Post by rockfrog on Oct 28, 2023 16:02:36 GMT -5
Finally was able to tumble again! Had a lot of issues with this tumble though, so I'm excited about even finishing, let alone them looking this good. I'll write out all the problems after the pictures for anyone who's interested.
Decided to go with fancy jasper because I love multicolored rocks but buying mixed material always worries me a bit. However, this is definitely not all jasper, but oh well.
Before and after pictures
Some individual pictures
I have a Chicago Electric/Harbor Freight 3lb dual drum rotary tumbler. Didn't start having problems until near the end of the second stage when the belt broke. It was old, but it was also the last one that came with the tumbler. There isn't a Harbor Freight in my town so I had to order new belts online. I decided to buy in bulk and found a pack of ten on Amazon that seemed decent. When they came in I noticed they were a different shape than the originals, but the reviews seemed fine with it. When I turned the tumbler on it started spinning way faster than it had before. I always use ceramics for cushion, and since I was going to change it the next day I left it. There was definitely some bruising, but it wasn't too bad so I moved them on with more cushioning. I also noticed the second shaft (the one that isn't turned by the motor) wasn't spinning. I greased it a little and it started turning again so I left it. Also noticed a lot of black shavings from the new belt but I couldn't find where it was rubbing against something to cause it. A few days later I woke up to a burning smell; the belt had got caught and the motor was overheating and the plastic pieces around the motor were starting to melt. I let it cool down and saw that the little shavings had built up under the belt which had caused it to lift up just enough to get caught. Cleaned it up, and tried it and the motor still ran, it just sits at a bit of an angle because of the misshapen plastic. Flipped the belt and tested it and it seemed to run okay. Kept a close eye on it. Belt broke later that evening, so it ran for a total of 7 days before breaking. Put a new belt on and kept a very close eye on it. Broke in two days. Also the second shaft was still having problems turning, which may have caused some of the strain on the belt. Third belt didn't break, and the rocks finished. There were several points I considered stopping the tumbler altogether, but I really wanted to finish the rocks. Also was worried it was just going to die at any point there near the end, it didn't sound great. This tumbler is also 4 years old, I don't know what their lifespan should be but I'm pretty happy with it running for that long since it's a relatively cheaper tumbler. I do want to take it apart and see if I can replace the plastic parts and figure out what's keeping the second shaft from turning, but that'll have to wait until I get some more time. So for now it's resting in my closet. I don't want to run it without trying to fix it first so I don't make the problems worse and really break it.
Thanks for reading.
Also here's the link for the rocks:https://www.etsy.com/listing/655478259/fancy-jasper-rough-natural-stones-choose?click_key=028b54c77e3aa576d661d25f259ace68171fd38f%3A655478259&click_sum=8d1442b0&external_collection=&pro=1&frs=1&sts=1
and here's a link for the belts to avoid:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KM93XTZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Decided to go with fancy jasper because I love multicolored rocks but buying mixed material always worries me a bit. However, this is definitely not all jasper, but oh well.
Before and after pictures
Some individual pictures
I have a Chicago Electric/Harbor Freight 3lb dual drum rotary tumbler. Didn't start having problems until near the end of the second stage when the belt broke. It was old, but it was also the last one that came with the tumbler. There isn't a Harbor Freight in my town so I had to order new belts online. I decided to buy in bulk and found a pack of ten on Amazon that seemed decent. When they came in I noticed they were a different shape than the originals, but the reviews seemed fine with it. When I turned the tumbler on it started spinning way faster than it had before. I always use ceramics for cushion, and since I was going to change it the next day I left it. There was definitely some bruising, but it wasn't too bad so I moved them on with more cushioning. I also noticed the second shaft (the one that isn't turned by the motor) wasn't spinning. I greased it a little and it started turning again so I left it. Also noticed a lot of black shavings from the new belt but I couldn't find where it was rubbing against something to cause it. A few days later I woke up to a burning smell; the belt had got caught and the motor was overheating and the plastic pieces around the motor were starting to melt. I let it cool down and saw that the little shavings had built up under the belt which had caused it to lift up just enough to get caught. Cleaned it up, and tried it and the motor still ran, it just sits at a bit of an angle because of the misshapen plastic. Flipped the belt and tested it and it seemed to run okay. Kept a close eye on it. Belt broke later that evening, so it ran for a total of 7 days before breaking. Put a new belt on and kept a very close eye on it. Broke in two days. Also the second shaft was still having problems turning, which may have caused some of the strain on the belt. Third belt didn't break, and the rocks finished. There were several points I considered stopping the tumbler altogether, but I really wanted to finish the rocks. Also was worried it was just going to die at any point there near the end, it didn't sound great. This tumbler is also 4 years old, I don't know what their lifespan should be but I'm pretty happy with it running for that long since it's a relatively cheaper tumbler. I do want to take it apart and see if I can replace the plastic parts and figure out what's keeping the second shaft from turning, but that'll have to wait until I get some more time. So for now it's resting in my closet. I don't want to run it without trying to fix it first so I don't make the problems worse and really break it.
Thanks for reading.
Also here's the link for the rocks:https://www.etsy.com/listing/655478259/fancy-jasper-rough-natural-stones-choose?click_key=028b54c77e3aa576d661d25f259ace68171fd38f%3A655478259&click_sum=8d1442b0&external_collection=&pro=1&frs=1&sts=1
and here's a link for the belts to avoid:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KM93XTZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details