learn2turn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since February 2011
Posts: 77
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Post by learn2turn on Mar 16, 2011 8:16:15 GMT -5
I had .5 lb of small rock and a grit packet left over from a toy-quality tumbler my kid got that broke. I put in in the MT-10 vibe and tried to follow some of the instructions on the web for vibes. I also added a little borax thinking it would make things slide better (might have been a bad idea).
The rocks weren't rotating in a circle so i added more water, and more. Then it started to clot up. So every few hours, I broke it up and let some water to evaporate. Eventually, it got to the point where the rocks were rolling.
I let it run for a few days adding a few drops of water now and then but not enough to stop the rocks for rolling.
I don't think it really did anything at all though. Each of the rocks had enough grit caked to it that it was like a coating on each rock. I can't see how anything on the surface of the rock got ground.
So, maybe the initial too much water totally roached the whole process.
Maybe not enough material in the vibe meant it would never work well.
Or maybe using a little borax caused it to cake up.
But, I'll have 3lb Thumbler in a few days. I'll use that for the first couple steps from now on and only use the vibe for polishing.
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Post by deb193redux on Mar 16, 2011 9:02:03 GMT -5
I don't think you had anywhere near enough weight int he unit. These are designed to virbate most efficiently under full barrels. 1/2lb and some grit would be like running an empty barrel.
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Post by Jack ( Yorkshire) on Mar 16, 2011 11:49:19 GMT -5
Yes I also think you should have had the machine full Borax I add Borax to the load in My Vibe ( Connrrock method) Check out this tutorial by Bikerandy ( Its pinned above) forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/index.cgi?board=tottumb&action=display&thread=29369You might get some good tips What you describe as your method above is ok as far as I can see Vibes DONT want a lot of water in them just suficent to keep the rocks moist and covered with grit A spoonfull of Ivory to act as glue to help the grit stick to the rocks surface in the earlier stages I use a Lot"O" 3 1/2 lb so I will leave this to those with MT - 10 machines to answer One thing dont give up " I belive every problem is made to be solved" Jack Yorkshire UK
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learn2turn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since February 2011
Posts: 77
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Post by learn2turn on Mar 16, 2011 12:17:57 GMT -5
Ok, one follow-up question.
When done, should the stones thin to moderate layer of grit "caked" to their surface that then needs to be cleaned off?
I had to rub a couple stones pretty hard to get a decent amount of the caked grit off.
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Post by stonesthatrock on Mar 16, 2011 12:27:57 GMT -5
ralph vibs all the time and you need to fill it up. The second is the amount of water. he used a spray bottle and gives them just a spray until you get a consistency that covers the rocks until you can't even tell what they are. Not dry but wet. Its tricky at first but with practice you will get it and its so much faster. We followed, i think it was bikerrandy's formula and it works perfect. Oh also where you get your grit does make a difference we found out. Buy it from the Rockshed, its the best and works great. mary ann
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Post by deb193redux on Mar 16, 2011 14:40:53 GMT -5
Some vibes may have a wider operating range in terms of weight, and anything over half-full may not be a big problem. But I think the blanket advice is to fill er up. The unit might shake itself apart without a load, depending on design, or the rocks may collide so violently they chip, unless there is a LOW setting on the machine or something. Mini sonic is variable speed, and Gy-ROC has two speed pulleys.
learn2turn - I think you had way too much grit. Generally a full barrel uses a large teaspoon vs instead of 1/4 cup in rotary. IF the cake was mostly gritty, then you had too much grit.
The cake was another sign of problem. It should not have been like that. The moderately thickened creme without too much unused grit shoudl wash off easily. If the cake was mostly creamy with some grit, then the rock was too soft and it made a lot of mud real fast. If the cake was not too thick and creamy and not too much unused grit, then you let it dry out while running.
One reason I like ceramic is because it is so easy to see the grit on the white background. I sprinkle in grit until I see about 20-30% coverage of the white. I spritz until the motion is almost as fast as damp but no grit. More than 30% coverage initially and as the grit starts to break down it quickly makes a lot of mud that can cushion stones. If this dries, you have to scrub hard.
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learn2turn
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since February 2011
Posts: 77
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Post by learn2turn on Mar 16, 2011 16:57:11 GMT -5
Okay, I think my first prob was too much grit and second was too much water. Also, the grit was from a cheapo toy tumbler so it might not have been any good. And I used the amount for the toy rotary tumbler in the vibe.
My rotary game in the mail today. So the next project will be to do one initial batch in that. Then, the next batch will be rotary for the first 60/90 rounding step and then vibe.
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