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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 25, 2024 18:32:16 GMT -5
My cousin bought a tumble bee a couple years ago and then lost parts. So I grabbed it six or seven months ago, found the missing parts and used it for a few months. It definitely spins too fast but was a decent machine overall, good for breaking down rough Rock. I gave it back to him about a month ago, along with instructions on how to use it, rocks and decent grit. It's faster than my Lortone 33b's by 9 rpm and I noticed that when I first turned it on. My 33s are running right at 50 to 51 rpm and the Tumble-Bee is running at 60 rpm exactly. 45 rpm would be my preference with all of them but I'm planning a grit check on the 5th day to see how things are progressing. It's got a load of zebra Jasper so I'm curious anyway. I'm also wondering what difference the smooth interior of the barrel will make. There should be less agitation but would the rocks roll more and do less crashing? I know that Jugglerguy has a video using a clear cover on the barrels to see the way different loads move in the barrel but did he play with different styles of barrels? I'll have to do a search and look at the video again. I'm also planning to throw it on the Kill-A-Watt to see how efficient it runs. It's always fun to check these things out when a person has the time. I'm not too sure how well I'm going to like the 'timing' belt either. It seems like that style of belt adds some noise into the equation and I'm so confident in the drive system I ordered 3 extra belts just in case I experience failures. Spares make me feel better anyway. I did not experiment with different barrel styles. I initially got a Thumler's A-R2 just so I could easily put a glass lid on it. Those have some sort of polyhedra shaped barrel I think, and I believe the Nat Geo has a round barrel. Those are the two I compared, but the Nat Geo was going way faster, so it's not much of a comparison.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 20, 2024 16:11:44 GMT -5
I think I also saw on a Michigan Rocks video (might have been the same one) that Rob Jugglerguy used something to settle the solids. I can't remember what it was (something from the kitchen) and can't find the video. Hopefully Rob will respond. Another thing that might work is adding alum. Same stuff you can buy at the grocery store for pickling. Not sure if this will work as I think it might depend on the pH. Might be expensive too if you can't find a larger container. But it won't take much if it works. Mixing of the alum is important (for contact with the particles) once you put it into the liquid or probably better to mix rapidly with some cloudy liquid in a smaller container first and then pour into bucket and gently mix for a short time. I have noticed that when I dump slurry from tumbling Petoskey stones (limestone) into my slurry bucket, it acts as a flocculant. But recently one of my YouTube viewers pointed out that plaster of Paris does the same thing. I've been using it in a salt shaker sort of thing, but bigger and with more holes. It's convenient to use and almost always settles the water overnight. Then I siphon off the clean water and dump it down the drain. I showed the shaker in my first livestream a few weeks ago, that might be what you remember. In response to showing it there, another viewer told me that epsom salts also do the same thing. I haven't tried that, but he seemed to prefer epsom salts. Here's a video where I showed my disposal method before I learned about plaster of Paris.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 18, 2024 16:42:10 GMT -5
I'd like to know how Rob Jugglerguy got that saw to stay so clean, I got one in an estate and never could get to not produce a lot of water on the bench. I have the Tiny Trim 4 inch saw for those inside corners, if the slab is too big I start with the 6 inch HP with the larger deck. I don't do anything special. My saw is really dry to work with. There's some spray off the sides, but I stay completely dry standing in front. I only add water to about 1/4 inch up on the blade, but I think that's pretty standard. I love that saw. I have another one as a back up in case anything ever happens to it.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 16, 2024 16:11:54 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Mar 12, 2024 21:28:11 GMT -5
Thanks everyone! I just saw this because I have been out of town without my computer for the past 2.5 weeks. Nancy and I went to Florida and also went on our first cruise while we were there. We got off the boat on my birthday. Fun, fun, fun!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 12, 2024 9:46:04 GMT -5
Welcome from Michigan!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 10, 2024 9:08:56 GMT -5
I can’t imagine cutting a groove by hand with a Dremel. That’s impressive! I don’t deserve credit for teaching you this. You may have seen me do it first, but I follow Chuck’s ( Drummond Island Rocks) excellent tutorial. His method is different from yours, though. Chuck’s Groove Wrap Tutorial
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 2, 2024 23:17:55 GMT -5
Welcome to RTH!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Feb 1, 2024 15:33:46 GMT -5
I have made a few bowls using pretty much exactly the same technique as Jared. I did one thing that he didn't do though. I made the bottom flat so it would set nicely on a table. I thought my method of using a laser level worked really well for this. My video on it is pretty old, but I think it might be useful for you.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 29, 2024 22:17:35 GMT -5
Happy birthday, Chuck! Hope you got to spend a little of it playing with rocks.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Jan 6, 2024 14:04:39 GMT -5
Then, a true hero showed up... MICHIGAN ROCKS, ROB ABRAM! This guy is a legend! He devoted all of his knowledge into these fun videos on how to tumble rocks, experiments with rock tumblers, and rock hounding adventures! Rob, I know you will probably never read this but I want to thank you so much for all the information. Oh, I read it alright. Thanks for the really nice compliment, and you're welcome. Unfortunately I don't have time to add much here. I don't always know why everything works, I'm just trying to figure out how to use the tools I have the best I can. My newer Lot-O and the older one with the new motor are still running fine, by the way. I probably just jinxed myself by saying that, but so far, so good.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 29, 2023 21:31:16 GMT -5
With the expanding gorilla glue I end up with almost every one floating on the blade after it lets loose. Even ones that have never seen oil. Also, mine go into a drip tank where the oil falls off the slabs into a collection container. It saves a lot of oil over the course of 1000 slabs. That's a great idea. Mine go into some Oil-Dri where the oil gets soaked up never to be seen again. I do wipe as much of the oil off with my fingers as I take them out of the saw, though.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 28, 2023 11:29:07 GMT -5
For the last couple years, I have been using waterglass or sodium silicate. I bought a gallon from Amazon, I think. It holds well, but comes off after about two days of soaking in water. I leave the whole block of wood on. There's a five gallon bucket of water setting right next to my saw. After the wood dries out, I cut about 1/4" off with my chop saw to remove some oil and then reuse what's left of the block of wood.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 25, 2023 12:15:49 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 25, 2023 12:14:23 GMT -5
Merry Christmas!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 25, 2023 12:11:24 GMT -5
I used to use Superglue on the head of a large nail. Whether using that or dop wax, I removed the dop stick by putting it in the freezer. Superglue doesn't hold up to cold either. I think I had to let the superglue go overnight in the freezer though. I much prefer wax because it's quicker to attach and remove the stick. Mine usually hold on pretty well, but once in awhile one falls off during cabbing. I usually do several cabs at once and keep the pot hot while I'm working in case one falls off.
Wax doesn't stick to rocks at all in my cool basement unless I preheat the rock. If the rock is cold, the wax hardens almost immediately as it touches the back of the cab and doesn't grab at all.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 20, 2023 11:52:29 GMT -5
Happy Birthday, Tommy! Hopefully someone gets you some rocks.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 19, 2023 11:18:24 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum, Han!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 15, 2023 17:46:22 GMT -5
Thank so much everyone for all your help! 🥰 and smh I might’ve had a moment as I did not connect the dots between plug n play psu and hardwired psu 😣 was thinking get my dads old solderer out, yada yada yada. A little star struck 🤩 Michigan Rocks Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! You sir, are what led me down the rabbit hole, and I thank you for it 😄 And this is where I learned everything, so you're in a good place!
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Post by Jugglerguy on Dec 14, 2023 19:09:47 GMT -5
I made a video on how to use that tumbler that might help you out. I agree on the Rock Shed or Kingsley North for great grit at good prices.
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