docharber
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2008
Posts: 693
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Post by docharber on Feb 11, 2009 13:22:57 GMT -5
i have modelled the wooden barrel for my new tumbler and the octagon seems to work well, as do the hexagon and decahedral barrels. I use my sliding compound miter saw to cut them.
I opened the rounds I bought at Lowe's and found they weren't all that round or flat. After some sanding and attempting to smooth them unsuccessfully on my spindle sander I'm left with smaller rounds (13") and have to recalculate the lengths f wood for the shape i finally decide on. My saw seems to have a pretty accurate 45 degree preset so I'll probably7 stick with that. The fuial dimensions will be about 11.5" wide by 13" round. I have drilled a hole in the middle of one round with my Roto-Zip circle cutter and fuitted a piece of 4" PVC to accept the test plug. After assembly, I'll have to line it with undercoating or other material like the vinyl tool dip and I/m ready to tumble. The motor has had a trial run on low speed and it should do very well. It hardly heats up at all even after a couple of hours. It's a 1/13 HP dual speed motor with a screw down base abnd 5/16" shaft with a double cog that was a pain to remove- I cut it off- and it has an internal fan for cooling. Very quiet. It accepts Lortone QT12 running gear and that's what I am using. i hope to be able to post pics when I'm done- it was a really fun project.
Mark H.
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Mudshark
fully equipped rock polisher
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
Member since December 2008
Posts: 1,083
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Post by Mudshark on Feb 11, 2009 18:38:11 GMT -5
Mark.post some pics when you get a chance,I'd like to see the results.I remembered your post about a flat lap,I had the bowl off one my vibes the other day and I had a small piece of plexiglass on my bench so I drilled a hole in the middle and screwed it down in place of the bowl and I did get some slabs to dance around a bit.Just a quicky experiment but it should work. Mike
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docharber
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2008
Posts: 693
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Post by docharber on Feb 12, 2009 1:25:33 GMT -5
This weekend my 14 yo son will have to help me learn to post pics. I finished the rounds for the barrel tonight. Maybe I'll find time to cut the barrel sides and maybe glue them up this weekend. It seems I'm constantly looking for a part or an idea. I don't drive because of retinal disease and so I have few opportunities to scrounge around. I have several ideas about thwe lap try, though. I checked out a local thrift store for an old cast aluminum roasting pan. I can use a lightweight steel or aluminum 9 X 23 or other smal baking pan too. i'll drill and screw the pan to a plywood backer or mount it directly if it's cast aluminum. After that, it's easy. I'm going to drill the plywood and tap in a t-nut (or what ever you call those internally threaded t-bushings with prongs to anchor them and prevent rotation). i'll cut off a piece of threaded 1/4-20 rod short enoungh to allow the nut to screw down onto the rod and rest on the base. Then- It's done. I might make separate pans for each stage. I'm not sure when I'll get the time for all this experimenting, though.
Mark H.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Feb 12, 2009 8:44:21 GMT -5
Good job Mark! I'm eager to see the results!
Great ideas for the flat lap.
I got some free 1/2" plywood, so I ended up making plugs for my PVC barrel out of that. My barrel is 10" diameter by 18" long. Not sure how much that is going to weigh after I fill it with rocks and water! I might have to cut it in two...
Next steps: 1. epoxy the wood 2. put vinyl carpet runner on the plugs to further protect the wood 3. glue 1" diameter PVC pipe "ridges" inside the barrel 4. glue in the plugs 5. rebuild the base
I'll post assembly pics when I get to that point. I'm out of town for the next 2 weekends, so I don't have a lot of time to work on it.
Chuck
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docharber
has rocks in the head
Member since October 2008
Posts: 693
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Post by docharber on Feb 15, 2009 16:03:22 GMT -5
You go dude! I thought of pouring water putty- like plaster of paris but much harder- into a round barrel to creat flat "facets" inside like on the Lortone QT12. After coating them with a suitable abrasion resistant waterproofing, they should work great. You just rotate the barrel the number of degrees corresponding to the number of facets sequentially, pouring and allowing the water putty to dry before rotating again. Gluing in chamferred PVC strips into each facet segment will help anchor the water putty. I cut the MDF segments for my eight sided bartrel last night. I need to figuer out how to keep them in place for Gorilla-glueing, and I can assemble them. I'm using rounds from Lowes for the sides, which required a lot of sanding to round them and flatten them, and I have fit a 4" PVC section into the middle of one as an access hole. I thought of making the hole more eccentric to aid in emptying but I think it will do. It will be used for rough grinding so I don't have to be meticulous about cleaning. I found plastic test plugs at HD and I just have to paint over the end of the bolt and they're ready. I'll use the vinyl dip stuff. About your plugs- the runner material may work very well if it's really thick. The nice thing about it is that you can recoat it witht he tool dip stuiff as it wears. Gorilla glue is waterproof and needs a but of moisture for curing. It's also as strong as the name implies. It will hold the runner material in place very well, I thiink. liquid nails might work too. Giorilla glue sets much faster than most epoxies and seals exposed wood from water. It's urethane based and should hold up well to abrasion. I like the MDF because it's often available as scraps at HD in large pieces. It's strong enough and has no grain so it's easy to shape. Lots more dust though. Once it's waterproofed, It will stand up to moist conditions pretty weell, too. It's poroous and surface treatments will penetrate fairly well, like uewthane water based finishes followed by sanding, another coat, and a coat of vinyl tool dip emulsion or gorilla glue and vinyl runner material. Hopefully I'll have some pics posted by the time you hget back. My lap project is still on hold. I think I'll end up[ using cheap bakeware for the tray on a plywood base. More later.
Mark H.
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