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Hi, I got a Thumblers Tumbler AR-1 a few week ago. I noticed that the barrel tends to work its way toward the plastic guide and rub against the guide. It's wearing out the barrel on that side and making it sticky. Is this normal? I tried to get in touch with Thumblers, but I only get voice mail. I also hear a rattling sound from the tumbler in addition to the sound of the rocks. Yes, I oiled the bearings. Thanks
Rattleing from the barrel or motor? No those plastic stops are meant to keep the barrel from jumping the rollers (obviously) but they should not cause the barrel to "wear"out. The barrel should not get sticky either. My guess would be oil contamination. Some oil got on the stop and is reacting with the rubber. I've had a model t thumlers for several years and I still use the original barrel (been thru several lids however). Clean everything up real good (including the barrel) and then try to get the machine as level as possible. Hope this solves your problem
I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite
I cleaned everything up with Goo Gone followed by rubbing alcohol. We'll see what happens. I have the tumbler sitting on a platform I made with adjustable feet. Its perfectly level. The rattling sound I spoke of is there even with the barrel off the rollers and just the motor running. The motor is tight. It's like the vibration of the motor is getting coupled to the frame somehow.The sound of the rocks doesn't bother me, but this rattle is annoying.
Post by johnjsgems on Mar 14, 2011 23:33:15 GMT -5
True Square Metal Products (Thumler's) is a manufacturer not a retail outlet. If I remember their hours are something like 7:00-4:00 or something. Pacific time too and only Mon-Fri.
Have you oiled the motor yet. I oil them about once every 2 months or so (and also once right out of the box) There really is not a lot that can rattle in these motors but the do give off a lot of vibration. Try pressing down on base while the motor is running and see if the noise is dampened. If so then it's something else making the noise from the motor vibration. If the machine is level then you may need to "tweak" it a bit. Use a playing card under the corner of the base and see if you can get the barrel to ride towords the opposite roller stop. I'm told that you can actually balance out the unit so that the barrel won't touch either stop (but I have NEVER achieved that balance). Jack had great advice on the talc. That will take care of the stickness real well. One other though I had was perhaps the barrel is overloaded? It should only be 3/4 full MAX! I ususlly run mine a little under 3/4 (but more than 1/2)
I can't tell if thats some Gneiss Schist, or that Schist is Gneiss. All I know is don't take it for Granite
I have oiled the motor. I spoke with someone from the motor manufacturer. They said it should get a few drops once per year if running 24/7. As far as getting the barrel to stay in the middle, I think its a matter of the rollers not being perfectly parallel with each other, which is something you can't easily adjust. I tried leaning the tumbler in the opposite direction and it still works its way to the opposite side.
I tried the talcum powder. That works great. I also discovered that the noise I was getting went away when I lifted the whole tumbler off of the platform I made. I found a rubber mat to put under the tumbler. Now all I hear is the sweet crunching sound of tumbling rocks. Ahhhh. Thanks to all who replied to my question.
Though I got the noise thing taken care of, I was still seeing the barrel wearing out where it touched the guide wheel. I decided to do a modification to the tumbler. I happened to have a roller ball that I had left over from a robot project I did a few years ago. You can get one here: www.sparkfun.com/products/320 . It holds the barrel away from the guide by riding on the lid. You can download a video of it here.
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Welcome to the Rock Tumbling Hobby Forum where we share a love of rocks and a sense of community as enduring as the stones we polish.
The RTH Forum of www.RockTumbling.com is an Amazon Associate site and we earn money from
qualifying purchases you make after clicking on our links such as this
Rock Tumbling Supplies on Amazon
link for instance, or any of our various product ads and banners. By clicking our links every time you begin your Amazon shopping
experience, you are generating a bit of revenue for the forum which helps us cover our expenses. Thank you for your support!