Tumbling Shaped Rocks in the Lot-O Tumbler
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2019
- Learn to tumble small slabs or rocks cut into shape in the Lot-O vibratory tumbler.
This is a follow up to my video "Cutting Shapes from Rock".
• Cutting Shapes from Rock
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Kingsley North is a lapidary store in Michigan's U.P. They make a great cab machine and sell many other brands too. They have a huge selection rough rock, tumblers, grit, jewelry supplies etc. at good prices. I buy most of my coarse grit from here in 45 lb. bags. It's the best price I have found. If you buy using the following link, I make a small commission.
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This is the cabbing machine I use:
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Really like the deer heads. Very Christmasy.
Thanks for taking all the time you do to show how you do this, I’ve learned a lot and will try this out myself sometime. Keep doing what you do, it inspires many others.
Thanks. I'll be doing more indoor lapidary activities this winter.
I have learned so much from you about my Lot O Tumbler. I just love mine.
I love that tumbler too.
Wow! You do such a beautiful job polishing! Im learning a lot from you. Thank you! 😊
You’re welcome!
I got your routine down I believe. Was calling what you was going to do and what you was going to use before you did it. Got to learn the hards from the soft it seems. Shapes came out great. Sucks with the loses. Still really good. Was fun to watch. Great video
Bucks are nice, but some does in the mix are probably important too.
"He decided to shed his antlers".... now that's funny right there!!!
I just got my new Loto tumbler after waiting 5 months for it. This video was a great tutorial for my (and my 9 year old son Jackson's) next rock adventure.
Thanks so much.
You're going to love that machine. I find it really easy to get a great shine almost every time with it.
Love those turtles 🐢. Oh boy, vibratory tumblers work much faster than rotary.
Yes they do.
Just beautiful! You should turn the "casualties" into does for your bucks. Maybe mount them in pairs somehow? Thanks for this cool video!
I was about the type the same thing. Why waste it make a his and her pair.
I like the calendar to visually see the time, makes it easier to understand it doesn’t happen overnight.
Thanks for showing them. I love the rocks. Especially the turtles.
The antlers look amazing when polished and still attached! I had wondered how such shapes got smoothed out in the tumbling process.
Yes, attached is better. Better to do turtles with no skinny parts.
Loved this video! Your descriptions make it so easy to follow, so I can try it at home. Thank you for all the time and energy you put into making these videos. They really help a newbie like me!
It's nice to hear that they're helpful. That was my intention, but I never know if they actually come across that way.
Shiny! Thanks for showing us.
Really interesting process and great results. It really shows the benefit of a Lot-O over a rotary tumbler.
The Lot-O uses very little grit, finishes rocks in a week (after coarse tumbling in a rotary for ordinary rocks), and produces a great shine. I would be lost without it.
I want one of these lot-o-tumblers to so much, but not until I am afforded one. Can’t wait!
Interesting. I've never seen that kind of tumbler. You do really good tutorials. 👍
Your stone polishing is second to non of the rockhounds I’ve seen on you tube.my wife and I began rock hunting naught rotary tumblers. It’s a learning experience not doing to bad. We then we decided to get ray-tech vibrating tumbler and followed your instructions. They looked good, but this happens on the polish stage with ceramic medium. Stones covered with pits and White polish I the pits.
It’s hard to say what the problem is based on what you have told me. What kind of rocks are you tumbling? Are these cut out shapes like in this video or naturally shaped rocks? How long did you run each stage? Did you do a rotary stage for these rocks? Were the rocks completely smooth after the rotary stage? I have never used a Ray-Tech tumbler so I can’t give you any specifics on it.
Hi. Thanks for your prompt reply. Well, I realize that the ray-tech wet/dry vibrating tumbler, is no lot-o tumbler. followed your video close as I could. No prior tumbling for this run. First stage 100-220, then 500 pre polish added ceramics , looked good , used new bowl for final polishing stage. Forgot to mention washed with dish soap then borax each stage. High hopes were dashed. More than half were pitted and pits filled with polish. Any pointers. I would appreciate that. Thanks
@@richarddrilling543 You haven't told me what kind of rocks you were tumbling. That could be the problem. For example, I tumble puddingstones. The matrix is quartzite and always gets small pits like you're describing. It doesn't matter if you tumble it in a rotary or vibratory tumbler, they always get those pits. Another rock that gives me problems is granite. It undercuts. That's when some minerals wear away faster than others. It leaves little pits all over the rock. Those pitted areas don't shine up either. I don't have problems with polish getting stuck in them because I run them for a couple hours with borax or dish detergent and a little more water than usual.
Another thing that might help is running them in a rotary tumbler before putting them in the vibe. I almost never start my rocks in my Lot-O. They usually get tumbled for many weeks before going into the Lot-O. So they go in with no holes or cracks for grit to get stuck in. But this doesn't help with granite or puddingstones. Those still get pitted.
I'd suggest getting some good, hard agate or jasper to start out with. Those are two rocks that are easier to get to shine.
@@MichiganRocks thanks I’ll take your advice. Thanks for the help
All the little tips/bits of information are very helpful, thanks.
Michael Phillips you’re welcome. I’m glad I could help.
Really like your videos... the straightforward style is great. -knave
Crosses are awesome amen ~
Wow. How cool. Love your videos. Hi from Connecticut.
Thanks Jackie!
Rob, I appreciate your tumbling videos - I can tell you're a teacher. :D
Thanks for the compliment. I try my best.
Great video, thanks.
Thanks for the video. Lots of good information.
You're welcome. This is one of the first videos I made.
I mean they're wonderful and you're phenomenal for what you do, it's the first time I see something like this you have a crazy patience but it's worth it, I like enormously these stones congratulations you're super hard
I'm glad you liked the video. I'm planning to make a video of me making Christmas ornaments using this method.
@@MichiganRocks I just found you for about 2 days and I didn't get to see much, but I took it from the first posts to see how you progress and I already saw what incredible equipment you have, I didn't even know that there is such a thing for finishing stones (I forgot to ask you something, do you sell from what you craft?)
Went to find a lot-o tumbler for the slabs my husbands grandfather left him hoping it works. Thanks for the tips, love you channel❤️❤️
If you haven't ordered yet, I'd recommend therockshed.com. They usually have the best prices and great service. When you're tumbling slabs, use at least 50% ceramics. More is even better. Slabs tend to stick together and extra ceramics help. The hole on the Lot-O is only 2.25 inches, so large slabs won't fit.
Forwarding this to my nephew. He lives in Kalamazoo and just told me he is thinking about getting a tumbler.
This has information I was wondering about. Thank you.
This sort of thing is best done in a vibratory tumbler. Shaping rough rocks into smooth rocks is best done in a rotary tumbler. The ideal situation is to have both types, but that gets quite a bit more expensive.
Michigan Rocks Will forward this to him. You answered my question for both of us. Thank you.
great video very well put together. If you have not done a video on just Petoskey Stones please do. I see more questions on tumbling Petoskey Stones than any other rock, mineral or fossil. Tks again.
I have a video on hand polishing a Petoskey stone. Folks seem to like it.
thanks mate.from aussie
Beautiful какие удивительные фигурки 👍
Thank you great job I am binge watching you, im looking to seeing you have a pudding stone polishing tips! Im struggling with them.
What’s the problem? I might be able to help.
Danke, sehr informativ!❤️👍🙏😁
Bitte!
I have to try this!
I do a lot of this sort of thing. Easy to do if you have a trim saw and a Lot-O.
@@MichiganRocks I bought a lot-o several months ago . I just have to set it up. Along with the other saws polishers etc I have .
@@billsherry66413 Sounds like you're going to have fun!
Excellent Video! Got a lot out of it and I would agree that your videos are very inspiring, so Thank-You for that.
Also, curious about vibratory tumblers, especially the Lot-O Tumbler and it's performance. Knowing what you know now, would you recommend the single or the dual barrel Lot-O OR would you recommend a different Vibratory tumbler all together? Thanks,
I would definitely get the single barrel. I have a lot of rotary barrels running just to keep that one barrel full. You have to fill both barrels of the double, so I would end up filling it with just ceramics most times. They're hard to get since COVID. Check the Rock Shed (rockshed.com) to see if they have any in stock. They usually have the lowest price.
I love this idea! Now, how do you get the thin piece of rock you use to make them? Cut larger rocks or Saw them ? And what types of rocks do you use? Thank you… Very nice art! Love the Crosses & Turtles 🐢
I see you already found my video about slab saws. I use a lot of unakite and epidote because it's fairly easy to find and tumbles well. But I also use lots of other types of rock too.
Do you sell any of these items? Or sell any of the jewelry you make? It would be such an honor to own one of your pieces of work. Such love and compassion is put into everything you do. You can tell you really enjoy it and I love learning all about the rocks and tumbling them.
I only sell a few things locally, sorry.
Got an idea for a future video. In one of your future videos you should cut a Big M for U of M. (Cut it about the size of those stone crosses.) Rock on!
I don’t have the right tools for that. I can’t cut the inside bottom corner of the M. The blade would have to go around a corner. I have made three name plates for desks. I have my name made from stone on my desk at school. But there are letters I can’t make, like a capital G for example. I’d like to get another saw called a ring saw that would allow me to make those cuts, but I really don’t need another saw. Thanks for the idea though!
Queria uma cruz dessas
Assisto todos os seus vídeos. ^ top
Quanto tempo vc deixa as pedras girando pra polir?
Estes não giram, eles vibram. Aqui está o que eu faço:
2 dias em 2 colheres de sopa de grão de carboneto de silício 220
3 dias em 1/2 colher de chá de 500 grãos de óxido de alumínio e 1 colher de sopa de bórax
2 dias em 1/2 colher de chá de polonês de óxido de alumínio e 1 colher de sopa de bórax
How did you make the initial shapes? These are so cute.
Here you go: ruclips.net/video/UUnljVB8Ubc/видео.html
You truly do a fine job. Is this a family hobby or just yours? If this equipment is in your basement does the noise effect the upstairs living area? I forgot to comment on the emblem you made for your son great job, he looked pleased.
This is just my hobby. My son was the reason I got a tumbler in the first place, but he lost interest in a couple years. Now he’s in college. My lortone 66B tumbler could be heard upstairs, but since I built and insulated my new giant tumbler, it’s barely audible.
Do you know pf any trim Saws on the market today that is like your saw that you used to cut out these shoes nd allows you to cut out shapes without the under cutting on the bottomm
I do not, unfortunately. I have a second one like the one in this video just in case this one breaks. It is possible to find them if you keep an eye on Craig's list or Facebook marketplace, or even eBay. Otherwise, make a ramp that puts the table in the right spot on the blade so you get a 90° angle at the blade. That worked well for me before I got this saw.
Disregard my post below. I've found a way to do it, without building or buying anything. I'll use the trim saw to cut away the cab excess, a little bit short of the guide line. Then, I'll take it over to my coarsest metal CabKing wheel, and grind away until I reach the guideline. Of course, this method will only be effective with angles that are 90 degrees or more.
Did you see the video I linked showing how to make a ramp? It's worth the time to do if you want to make very many things like these.
That cross that you said didn't turn out well...is my favorite...can I have it please? If you haven't already thrown it out...that is.
Those rocks are long gone. Since this was three years ago, I couldn't even guess where that one might be now.
They look awesome. Is there any other way to achieve that look without vibration? such as hand tools? will just wet sanding do this too?
You could shine up the large, flat sides on a flat lap or cabbing machine, but those cost more than the tumbler I used. The edges would be very difficult to do with grinders. I suppose you might be able to use a Dremel with the the right bits, but you'd need bits of various grits. Hand sanding rocks this hard would take a very long time. If I made these out of something like Petoskey Stone, which is very soft, then hand sanding would become a more reasonable option.
@@MichiganRocks thank you! I have some rocks and "things" I've collected over the years but recently got a metal detector and I came home with more rocks than anything. I'm trying to figure out what to do with them, most are small 1 inch. I thought tumbling but then like the slabs as well. So I will keep looking for data to make my decision. I enjoy the videos.
@@catfarrow1474 Look for used equipment. I bought my tumblers new, but most everything else was purchased used. If you spread it out over a few years, it doesn't have to be super expensive.
@@MichiganRocks I think I should start with a dremel or just wire wrapping lol
Awesome work, turned out really cool. With the small pieces like around the antlers, is there a chance of breaking in the tumbler?
Yes, several of the antlers broke.
@@MichiganRocks Ok so hard rocks for sure. Thanks for always responding so quickly.
Good video
Where did you get the screen that fits a 5 gallon bucket?
Probably Amazon, but I don’t remember for sure. It’s a classifier for gold. If you just search for “gold classifier” you should be able to find one. They come in various screen sizes.
Thank you
Thank you for sharing! So I could do my rocks i a rotary tumbler for a week and then completely finish in a loto tumbler in another weeks time?? What size loto is this and are their weight restrictions?? My rotary tumblers take 3#...so I could take those to the loto and proceed....
Well, no. I almost never run my rocks in my rotary tumblers for just a week. It's usually a matter of months. In the best case, it might be three weeks. Once you get them done in a rotary tumbler though, it only takes a week in the Lot-O to finish them.
The hole in the top of the Lot-O is 2.25 inches. That's the only real limitation. The barrel is a 4.5 lb. barrel. There are other vibratory tumblers that will hold bigger rocks, but I don't have any experience with them.
If you haven't watched this video, I would suggest that you do. It shows the method I use for 95% of my rock batches. ruclips.net/video/ksrmpPZrAuU/видео.html
Love your videos! We just got our lot o tumbler but have been having a issue with the grit clumping at the bottom and not getting broke down... have you ever experienced this? Any ideas on how to fix it.
I have not had that problem. Are you using coarse grit in it? You aren't supposed to use anything coarser than 120/220. Do you have it attached to a concrete block with the holes filled in? Have you drained out all the water, so that the rocks are just wet, but there's no standing water in the bottom of the barrel?
If one of those things is not the problem, then I would suspect your Lot-O isn't tuned properly. They are supposed to be tuned before they leave the factory, but I have read more and more cases in the past few years of them not being properly adjusted. The action inside the barrel should look like what you see in my videos. If it's moving considerably slower, and you're doing everything else right, that's what I'd look at. Rather than explain this to you, I'll send you over to a good discussion of the problem over at the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/thread/88524/lot-polish-stage-issue
@@MichiganRocks thank you so much for responding! We think it's the grit!
Is Lot-o tumbler a good tumbler? What vibratory tumbler would you recommend? I have lots of Amazonite as well as several pounds of agates from Lyall mine and Gaspésie peninsula.
I think the Lot-O tumbler is an amazing tumbler. I have not used any other vibratory tumbler to compare to, but I participate in a rock tumbling contest each year and it's been won by someone using a Lot-O for about the past ten years. That seems like pretty good evidence to me. I have not tumbled amazonite, but it works great on agates and almost any rock I've thrown at it. Any tumbler will struggle with very soft rocks or certain other rocks, but this one does well with rocks that tumble well.
I see that you rinse and clean your tumbled rocks in the bucket but what do you do with the dirty water?
Good question. Sometimes I tumble Petoskey stones, which are made of limestone. For some reason that slurry acts as a flocculant, making all the rock dust settle to the bottom of my bucket leaving clear water on top. When that happens, I siphon off the clear water and it goes down the drain.
Otherwise, I let the bucket settle as much as it will, leaving still cloudy water on top. I siphon the top part with the most clear water into another bucket and then either dump it in the gravel at the side of the road or into a hole in the woods behind my house. The "hole" is actually a pretty nice hole. I built a wooden box out of some old treated lumber that goes down about two feet. There's a trap door on top to keep someone from accidentally falling in. Where I live the soil is mostly sand, so the water drains out pretty well. It rarely gets much ice down in the hole even in the middle of winter. The only problem is that eventually the small rock particles in the dirty water eventually clog the sand and it doesn't drain anymore. I can dig out the bottom for a while, but eventually I have to move the box to a new hole. I have only moved it once in about 8 years though, so it's not too bad.
My water often contains borax which I use in the Lot-O tumbler. Borax acts as a herbicide, so you don't want to dump it on your lawn.
What's left in the buckets after siphoning off the top is left to dry out and then it goes in the trash.
Any reason you went for the “LOT-O” vs. an “ULTRA-VIBE” or other bowl type vibratory tumbler?
Yes, a couple reasons. First, the Thumber's UV series tumblers are pretty big. It takes a lot of rotary tumbling in the first stage to fill one up. I would rather do more, smaller batches. Second, twelve years ago or so when I bought my Lot-O, I did a lot of reading before I made my decision. The UV tumblers were high on my list. Then I found out that most winner of the World Wide Tumbling Contest in the past had used Lot-O tumblers. To this day, that's still true, although the winner 3 or 4 years ago did use an Ultra Vibe.
Would your tumble action be affected if you didn't affix the Lot O to the concrete block? Or is it just to keep it from vibrating around? I have a Lot O (not attached to a block) and I have never seen the fast action you have here, even with 40% ceramic media or more.
I wouldn't think a Lot-O would work at all without being attached to a concrete block. The directions even said to fill the holes with concrete to make it heavier. I know of some people who glue several blocks together to make a higher stand so they don't have to bend down to use it, but I don't mind mine being close to the floor.
The tumbler should have come with double sided tape to attach it to the block. If you don't have those, I read on another site that Goop works. You definitely need to attach that thing to a block. It's not designed to be used without it. rocktumbler.com/tips/how-we-use-the-lot-o-tumbler/
Do you use just a trim saw to cut pieces with right angles? Every time I've tried it on my trim saw, I got the cut to go all the way to the guideline on the top side, but it always cuts past that point on the bottom side. How do I get it to cut both sides the same length with a curved blade?
I know exactly what you're talking about. I have covered that in several videos. Maybe the best one is from last Christmas. ruclips.net/video/VDoZL4MiPgQ/видео.html Start watching at 2:46
What you need to do is build a little ramp for your saw. I show mine in the video. You'll have to figure out your own ramp dimensions to fit your particular saw.
New to the rock polishing community. My question is, I’m using a tumble-vibe 10 with its capacity being almost double that of the lot-o tumbler should I be doubling the amount of grits, borax etc that your using ? Thanks
That's a different style of vibratory tumbler than the Lot-O is and you'll probably have to experiment a bit to figure out the best amount of grit and the best amount of time to run each stage. I'd suggest got to the Rock Tumbling Hobby forums and searching for what's worked for others. If you don't find what you're looking for, post a question and you'll probably get some responses. From there, don't be afraid to experiment to tweak your method. forum.rocktumblinghobby.com
How do you secure it to the cinder block?
You have to paint the concrete block (at least on the top) and it comes with double sided tape to attach it. Pretty easy.
How can I polish and clean up a boulder?
Watch this video. I don’t know if you’d call the rock a boulder, but it was over 100 lbs. ruclips.net/video/v7xwyC_prV8/видео.html
I used dish soap and borax to clean the rocks on pre polish and final polish. Can you give me some pointers. Or any of you rockhounds the same request thanks
Do you ever make palm stones from your rocks?
I don't know what that is, so I guess not.
Rob I have a question. I see you add about 3/4 cup of water to your burnish cycle. And then it looks like the rocks still tumble just like they do when they are just wet with no standing water in the barrel. Am I correct? I have not been adding that much water to this step until I saw your video. I am going to try it like that tonight. Finishing up some Petoskeys.
I don't add anywhere near 3/4 of a cup. I usually add the borax and then pour in water until the action in the Lot-O slows down some. There is slower movement after the water is added. This is just a guess, but I would think that any grit of any size would wash to the bottom. I think the grit only sticks to the rocks when they are slightly wet.
Thanks for your quick reply to my question. But approximately how much water are you adding at 10:27 for that 1 hr burnish? That looked like a 2 cup measuring cup and you let a stream of water run in. And there is no grit at that point correct? Just borax and water. Sorry, I should have added the time point of 10:27 before in my previous question.
@@cndegg You're right, just borax and water, nothing else. That's a one cup measuring cup. Now that I look at the video, it does look like I added a lot, but I'd say it's usually around a quarter cup. I don't measure for that part, I just watch the movement of the rocks. Watch that again and you can see it slows down and then I stop pouring. I don't think it's important exactly how much water is added, just more than normal.
A lot of times I skip this step altogether, but it's a good thing to do to ensure that you're not moving grit from one stage to the next.
Super glue?
Are you asking what I use to attach magnets to the back? If so, I use epoxy.
You don't have any turtle pendants made from Petosky stone that you'd be willing to sell do you?
William Kaczmarek no, I don’t have any Petoskey turtles right now. I also don’t sell anything online. I only sell a few things locally.
@@MichiganRocks No worries, Please advise me when you make some Petosky Stone Turtles. I'm in lower Michigan frequently and the Alpena area is my old stomping ground. In my youth, I dove quite a few of the wrecks out in Thunder Bay. I don't need much of an excuse to drive over there.
do you ever have trouble with borax clumping up in the tumbler? not sure what im doing wrong but i find a bunch of borax "rocks" at the end lol.
No, I have never had a problem like that. I use one tablespoon in my 4.5 lb Lot-O barrel. If you give me a few more details about what you're doing, maybe I could spot something that you're doing wrong.
@@MichiganRocks
my process:
1tbsp of borax for the burnishing stage
2tbsp of aluminum oxide polish
im gonna say 2/3rds water but ive never actually measured it like you did so i just eyeball the water but im consistent about it.
it doesnt matter what grit or what level of water it always ends up balling up the borax powder. and ive heard too many bad things about dish soap to risk my barrels so i avoid that. this is in a rotary tumbler though so is it possible thats why its doing it to me? its weird too because the borax is always still mostly white when i rinse it. like it never fully breaks down properly.
@@MichiganRocks also its a 3lb barrel nat geo tumbler run on "low" lol
I don't use borax in my rotary tumblers with grit of any sort. I use it between stages to clean the rocks, but that's with just rocks, borax and water. I also use 1 tablespoon. I haven't had it clump up, but I don't do that many batches of rocks in rotary barrels, I almost always finish my rocks in my Lot-O tumbler.
@@MichiganRocks ahhh ok. i was under the impression it thickened the slurry faster and kept the grit from really caking up in small cracks as a surfactant. but ill try it just for cleaning stage from now on. i just purchased 2 vibratory tumblers for polishing stages so im hoping that will be enough for my projects. i did order my borax online but its listed at 100%. so maybe i should give the mule team a try. worked for making bouncy balls as kids lol.
5Kg Rotary Tumbler ????
The broken one looks like a rabbit now 😂
I disagree with you. the burnishing does give the rocks a better polish and shine
I’m sure it does in some situations. I have not seen any improvement in most cases though.
@@MichiganRocks well I'm speaking from my own experience.. rather than borax i use Ivory
soap
@@billywhitehorn6397 Lots of people burnish, so there must be helpful in some situations. I have accidentally forgotten to add coarse grit after cleaning out a barrel. So the rocks have run for a week with just a tiny bit of left over grit that didn't get completely rinsed off and water. The rocks usually come out with a very slight shine when that has happened to me a few times. I think if you don't have a really great shine, burnishing works about the same way and polishes the rocks a little better. The Lot-O is so good at polishing that I don't think they can get much shinier so burnishing doesn't improve them. In fact, the rocks are so good after three days in 500 aluminum oxide that two more days in polish only improves them slightly.