mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Oct 9, 2011 13:54:26 GMT -5
I purchased a 'used' flat vibrating polisher, very used. But it was cheap and seemed to work. uhhmmmm yeah I know. OK it was missing the three rubber balls that hold the pan up. I know next to nothing about this type of polisher, but how hard could it be? So I found three rubber balls, loaded it up with some cut geodes and started it. VIOLENT Vibration! It ran about an hour and quit. The motor just hummed. Turned it off and found all the nuts and bolts holding the motor in place were loose. Tightened everything, still no luck. Took the motor to an electric motor shop, for $16 they got it going again. However the man said, and I tend to agree, that this is not the original motor. The motor has a counter balance fastened to the shaft. This is what creates the vibration. So here are my questions if anyone can help here. Is a counter balance the normal method of creating the vibration? What size and more importantly, what speed is the motor on this kind of vibrator supposed to run at? How violently does one of these vibrate? The rocks are jumping around and water splashs 2' high! I know I really need to see one of these running in person to gauge what mine is doing. Thanks for any help. :help:
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 9, 2011 14:32:58 GMT -5
I can't answer all of your questions, but the counterweight should have a set screw in it. Loosen the set screw and move the counterweight closer to the motor shaft and re-tighten the set screw. This should tame the beast a little bit. If your rocks are too light, they will bounce all over the place. You may have to fasten a weight to the top of your rocks to hold them down. What brand is that vibrator ? I'm only familiar with the old Highland Park laps. Don
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Oct 9, 2011 14:52:04 GMT -5
Not sure of the brand... the paint on the body looks original and is a dull gold. There is an oval sticker on it but so faded I can't read it. I assumed it was a Lorotone. I will check the counterweight, thanks.
Mia
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 9, 2011 15:05:32 GMT -5
Sounds like Lortone. They were gold before blue. Don answered already but you should not be throwing water. Mix the grit/water into a thick slurry. It will still be a little messy but not for two feet. I set mine in a wood box I had and cut the sides to about 6" taller than the pan. I used newspaper on the box sides to catch the mess. Lortone can tell you what RPM the motor should be. Make sure the unit is level also.
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Oct 9, 2011 15:18:49 GMT -5
thanks John... I think I had the slurry too thin to begin with, And it is on a concrete floor, but I will check level. I was uncertain about the rather violent and Noisy vibration. If messy is the norm, I can deal with it.
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rockhound97058
freely admits to licking rocks
Thundereggs - Oregons Official State Rock!
Member since January 2006
Posts: 760
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Post by rockhound97058 on Oct 9, 2011 19:47:38 GMT -5
Asking Lortone anything seemed to be a joke when I searched for information regarding my lap. However I will check and see what RPM my motor turns - I'm pretty sure it's a 1725, but the motor is odd such as a 1/15th HP or something close.
What size of lap is your unit?
Lortone's do not have much room for changing the weights to control the vibrations. It's a steel bar drilled center, and it only has a inch or so room before it starts to hit things. However as Jakesrock said try to lower it and it should calm down a smidge.
Highland Parks have a offset drilled weight that can be changed into different directions depending on grinding or polishing.
Lortone Laps are much easier to deal with to keep em still - My highland park lap - that sucker if not level will take off across the sidewalk in my back yard. I've seen it walk more than 8 feet down the sidewalk until it found it's "happy spot" And from now on it sits there lol.
I'll see what my lap has for a motor and let you know - I know I've changed it over the years, but it has the same unit.
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Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
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Post by Steve on Oct 9, 2011 21:55:57 GMT -5
Are you sure that all 3 springs that hold the pan holder down are properly fastened and are strong enough? Also make sure that your pan is properly secured in the holder. I suspect that you were missing a few more parts that just the rubber balls. Leveling is critical. Here's a link to Lortone's instructions and parts lists: www.lortone.com/pdf/FL_Instructions.pdfAfter you put in the grit, add just enough water with a sprayer so that all the grit is wet with a very thin film of slurry and the rocks freely move. Don't put in so much water that the rock "float" and the water splashes. The motor is 1/15 HP. The newer ones run at 1625 RPM while the older ones run at 1520 RPM. I would think that a 1725 RPM would work fine.
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rykk
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2011
Posts: 428
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Post by rykk on Oct 9, 2011 22:25:03 GMT -5
I got a used 20" Lortone a couple of months ago and it came with unmatched balls and only two - again unmatched - springs. Here's what calmed - and quieted! - things down for me. I doubled the springs. The springs I got are about 3/8" diameter and about 2 1/2" long with the metal being about the size of maybe 26AWG wire. Not super thick, not too wimpy. I then found some rubber (not foam!) balls at Toys r Us that are about 2 1/2" in diameter that work really well and don't flatten out. Look up near the front in the "seasonal" stuff. They look like little basketballs and soccer balls. I've never found anything that tells just what size the balls are supposed to be. BTW - You DO have the springs attached, right? They go on the 3 metal loops on the underside of the pan base and stretch over to 3 tiny holes in the main base near the top of the rim. (Please don't be offended that I asked - it wasn't mentioned, so...)
You didn't mention it but mine made one heckuva racket at first. This was because the balls were too small for the wimpy springs the guy sent and the 3 hard plastic spacers/pylons that go between the pan base and the motor mount plate were banging against the rim of the main unit base. You could see where the spacers had grooves worn into them. I also took one of those cut-off/waffle wheels that go onto a drill motor and cut an approx. 1" notch in the rim of the base unit next to where the 3 spacers are just in case. In Googling around, I'd found a drawing/manual for one of the newer Lortones and I noticed that the rim is a LOT narrower than on the much older one that I have. So they must have noted the same problem.... or the "bean counters" there might just have been trying to save $$ in materials.
Took a LOT of Googling, but I finally found an old Worthpoint listing where the person was selling a motor and mount plate for a 20" Lortone. It said the motor was 1/15hp and spun 1550RPM. The motor that came with my rig crapped out (bearings seized, old style thermal circuit let it keep drawing current until it melted the internal fan blade and kicked open the GFI in my house) after two days and so I had to find a replacement. I got one from Grainger - model 3M569 - for around $75 that works. I only had one problem with it and it was pretty major - The thermal protection would trip after less than an hour. (Note - It's summer and I'm in Florida) The new motor doesn't have an internal fan like the original did and is only rated for 40deg C, which is only 104F. Didn't take a rocket scientist to figure what the problem was since it was 98F to 100F in the shade, ya know? I ended up strapping a 12V computer rack fan blowing up thru the motor and it works great, now. I was snooping around ebay for a cheap spare in case the new motor died and got one real cheap that was the right size and a little stronger - 1/10hp, same rpm. What a surprise when it arrived - it looks EXACTLY like the original from the Lortone! It's model # is, 3M576. Looking at the Grainger website, I can't tell if the one they sell now has the internal fan or not. The specs only say that the cooling is "air over" with an open frame. It's about $40 more than the 3M569. The one I got at ebay is used but works ok.
Anyhow, these are really just motors for big fans or for air conditioners. They are "4.4in, stud mount shaded pole" motors. Probably too much info but, since I had so much trouble finding out ANYTHING about this motor, I figured I'd put it somewhere where the next guy might not have to spend over a week on Google trying to find it... C-ya, Rick
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Oct 10, 2011 19:15:13 GMT -5
SPRINGS? What Springs? Thank you Rick and Steve... I think that is the problem. No, springs.
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Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
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Post by Steve on Oct 10, 2011 19:19:42 GMT -5
Without the springs I'm surprised that the pan holder didn't come off of the rubber balls.
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Post by jakesrocks on Oct 10, 2011 19:41:07 GMT -5
;D ;D ;D. Now I wonder why you had violent vibration and noise. Measure the distance between the points where the springs are supposed to mount. Then high tail it down to your nearest auto supply store, and ask to see their throttle return springs. Get at least 3 that are slightly shorter than the measurement you took. They should work just fine, and will cost much less than the factory parts will.
Don
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Oct 10, 2011 21:36:25 GMT -5
Without the springs I'm surprised that the pan holder didn't come off of the rubber balls. Oh it was quite violent! ;D I found the balls and springs, Fallon Rock shop in Fallon, NV has them. Springs are $2.50 each & balls are $3.50 each. But I have some balls from toys r us, and will check the auto parts store tomorrow! Thanks again!
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Oct 16, 2011 9:12:20 GMT -5
Ready to give up... got some springs, set it all up and was working just fine. Checked it before I went to bed, when I got up the next morning it was dead. Motor had quit. Again.
Not a good day, that quit, 16" saw feed motor quit, and blade came loose on the 10" geeeeezzzzzz.
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Steve
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2005
Posts: 506
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Post by Steve on Oct 16, 2011 10:09:36 GMT -5
These things need to be checked every hour or two. To be effective, you need to minimize the amount of water so they are always in danger of drying out and often need a couple of sprays of water. I would never run mine overnight. Also they sometimes get out of balance and will walk - especially when you're first learning how to use the beast and haven't fully mastered the tricks of loading and leveling.
Sounds like the thermal protection is kicking in for your motor. Are you sure it is rated for continuous duty? You may need to have a small fan blowing on the motor.
Steve
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mia
starting to spend too much on rocks
As you travel on thru life, whatever be your goal. Keep your eye upon the donut, not upon the hole.
Member since January 2011
Posts: 150
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Post by mia on Oct 20, 2011 0:42:47 GMT -5
thank you Steve... another thing to check.. continuous duty... and don't let it run overnight. I did have a drip set up. Of course it quit also. Just wasn't my day.
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Post by johnjsgems on Oct 20, 2011 7:28:35 GMT -5
I let my Lortone run overnight once. The rocks migrated to the center and the previously flat pan was worn (dished) in the center. You really need to monitor it. My thought at the time was let it run, grit would break down, I would be ready for polish by morning.
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