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Thank you 😊

Hi Dale. Big Blue #1 was around $200 with the bowl and motor being largest cost items. Most everything else I had on hand. I think Big Blue #2 was around $240 as I bought more of the material, iron. Etc. Both continue to run strong.

What a find that was, I have it proudly resting by my front door. Thanks for watching Gerald!

That’s awesome @Woodjunkie and thanks for the feedback. Glad the video was helpful and good luck on your build. Please send me a pic of your work I’d like to see the results!

Hi @jamesrich8463. Yes, I picked up a few in the video. Petoskey stones in abundance in that area.

Hello @Peelingoffthelayers. I recently discovered 7 lakes state park and plan to explore there. But any time you have access to property lines (think farm fields), sandy gravel pits, road cuts, excavation sites, or erosion you will find fossils and interesting stones. I believe most of Oakland County has this and I’ve found to be specimen rich. Sometimes the walk is empty handed and others I have full pockets. I just found my biggest pudding stone yet on the edge of a hayfield, video coming soon. Thanks for watching, asking, & participating!

Winry is such a good participant. She keeps an eye on me during the excursions!

Thank you; I appreciate that!

Hi William. I used the 3/8 ply simply because I had it in my barn stock. I like plywood as it's less prone to warping with moisture compared to a ~3/4" slab for the bowl's base. And... you asked a question that I anticipated: The 5" pc was ultimately not used. It would have fit between the two bracket sides, oriented to support the bowl's base. It wouldn't fit due to the screw heads/bolts colliding & I determined it wasn't needed. Lots of bolts, and future welding opportunity to simplify things. Great question, and good catch on the details! Thanks for watching and best to you,

@@RockandLap Thought that might be an oopsie with the 5". Have U tried rubberized strips under the bowl? Most every store bought tumbler has something along those lines, less wear on the bowl maybe. Using a uv-10 bowl with the same basic design. Would a 40w motor be more appropriate driver with smaller springs. To compensate for less of a load. Or just tune the motor to a less aggressive vibration.

I do have a rubberized strip that came with the bowl I ordered. I haven’t used it yet, and maybe I’ll put it on. I know the Raytech TV 10 that I burnt up did not have that and it’s bowl seem to last fine for just over a year before I burnt the motor out.

Thank you Kurt, I appreciate that feedback. I have some other items in the build roadmap that I believe will be very unique. Just need more time to get them off paper concept! Thanks for that feedback and I'll check out your content too!

Thank you @CHillAdventures! I have not witnessed anyone surfing in north' end of Lake Michigan & Huron or my visits to Superior. I have seen people surfing near lower Lake Michigan ie Grand Haven and further south. Yes, Michigan is a wonderful place!

Thank you @soul_adventurist for watching and the feedback!

Thank you for the comment, for sharing your time, and watching. Best, R&L

It’s warm for sure. But I don’t think hot. I have a small fan several feet from all my motors to ensure a consistent movement of air. This small amount of air movement seems sufficient. I’ll know in about a year. 😊

Welding is certainly an option. I like having the ability to take it apart / break it down if needed. The hardware is grade-8 with lock washers. Both vibe tumblers have ran several batches spanning multiple weeks of continuous use. All bolts remain tight. Maybe I'll weld my next one! 🙂

@@RockandLap the lock washers completely slipped my mind. Also I didn’t even think about being able to break it down later down the road. I appreciate you responding back. I asked cause I have been wanting one of these but don’t have the the money to spare. My husband or dad could make this without needing to buy the majority of parts to make it. Just the motor and bowl. I know my husband and dad would want to weld it. That’s another reason I asked. If you welded one together it would give you extra content for your channel.

Glad you enjoyed it and thank you Kelly!

Hi Rockn-UV! Check out the first Big Blue tumbler I built. In that video I go step by step on the vibratory process & list the grits, time duration, etc. In short: the recipe I use is 60/90 SiC for weeks in rotary. Then in the vibe' 220 SiC grit (3) days, 500 ALO grit (3) days, ALO polish (2) days. There are variations in recipes. Check out @MichiganRocks and @spwinaustin they have great info on vibratory tumbling techniques.

@@RockandLap Excellent, thank you.

Hi Steven. I bought the motor on Amazon. In my first Big Blue video I show the exact page, spec, and price. The 60W is spec'd to have about 140lbs of max force. This would of course be with the weights at max-force setting (fully offset). In your research look at the force rating of similar motors I imagine a smaller motor may suffice since a fully loaded bowl is less than 30lbs.

@@RockandLap Thanks for the clarification! I now have one on order.

You are so welcome & thanks for watching!

His Big Blue 1 cost: ~$10 for nuts & bolts $159 for 20# cap. barrel & lid $59 for vibratory motor $27.22 for 2x 1"x1/8" angle iron ~$35 for 1 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" CDX plywood (he used scrap, for no charge, though) ======= ~$290-$300 for 20lb capacity vibratory rock tumbler. Assuming you don't have scrap lumber laying around. All prices are in USD as of Mar 23, 2024, no taxes or S&H included. Prices are comparable to Amazon ($230-$264 / 18lb capacity), but you don't get the fun and pride of building your own machine from scratch if you buy from Amazon.

Thanks Mike!

Thank you Brien!

The age old question! New units of this capacity exceed $500. You can acquire these parts + bowl for around $250. Some tools and time are required which is a unique factor, different for each person.

@@RockandLap ok thank you

I cannot find the bowls at Grainger Canada 😢

@@merkilegur that...sucks!

@@Mike-br8vbit really dies. Not sure if anyone could print these from plastic?

@merkilegur that is great idea, and totally doable. Unfortunately, I don't own one.

Hello. That larger bowl is a Thumler UV18 which I think is ~18lb capacity. I found when fully loaded with stones, water & grit, and the ceramic media a full bowl can approach 25lbs. The vibe motor spec sheet cites about 140lbs force capability.

Thank you😊

Thank you Jared!

Thank you CanadianGemstones!

Hi Samuel. Vibratory is better at polishing and much faster. I tumble rough rock in a rotary till smooth. This can take several weeks or months depending on rock hardness, shape etc. Once smooth (to your preference) a vibratory tumbler will get a great shine in just over a week. I use four stages of grit in the vibe. Check out my other video on Big Blue1 if you’d like to see the steps. Thank you!

Thank you @jarmyvicious Winry is as good a sidekick as one could want. Thanks for the sub and blessings back!

You’re right, that might very well be a tigers eye! A few of those are from a family friend. I’m not sure why you can’t see the comments, let me know if you can read this one.

@@RockandLap Yes I can see your comment here under my post .Will look again at other individual post . Thank you .

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 TH-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 TH-cam.” Will your assembly work with somewhat smaller tumbler pots? Thanks so much for the reply.

HI Gina! Yes it was!

Thank you!