snetbonaut
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2022
Posts: 129
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Post by snetbonaut on May 1, 2022 13:23:47 GMT -5
I may get around to pictures later. I ran the first "Half-Load" in the Gyroc yesterday. I was intrigued at how loud it was compared to the Lortone rotary, but satisfied it was lightyears quieter than the hand-me-down RayTec I used last year. Just the same, I decided that I would go for running it only 12 hrs a day. I'm hoping to discover that somewhere between 12 and 36 hours is the polishing sweet spot.
I put in some fairly big (2"x3") that had trouble moving and would block the crawl, so I took it out about an hour into the first run.
In another thread someone said they preferred another brand because you could just reach in and check individual stones. Newsflash. I opened this puppy two or three times while it was running, no problem.
I loaded it more or less the way I see Lot-O tumblers loaded. That is, I fill it up with water and then empty it out so rocks are moist. Add a few spritzes of water, grit, cover, and shake.
The bowl is translucent enough that you can see movement on the inside while it is running. Works even better if you shine a light behind it.
Yesterday, I put together a bowl of mixed rocks. I knew some would undercut or just decompensate, but it was not as bad as I expected. I also added a few tones in that had been through the polish cycle in a rotary but were too cracked and veiny to be keepers. After 12 hours they all showed some progress. I actually removed three or four stones that were obviously ready for the next stage.
So, I am impressed thus far.
PS: One day, someone will have to explain to all of the tumbler manufacturers in the world that there are now these things called "electrical switches" to turn stuff off and on a bit more efficiently than yanking the plug out of the power strip.
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Post by Peruano on May 1, 2022 16:13:40 GMT -5
As long as you are having fun and not damaging your new equipment go for it . . . however when you talk about half load and noise it might indicate that you do not have your machine adequately loaded. Running if half full will, guess what, . . . make it extremely loud and aggressive. You need about 4 lbs of rock in the beast. The lid on can be hooked on the bowl rim when the lid is not used. The only problem with no lid is 1. evaporation, but close monitoring can handle that; and 2. an occasional rock might hop out. 3. if you have too violent of an action or too much water it may throw out spots of the liquid slurry. In my experience that's from having too much water in the bowl. One of my instruction manuals says "if you can see water in the bowl, you have too much". One possible guidance I'd offer is to make sure to not place grit on the center bowl post which would trap it between the bowl and the center of the lid. I did that once and managed to chew a hole in the lid that required an epoxy repair. I'm hoping these comments stimulate your successes with the might gyroc. BTW properly sized O-rings can be used for the drive belts when the time comes. Happy shaking.
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snetbonaut
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since February 2022
Posts: 129
|
Post by snetbonaut on May 1, 2022 16:40:25 GMT -5
As long as you are having fun and not damaging your new equipment go for it . . . however when you talk about half load and noise it might indicate that you do not have your machine adequately loaded. Running if half full will, guess what, . . . make it extremely loud and aggressive. You need about 4 lbs of rock in the beast. The lid on can be hooked on the bowl rim when the lid is not used. The only problem with no lid is 1. evaporation, but close monitoring can handle that; and 2. an occasional rock might hop out. 3. if you have too violent of an action or too much water it may throw out spots of the liquid slurry. In my experience that's from having too much water in the bowl. One of my instruction manuals says "if you can see water in the bowl, you have too much". One possible guidance I'd offer is to make sure to not place grit on the center bowl post which would trap it between the bowl and the center of the lid. I did that once and managed to chew a hole in the lid that required an epoxy repair. I'm hoping these comments stimulate your successes with the might gyroc. BTW properly sized O-rings can be used for the drive belts when the time comes. Happy shaking. No worries. I weighed and loaded 3 pounds of rock, water, and grit. By "half-load" I meant running it 12 hours, stopping, then doing another 12 hour shift. I generally start my day puttering about 7 AM. At 8 AM I feed dogs and humans and go about my day. The last few weeks I've taken my coffee to the garage and devoted that puttering time to adjusting tumblers. My biggest dilemma now is the noise. It definitely cannot be "left alone" on a bench or the floor without walking away. They included two "gaskets" about the size of the feet of the machine. There were no instructions, so I screwed them to a 9" x 12" x 1" board and then covered that in non-slip rug padding. That stopped the walking and made it somewhat quieter. I am pleased with the process thus far.
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Post by Peruano on May 1, 2022 17:29:16 GMT -5
Definitely not a table top device. Mine walk too, so I let them contact something wooden or like you ground one or more feet with a carpet that does not allow them to slide. Are you running it with a bit of soap as a grit carrier?
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