I Built and Tested a Vibratory Rock Tumbler
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2024
- Hello Friends! Join me on my efforts to build and test a vibratory rock tumbler. The last year I've used a Raytech TV-10 which is a nice little unit. I wanted a vibratory tumbler which was much larger in size, and could polish larger stones. Thus- I ended up with a design that I named "Big Blue". This is Big Blue's maiden polishing voyage where approx 20lbs of material was in the polishing' bowl. I have some bonus footage at the end where I show the preliminary prototypes that show my idea-journey leading up to the final design. Let me know what you think! I'll be using Big Blue in the very near future on some Yellowstone Agates and some Picture Jasper that I have Stay tuned for those results!
- Please consider subscribing. Join me at Rock & Lap to learn rock polishing, be creative, make things, etc. The "Lap." in the channel name is short for Lapidary! This channel is a wonderful place to share hobbies and learn from each other. I'll be sharing things regarding the outdoors, rock hounding, fossils, and lapidary.
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I enjoyed your video on your homemade vibratory tumbler. My first two vibratory tumblers were modified Harbor Freight vibratory tumblers. The small Harbor Freight 10 lb bowl lasted about a week on the first try of the tumbler. I bought Thumler 10 and 18 lb bowls and used them in place of the Harbor Freight bowls with excellent results. I did replace the all thread rods with a stainless steel all thread and that’s been better with the rock mud. I was contemplating building a larger vibratory tumbler like you did that would take a 45 lb bowl but I found a good Thumler UV-45 tumbler used on eBay for 225.00. I believe the 18 lb Harbor Freight tumbler base would support and run the Thumler UV-45 bowl with good results. I’ll be testing that idea out in the future. I do 100% of my finish polishing with the vibratory tumblers. I use Borax on every grit step. One tip I’ll give you is that I do a 30-45 minute burnish step after final polish with 2 tablespoons of Borax and all of my rocks come out glass smooth with a wet gloss finish. I’ll be interested in seeing a video of your build process of your vibratory tumbler if you ever do it. Thanks for sharing this one.
Good find on that UV-45, that was a nice deal. And that is a great tip on using SS for the thread rod. I'll consider this in the future. The hassle associated with thread rods represents a weakness in most of these tumbler designs. I am gathering parts to build another vib. tumbler and plan on capturing the build process. Thanks for the feedback David!
Outstanding Build and Tumbling Young man.
Beautiful build, and great rocks! That motor is really interesting. Those barrels are a neat design, but I hate the wing nut, the threaded rod eventually strips. Been wracking my brain for a better design.
Agree the threaded rod is a weakness. I think I’ve secured the end in the base ok. I’m learning if I keep slurry out of the threads the rod/wing nut cooperate. That is, if I don’t overload the barrel!
Congratulations my friend❗️your stunning Big Blue just make you win a new subscriber!.. from France 🇫🇷🤗
PS: I love the two speckeled red jasper (ematite?)
Thank you for the kind words from France 🇫🇷 and I’m honored that you subscribed; thank you! Yes, those two speckled red ones look fantastic. I picked those up at Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Very nice do you have a part list ? I like to try to make one. Thomas Edison took him 2000 times to perfect the filament for the light bulb. You are way ahead of him LOL
I don’t have a parts list but I’m about to make another one to replace the Raytech. Maybe I’ll document via a build-video with parts and ‘how to’ info. Thank you for watching and the feedback.
You got some excellent results from that machine. As you said, some of those could have gone a little longer in the first stage, and that big grante/unkite would have undercut in any tumbler. The shine is awesome no matter any other flaws in those rocks.
Thank you very much. I’m happy with the results looking fwd to next batch.
Great build! Love the end with all the prototypes. I bet that beast runs quieter than your Ray Tech.
It actually is quieter than the Raytech! And thank you for the positive feedback!
Awesome build with amazing results 🤩
Thank you! 😁
Well done with that machine.
Thank you! It was a learning experience!
Now I know why my results with the big Harbor Freight unit were disappointing...not enough material in the bowl to result in good tumbling action. Duh. I bookmarked this video for future reference when I can return to tumbling the mass of stones waiting to shine!
Yes, it’s all about surface area. Need lots of it… and the small ceramic media works perfectly. Don’t give up! You can re-run those again, with more media and may get better results. Good luck trying and learning!
@@RockandLap Thanks, I am definitely not giving up. Today I found tiger-eye in the driveway, so one more reason to get this process down.
Did you video your fabrication of the vibratory tumbler or are you thinks of selling them?
Hello Gary. I am working on a 2nd tumbler, and it's almost complete. I did video the fabrication as best I could. About a week ago I posted a UA-cam 'short' announcing this. I'll be publishing the fabrication video soon- maybe in the next couple weeks. The videos take a bit of effort and I try to keep them concise, short, and informative. To answer your question, I am exploring methods to industrialize but it takes time. Reach out via email if you'd like to discuss further (see my channel 'about' info). Thank you for watching I appreciate your questions & feedback.
@@RockandLap That’s terrific I can’t wait to see it. Except for the welding, it looks like a fairly straight forward assembly. You know what they say, “Those that can, build. Those that can’t, watch UA-cam.” Will your assembly work with somewhat smaller tumbler pots? Thanks so much for the reply.