Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 3, 2016 14:39:35 GMT -5
Something else I thought I'd mention. I never did replace the wheel/weights nor try to straighten them out and it seems to be working pretty good. The left-hand side looked fine when I looked at them this morning. The right-hand one still had some warp to it. Once I started it up it appears to be running "true"...I think there is enough built-in flex to the wheel that it self-aligns itself...at least that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!!!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 3, 2016 14:42:27 GMT -5
I drilled 1/16 in holes in my lids on the advice I read here. It is supposed to prevent pressure from building and pushing the lid off. I tied three large rubber bands together to hold the lid on from the occasional large rock that pushes it off from inside. I loop it on the knob that protrudes for the bottom, over the top, and back around the knob,
Was the hole in the bottom filled with epoxy? If not, I'd recommend filling it. Otherwise ceramics and small rocks get lodged in there. They are a pin to remove. I just mixed some epoxy, and twirled it on a stick of wood and lowered it in. Let it drip off into the bottom hole. I did that after the first few loads snd it's held ever since.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 3, 2016 14:59:25 GMT -5
I'd heard that the little hole caused the load to dry out quicker...and, as you mentioned, that it relieved pressure. I won't worry about it but I will do the rubber band trick to secure the lid once I start tumbling rocks. Yes, the holes are filled with epoxy, so I'm covered there. Thanks for the feedback, Rob.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 3, 2016 15:06:26 GMT -5
Can't add much Ed. Drip dry rocks at the start, do not let the Borax dry or it will wedge into cracks in the rocks. I will say that the moisture content is often misunderstood and difficult to describe. Took me a while to figure the correct moisture content with Borax. Kinda reminds me of the consistency of that stuff the hygienist use on your teeth. A wet paste. Best to follow a Lot-O schedule verbatim. It is a different animal than my Viking. No borax added, just grit...for now. What I'm mostly worried about is the time between when I leave this evening/tonight and when I get back tomorrow...will possibly be 12-13 hours. I'm thinking that this evening that I will add a sprinkle of water (don't have a spray bottle right now) and wait a few minutes to see how the action is, if it doesn't slow down a tad I'll sprinkle a little more. I'll repeat this until I see the action slow down a slight amount. I figure it will slowly speed back up through the night as the slurry gets a bit thicker and possibly even slow back down again (with thickened slurry) by the time I check it in the morning. Or, maybe the ceramic media doesn't make much slurry and I've got the wrong idea of what to do...
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Post by broseph82 on Feb 3, 2016 15:16:31 GMT -5
Intheswamp Dont worry about borax unless youre going to do softer stuff like obsidian or glass. The last run I did with 2" obsidian plugs I did with borax in 220 so it would thicken it quicker and give more cushion. If youre doing some hard agates/pet wood/quartz add a teaspoon or two of white sugar (instead of something like borax). It'll be able to stand more water (in case you go squirt happy) and dont have to worry about it as much. Just peek in from time to time and if its still rolling fast then you're good. Yes, the pin hole is to relieve pressure. The cap will pop off and cause your load to dry out quicker. If you dont wanna fool with rubber bands, the tiny bungey(sp?) cords work well. Theyre small enough to not have to double up and they already have hooks and will latch onto the red frame that holds the rubber bowl. Make sure to look over your rocks and know what the scratches or imperfections look like. Ive been doing some work on the wheels and then tumbling them back down to 220-500 and after a day in 220, what scratches were there are now gone, and if one or two are there I let it run another 12hrs or so and then pull out and clean out. Nobody gets it right the first time no matter how much they read what to do (maybe youll be the exception?)
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 3, 2016 19:30:08 GMT -5
Jimi, are you saying you only use borax or other soap/detergent for softer rocks? You don't use it in quartz or pet wood tumbles? I may try some sugar but I'm leaning more towards Dreft. I'll have to come up with a system for the lid. Seems I had some miniature bungees somewhere...but it's been a while back so they're probably rotten by now...where ever they might be. Sounds like a dollar store trip... I figure my first batch will be a long way from being right...but it'll be fun anyhow. I've gotta come up with more solid, un-fractured stones...or learn to work fractures and pits. I need to learn to bust rocks like that guy from Georgia.<grin> jamespWell, I sprinkled a little more water into the Lot-O. I did it a few times...amounted to probably 1/3 of a cap full. I *think* I noticed a slight slow down in speed. I looked again about 15 minutes later and it was moving nicely but was "blowing" a few bubbles...something new. The ceramic media also had a good slurry covering it. Anyhow, hopefully this will carry it through the night (and not dry out) until I get back to it tomorrow.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 3, 2016 19:38:56 GMT -5
Hey Rob Jugglerguy, back in 2013 you were using tripoli in your recipe. It seems you've stopped using it now?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 3, 2016 19:52:45 GMT -5
That's right, I took it out and never saw a difference.
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Post by broseph82 on Feb 3, 2016 21:09:07 GMT -5
Intheswamp, yes correct I don't use the soap flakes or borax unless it's softer so it thickens it. Agates are tough boogers. The sugar held retain the moisture and keep it wet longer compared to the detergent like borax.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 3, 2016 22:04:53 GMT -5
That is interesting that sugar maintains the moisture level better than detergents. I wonder what the reason is behind that.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 5, 2016 22:46:17 GMT -5
Ok, the ceramic media went through two days of #120/220 grit in the Lot-O. At the start of the second day I added about a teaspoon of fresh #220 to it...I have no idea why, though. Anyhow, I rinse the media out this afternoon. At first I simply washed it in a plastic box, repeatedly rinsing and pouring off but then rinse it through a wire strainer. I had a couple of colanders, but the holes are too big and will let the small ceramic media fall through....those colanders came from Walmart and had the smallest holes that I could find. I'm thinking about putting together a screen out of window screening or solar shade material. Anyhow, the media's edges smoothed out a lot. Will I be using this media in the #220 grit stage? If not, should I go ahead and do a wash cycle or two on the media to insure that there is no 220 grit hiding in the media? I noticed that on a few piece of the large media that there were dark specks in them...it wasn't something that I could scratch off but rather something impregnated/made in the ceramic....should I cull these pieces? Also, some of the large media looked gray whereas most of it was white...not sure what to make of that...I don't think it matters, but just noted. This was a full barrel of media so I should be good to go on media for a while...I've got some more un-tumbled media left for later on. I've got three rotaries going now. The Model T 3-pounder, the Model A 5(?)-pounder, and the Money Pit. I'm thinking that Monday I'll call one of the smaller barrel "good" and introduce those rocks to the Lot-O. I'm a little excited about getting things going.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Feb 6, 2016 0:13:48 GMT -5
Get ur done Ed.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 6, 2016 8:24:07 GMT -5
There's no need to over rinse the media. You're just going to put more 220 in it when you do your rocks. Use the same media for all stages, just move it along with the rocks. The only reason to rinse better is if you were to add some of this media in at a later stage.
I'm not sure about the specks. If there's just a couple, you could toss them I guess.
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Feb 6, 2016 9:38:31 GMT -5
Looks like it's coming along great!!
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 6, 2016 11:46:08 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback.
Rob, that's what I figured on the 220 grit...that the media would be going right back into it so why wash it. I've gotta figure some type of colander/screen out that won't let the media fall through...I've got two different kinds of colanders and the holes are too big in both of them for the media. I used a large food strainer to rinse the media off but could only rinse a handful at a time in it and it took a while...and it's metal. I'll figure something out there.
The dark specks in the media pieces...there's only a few piece that has them so I think I'll pitch'em.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 8, 2016 21:56:06 GMT -5
Ok, the load of rocks that got all this rockhounding/tumbling/sawing/oogling and googling of rocks started for me is in the Lot-O. This is some unakite that Jugglerguy sent me along with a few small rocks (granite, quartz) that my granddaughters picked up beside the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia. These were coarse ground in a Model T Thumbler rotary that was first used by their mother and her sister when they were kids. I left the Lot-O at about 6pm tonight so it will run fourteen to fifteen hours without being checked. It had ran for three hours until then. So, start time was at 3pm this (Monday) afternoon. I spritzed it with water before I left...action appeared good to me but I'm a novice at this so hopefully I read the action correctly. As long as the rocks are still moving when I get to it in the morning I'll be happy.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 8, 2016 22:25:09 GMT -5
I've had loads dry out quite a bit, to the point that there wasn't much movement at all. I don't think it hurts them, you just need to slowly add water until it gets moving again. So relax.
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 9, 2016 5:18:27 GMT -5
I figure that there isn't anything I can really do about it so "what it is is what it is" (as a friend of mine says).
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Post by broseph82 on Feb 9, 2016 22:02:39 GMT -5
I figure that there isn't anything I can really do about it so "what it is is what it is" (as a friend of mine says). Rinse the bowl as you see fit. Don't leave it goopy with the broken down grit. I've had problems doing this or it retains too much water and makes the lot-o not wanna go in its rotation. Use this combo and none of your ceramics will fall through
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Intheswamp
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Post by Intheswamp on Feb 9, 2016 22:51:33 GMT -5
Yep, got one of those with the handle cut off (was using it to screen bird poop out of the rain gauge). I was a bit concerned with it marking the rocks. How big is your strainer?
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