have a lot of rock processing plants and "sand pits" here too bust they aren't very deep as they are far and wide. What seems to be becoming the trend now is a company will go into an area where it's impossible to build and process all the rock they can then they sell the property off for (mostly) businesses to build on.A lot of the towns here were built in valleys along rivers for the water power and all of the useful land is gone.These vallies are surrounded by granite hills and low "mountains" so they blast away/process the rock and off ya go,,,"new" land to build on! Another way it's done is deep dredging of the rivers here.A typical example of this is right here in town.A rock processing company struck a deal with the town to let them dredge the river for about 10 years and the company would then make a town park in the area that was dredged.The formed a very deep pond about 5-8 acres in area and built earthen "dykes" around it to separate it from the river,,,,planted trees and grass,built a boat ramp,road and parking area with picnic tables and basically did a great landscaping job on the entire park.The pond has a 48" pipe inlet and free flows back out into the river.The town maintains it for the most part but if something major comes along the rock company still does the work free of charge! I've searched allllllllll over that park looking for a single rock worth my while and the best I ever came up with was a piece of fairly lousy water worn quartz about baseball size!Amazing,,,,,there are zillions and zillions of rocks there and nothing good! LOL I'm cursed,,,,I'm sunk,,,,I'm in rockhound hell here! LOL Some years ago a friend took me to an abandoned quarry in VT where Verde Antique was quarried,,,, It was laying EVERYWHERE on the property,,,, My buddy Jay collecting some small pieces for me,,,,, Some of what I brought home,,,, We used to visit Jay and his wife Jinnie at least once/year and Jay and I had some "interesting" adventures together.Sadly Jay passed away 2 years ago and although we lived a distance apart our hearts were always close! connrock
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dshalldms
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 113
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Post by dshalldms on Aug 4, 2014 9:12:23 GMT -5
Many years ago I purchased the warehouse floor sweeping of a wholesale rock dealer who was closing his rough rock department. This, together with larger pieces amounted to some 12,000lbs for which I paid the princely Sum of £1,000.
The larger pieces, having been hosed down were easily identified and sorted. The remaining 1000lbs of what I thought to be rubbish posed a problem. What to do with it?
Then a friend of mine, Brian Woods, who was the manager of Dulcote Quarry's Lapidary Dept. came up with the solution. Dulcote had just finished mining Mendip Potato Stones and had a 1000lb tumbling machine which they had used to clean the stones prior to further processing. He said that I could used the tumbler to clean my material.
After some discussion it was decided to put the whole lot into the tumbler, together with a few pounds of course grit and water. With periodic inspections and no further additions we let it tumble on for some 3 months.
What a treasure trove was revealed. There was some 400lbs of exotic material from all over the world. This was sorted into 35lb lots and polished in a Viking Vibro Tumbler.
What a deal this turned out to be.
Regards,
Derek
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Aug 5, 2014 5:37:07 GMT -5
I live in a land of boring granite quarries too conrock here on the piedmont of Georgia. If I go 1-2 hours north or south things change. Am heading 3 hours south to the start of the coral zone here in a minute. In my 300,000 mile Toyota ha Pulling a little boat that looks as if it has more miles than that. Will load up on rock so I have something to play with. The Vermont photos remind me of north Georgia. And the grown over quarry of those around Atlanta.
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Post by connrock on Aug 5, 2014 7:57:53 GMT -5
Derek, We never know what beauty may be hidden in a rock!Some of the ugliest rocks can turn out to be treasures! I have 1 slab of Dulcote Agate that is about 6" x 3" x 1/4" thick and it is beautiful!It has pink tones,light and dark with tons of orbs!I got it in a trade and was told that the Dulcote Quarry is closed? connrock
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Post by connrock on Aug 5, 2014 8:03:23 GMT -5
Good luck on the coral hunt James! Do you find the coral in open type waters or in rivers? Many years ago I bought about 60 lbs of rough coral from Georgia in hopes that I would find one of the ones that's like a geode but no luck! LOL I guess they are rared then hens teeth! LOL Do you sell any of your broken tumbling rough? connrock
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jamesp
Cave Dweller
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,158
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Post by jamesp on Aug 13, 2014 12:36:24 GMT -5
Good luck on the coral hunt James! Do you find the coral in open type waters or in rivers? Many years ago I bought about 60 lbs of rough coral from Georgia in hopes that I would find one of the ones that's like a geode but no luck! LOL I guess they are rared then hens teeth! LOL Do you sell any of your broken tumbling rough? connrock The geodes are a challenge to find. Once i found a big pocket of them. since then just random finds. The group found enough to make them happy. I tried not to hoard my secret holes for fear of mutiny. They were efficient finders and hounders no doubt. The hollow ones are luck of the draw for me. no, I hardly ever sell any rock. If you want some I send batches out on occasion. If you are nice....I owe 4 people already. Need to get out and box them up. That long tumbler barrel is getting on my nerves. Will cut it in half. Got to run it too dry to get the grit to mix evenly. Tells me the short barrels have an advantage of throwing the grit from all the end scrubbing.
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