Comparing and Reviewing Vibratory Rock Tumblers
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ส.ค. 2023
- I’ve tried 4 different vibratory rock tumblers and they’ve all had their advantages and disadvantages. In this video I’ll compare and review the Mini-Sonic from Diamond Pacific, TV-10 and AV-18 from Raytech, and the UV-18 from Thumler’s Tumblers. I hope you find this useful!
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You can easily fix the issue of the mini sonic drying out by putting a small piece of plastic wrap over the top and under the lid while it is running. When I do that I only need to add a few sprays of water in the morning and when I go to bed - at the most. I have had great luck with mine. The only drawback is relatively small capacity and small maximum size of rocks.
Thanks for the feedback Jim, I appreciate it!
Thank you for posting this. It is great to know that I can retrofit my UV-18 with the motor from the Raytech machine, in case mine ever dies. The Thumler motors seem not to be available at all any more. A video demonstrating that retrofit process would be extremely useful to all of us UV-18 owners out there.
Thanks for the feedback David, I appreciate it! If you ever have to swap out the motor you will find it’s quite easy, only requiring drilling some new holes on the base.
@@spwinaustin I checked on those motors from Raytech, and holy cow, they are near $400! Have you by any chance ever checked another source (such as Grainger) for generic HVAC/thermally protected motors? It seems that all we need are 3000 rpm motors of 1/20hp or better and to which one can mount an offset weight.
A very well done video. Nice comparisons. One of the best things about the Diamond Pacific is that there are no moving parts. I have used those there and several others. All those with rotary motors have eventually vibrated themselves to death. The Diamond P require a little more attention as to wetness but have always performed well for me. They also come in various bowl sizes and configurations.
Thank you so much for the feedback, and thanks for watching!
Great info. I have had a vibrating tumbler for a good while. I didn't understand how to use it. Your video gave me the info i needed to use it. Thank you.
I’m so glad I could help, thanks for watching!
I dont know what brought me here, but here I am.
Welcome, and thanks for watching!
The algorithm is bringing us together. I also have no clue why I need a rock tumbler, but now I want to know.
Same... and now looking into rock tumbling
Hell yeah brother
Fantastic information! I want to get one for possibly final polishing tumbled agates.
I find them to be much better and more efficient at polishing so I highly recommend getting one. Thanks for watching!
Haha, you can adjust the vive action on ALL vibe tumblers. Even the original Ultravibe.
The bearing housing wasn’t the issue it was getting the original bearing so hot it grew in its diameter, stretching the “pot” metal. A new bearing and using green loctite to seat it.
All my vibes came with the counterweight set at max amplitude. Adjustment was needed on all to tame. That’s exactly why your loud one is loud.
Thanks for the info and feedback, I appreciate it, and thanks for watching!
Thanks so MUCH! I'm looking at running inside and ways to make it less noisy. Great with the meter. Now to make a noise reduction box
I’m glad I could help. Good luck and thanks for watching!
Thanks very informative good to have a comparison like this
I’m so glad you found it useful. Thanks for watching!
Excellent video! I’ve been considering vibratory tumblers for months now but I couldn’t find the type of information you have provided. I think I know what I’m putting on my wishlist now. Thank you!
Parabéns pela demonstração amigo
Thanks Jeannie, you will not be disappointed!😆
Awesome video, Scott! I have two UV-18 tumblers and I've been happy with them. I also have a Model B rotary and two Rebel 17 rotary tumblers. I've settled on tumbling in rotary first and then moving on to the UV-18.
That sounds like a great setup! You can’t beat the combination of the two for really great results.
Awesome video mate. Good to see an engineering mind at work. 🙂
Thanks for watching Charl!
I have the Mini Sonic and it did take several months to figure it out. I switched to a modification of your 8 day protocol. I do 120/220 in the rotary then switch to the Mini Sonic. I do 3 days each of 600SC, 1500SC and then AO polish and have gotten far better results than previously doing the traditional 600SC, AO prepolish and AO polish. When I looked at the micron size of the various grits/polishes, your protocol is a more gradual reduction in particle size - which I believe is why it worked better at achieving the high shine wet-look polish. Thanks again Scott for helping me get the results I wanted with the equipment I have!
I’m so glad you are getting good results, thanks do much for watching! I liken it to preparing a surface for paint, with the polish being the paint. The earlier grits are just used to get the surface as smooth as possible.
Fantastic review Sir.. really appreciate you sharing the hacks. Thank you. 💥 💥 💥
Thanks bud, I appreciate you watching!
I learned a lot about vibratory tumblers I have a lot-o and a big one like yours. It works out good, but I use my lot-o for final polishing. Nice share!😊
Thanks! Yup, once you go to a vib it’s hard to go back. 😁
thanks, I'm currently trying to find a good first vibratory tumbler for decent volume and this really helped
I’m glad I could help, thanks for watching!
Thank you, this was very helpful. Cheers from East Coast Canada.
Thanks for watching, I’m glad I could help!
Professional review! As a service tech myself, I cringed when you used the channel locks on that bolt! 😂 just teasing! 👍🏻🍻
Thanks! If it were an actual hex but I definitely would have used a wrench but because it is a knurled round head I was forced to use the channel locks to get it tight!😆
Scott I really enjoyed this video! I wrote to you before when I had problems with my TV 10 Tumblr Vibe leaking. And I modified it similar to what you did. I've had problems with two of them. The first one had parts missing from it when I opened the box from Amazon. After contacting them they send me another one, and told me to keep the first one for parts. I went to the hardware store in got the parts I needed and modified it. I wasn't sure on how much rocks to put in yet to vibrate at one time. So I started out with 8 lb and no ceramic media. About every 5 hours I would have to check it to squirt water on it to keep it from locking up. The worst time was when I would go to bed at night then wake up maybe 8 or 9 hours later. That TV 10 only lasted a month and a half before it quit. I was just beginning to do a polishing stage and turn the switch on it vibrated for a little bit and quit. I waited a minute or two checking to see if it was plugged in right and hit the switch again and it vibrated just a little and quit again. I thought it was acting like it had a bad switch. I was going to take it apart and fix it but it's all waterproof sealed. I ended up unboxing the other one and setting it up and using it. It lasted 5 months! It locked up on me overnight even though I added water to it before going to bed. In fact I even cut back on the amount of stock from 8 lb to 6 lb with about a pound and a half of ceramic media. I sprayed some water on it got it vibrating slowly again but it would not increase on the vibration and it finally shut down.
I told you a while back in one of our conversations that I was going to purchase the RayTech 18 Adjustable Vibe. I have it sitting in the box in the basement and haven't used it yet. After watching this video, I wanted to ask you how much weight of rocks do you put in and also the weight of how much ceramic media to use? I don't know if I was overloading the TV 10 with too much weight. So that's what I would like to know if you have that information that you can share. I know they're very touchy when it comes to getting the right amount of water keep them vibrating.
One other thing I did when I vibrated mine, I put 1 tbsp of borax in also with 1 tbsp of silicone carbide grit. I've seen other people that had vibratory do this to help the grit stick to the rocks well vibrating.
I would appreciate any suggestions or help.
Thanks Scott
Hey Bob, you’ve had quite a vibratory adventure!! With the TV-10 was the motor stopping or where the rocks just not moving because they were gummed up? Hopefully it was the later because that is easily fixed with just adjusting the size and volume of stones along with the amount of water. As far as weight goes I honestly have never checked. I just fill up the barrel so that the top of the rocks lines up just under the top of the inner section, plus or minus. If I can do that with mostly rocks then I only add a small amount of filler. The key is always how well is it moving. I look for good sanding action, faster for the coarser grits and slower for the polish. That is a lot easier to do with the Ajusta-Vibe! Regardless, if you get a good motion going for all your grits the results will be great, especially if you use a high quality polish. If you keep a reasonable load in the barrel then hopefully the tumbler will last you a long time 🤞. Good luck!
@@spwinaustin , The first TV 10 ran really good there was a few times in the morning when I would check on the rocks they were moving pretty slow but the unit was still vibrating, I just sprayed some water on them to get a moving better. What happened is after I was done with the pre polish and cleaned all the rocks I put them back in the TV 10 and added the polish powder sprayed a little bit of water on it and turn on the unit. It ran for probably about 10 seconds and then shut down. I thought that the cord probably came unplugged so I checked that and it wasn't and the power was on so I turned the unit off and back on it vibrated for a few seconds and quit again. That's when I dumped everything into a bucket put water on it and switched to the other TV 10. It ran good most of the time and only had problems when I was sleep 7 or 8 hours overnight before checking it. It would be running very very slow with the rocks gummed up but still vibrating. The day that it was barely running was the day I slept 9 hours because I was extremely tired. It was still vibrating but extremely slow. The unit was very hot and the rocks were barely vibrating and all gummed up. I sprayed the rocks to get them to move a little bit faster but that didn't do any good. It didn't increase the vibration speed at all. I shut the unit off and took the bowl off and dumped it in a bucket of water. Then I let it cool down for probably a half hour and tried to turn it back on it it wouldn't turn on. I let it sit for a day and try it again and no luck. I have only been tumbling since last August. I'm retired and in my middle 70s and just thought I would do this as a hobby for fun. I watched several other people that tumble rocks and also some that use the vibratory but not the ones that we use. Michigan Rocks was the first person I followed who used the Lot-O. And several others over the last year. A lot of them use Borax when tumbling in the barrels when they add grit to thicken the slurry to hold it to the rocks when tumbling. And a few also use it in the vibratory. I usually would put one tablespoon of grit and one tablespoon of Borax in on every step all the way through to the finish. I also was burnishing on every step overnight.
You had the same problem I had and was one of the only ones I found that used the TV 10 on TH-cam when it came to it leaking water and both of us modified it to stop the problem. RayTec video on using the TV 10 was not very acceptable to me on details or use of the unit and also the cleanup of the rocks afterwards. That's why I follow you and I love all your videos that I watch. The only thing I don't do is tumble my rocks to whether perfectly round or smooth I like to texture of them with some of the details. I will run them in the first stage for 3 weeks then we'll take the ones that are pretty well smooth out for the next step in the vibratory. The ones that need a little bit more tumbling I'll throw them in the next batch for 3 weeks without even opening the barrel to see how they're doing in between. When I started doing this last August I watched some of the videos where some of the people open the barrel up every couple days or after a week and went through and cleaned the rocks and then put most of them back into barrel to run again they repeated that every week sometimes for a couple months. I did my first run and it took six to eight weeks to the get the rocks to look good. I don't mess with that anymore after I got the vivatory which makes the process way faster.
I don't know if it's a waste of time to use Borax! I know Michigan Rocks and other swear by it!
Thank you for your time and the help that you have been nice to share with me. You have one heck of a shop, And it looks like you add more every time I watch your videos. I live in Olathe Kansas, and it's not like we have all the areas here to go rockhounding like you have down there in Austin. I might have to take a long road trip one of these days through New Mexico and out into Arizona back up through Utah and back through Wyoming coming home to the Kansas City area. 🤔
Thanks again Scott
Thanks for all the info Bob, that’s quite a story! I appreciate you watching my videos and I have lots more on the way so stay tuned!
Hi . I just found your vibratory tumbler video. I have 2 rotating tumblers and wanted to add the vibratory. Now I'm not so sure I want the noise, cost, modifications, etc. Thanks for helping me sort it out.
Thanks Mary for watching! On balance it’s still the way to go so I recommend getting one.
Hey Scott great video!! I just bought the Raytech TV 10. What is your "recipe" for tumbling on this machine. It's my first vibratory tumbler. So I would like some advice. Thanks glad I found your channel.😊
Hi Glenn, thanks for watching! Some of my earlier videos show my process but in a nutshell I go through 4 different stages at 2 days each. The grits are 220 SC, 600 SC, 1500 SC, and finally 14,000 AO. For the 10 pound bowl I’d recommend no more than a Tablespoon for each stage. Good luck!
I have a thumler's tumbler ultra-vibe 10 I've had since the early 90's. It started getting hot on me the other day and stopping. It appears the spacers or what ever they are (haven't taken it apart yet) between the motor and mounting plate have a lot of slack in them. Bearings appear to be fine at first glance. It still runs but makes a lot of racket since the motor seems to be loose. I'll look at it this week and see what I need to do to fix it.
Good luck with that Brian, I hope you get it resolved. Thanks for watching!
Great video! I love my UV-18 and have a 2nd bowl just for polishing. I bet the noise would be reduced further if you replaced the Adjusta vibe bowl with another Thumler bowl. If I end up having issues with the Thumler I will probably get an Adjusta vibe and use the Thumler bowl like you do. Oh, from what I hear, Thumler is doing a complete redesign of their vibratory tumblers which is why you can’t find them anywhere. I really lucked out when I found a UV-18 back in November of 2022…There really is nothing available but you can still find bowls which is why I suggested it.
Thanks for the suggestion Peter, I might have to grab a second one. And as always thanks for watching!😁
Hi Scott, Great video! Thanks! I did buy the Raytech TV-10, I want to get a separate bowl for polishing only. You said in your video the bowl on the Thumler 18 fits the Raytech 18. Does the Thumler 10 bowl fit the Raytech 10??? Base on your recommendation I would love to invest in the Thumler bowl if it fits. No one at Kingsley(where I bought my Raytech 10} could answer this question. Thanks so much for all your great information!😊👍
Hey Susan, thanks for watching! I don’t know for sure but I’d be willing to bet that the bowls would work on either stand. The thread opening should be the same. Good luck, I hope it works out for you!
It's discouraging to spend so much on a product and STILL need to make modifications and/or swap outs.
Yup, agreed. There is no more quality to be found these days. 😢 Thanks for watching!
You mentioned in another video you had a need for a smaller vibe tumbler than the one you had previously. Is there an issue with having a tumbler that is "too large"? I have an opportunity to get a 20in bowl vibe tumbler for cheaper than dirt, but it would be my first tumbler. Why should/shouldn't I get it? What are the benefits to a smaller one over a larger one?
Hi, thanks for watching! In general a larger capacity bowl will give better results due to the added weight of the larger load helping the sanding action. Also, you can do larger stones. However, it also requires more rocks and/or media to properly load the bowl which might be an issue. I find the 18 pound bowl is perfect for most everything I do but occasionally I like to do a smaller load in the 10 pound bowl. I have the 4 pound mini-sonic hopper but it’s never worked to well for me. Good luck!
Hey Scott I just watched your vibratory tumbling video and just thought I would share a little info. I also have 2 tv10 machines I have found that the 18lb thumlers bowl works fantastic on the tv10 base I’ve had both machines running day in and day out with the large bowls with zero issues. I do have a small fan blowing on them to help keep them cool. You should try it! Also Kingsley has the tv10 with no drain hole for 189.00 free shipping! Just putting it out there i enjoy your videos keep up the good work
Thanks for that good information, I appreciate it!
great info thank you , is the base of the tv-5 the same as the tv-10 , i have the the 5 and is wondering if the tv10 bowl will work on it.
Thanks for watching! I honestly do not know if the bases are the same but I kinda doubt it. You could always give it a shot and just not overload the bowl. Good luck!
I've used mini sonics for decades and they are incredible tumblers. You have to remember that they work far faster than other vibes and as a result build up heat in the load from rock -grit abrasion and moisture evaporates. You just need to check more often because so much work is being done.
Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it! I just have better luck and get shinier results using the bigger vibratory tumblers.
It’s fun when the threaded shaft on the raytech eventually strips. Plenty of room for improvement in the field. Perhaps Highland Park will come out with a smaller vibe.
Thanks for watching! I’d love for HP to build a more reasonably sized vibratory tumbler 🤞🙏.
Hey Scott! My Tumble vibe 10 motor just went out also. Where can I find a good replacement motor? Also how do I take it apart from the springs? Any advice would be great! Also I'm looking to get a Vibe 18 and wondering what epoxy you used to seal the drain hole? Thanks!
Hey there, thanks for watching! I haven’t had to work on the TV-10 since it has not had any issues (yet), so unfortunately I cannot give you any feedback. However I do believe you can go to the Raytech website and order the replacement motor. I had to get a new one for my AV-18 a few months ago and they shipped it out quickly. As far as the hole patch I just used a good quality two part epoxy on both the inside and outside of the bowl, with some type of plug in place to support it. Good luck!
Great video! I have a Thumbler UV 10 which has the counterweight on the bottom I have been very happy with it. Have had to replace the center shaft someone gave me some threaded rod and dummy me didn't check to make sure it was stainless steel it was zinc plated so I got to do it again. I figured I would tear it apart and deal with Coastal rot, put CLP on all the bare metal...
I hate threaded rod grit and wing nuts with a passion. I am considering using a rod coupler at the base plate. It would be beneath the bowl bolt coming through base plate into Coupler and attaching smooth 1/4" rod threaded one end other side.
The only thing holding me up is finding a quick clamp for 1/4 rod. There are some stainless made for the brewing industry or even a simple U or something with set screw...
Can you picture what I mean and do you forsee any issues?
It's no big deal to go back so gonna give it a whir
Also after years I finally did go through a Thumbler bowl, patched it with HF plastic welder which has PP sticks, Stil holding up
I like your ingenuity! It sounds like you are getting the most out of that tumbler. I hope your shaft solution works out well for you. I found the Thumlers quality to be ok but not great, which is why I’ve moved on to Raytech for my main unit. It isn’t a perfect system but I am able to order spare parts for it. Good luck and thanks for watching!
@@spwinaustin center shaft mod works fine so far! also put waterproof inline on/off switch where there was a nick in the cord, soooo much easier
I could wish that it had been brought to market with a good quality rubber bowl and a rubber lid held on by rubber straps. @@cherigriffith724
good 1 more equipment reviews would be great it seems to be an art to get everything just right
i painted the outside of the blue bowls with plastydip tool handle rubber coating seems quieter
Thanks Dan, that’s a good suggestion!
Nice look at those tumblers. Will help new buyers for sure.
Thanks so much for the feedback, and thank you for watching!
For anyone in Europe watching, I recommend the german Homberg + Brusius vibratory tumbler. It is better than the american counterparts as it has a proper rubber barrel that makes much less noise than any of the vibratory tumblers shown here. Also this barrel has a much longer lifespan. Model name H+B Spi 3.5
Thanks so much for the info!
Quick question! I make circlets which are essentially 7" almost full circle. They are thin and a bit delicate cause they can be somewhat easily bent. Do you think a vibration polisher would work on them? And if so I'm curious how aggressive of sanding could it do as far as rounding corners and burrs?
Hi Adam, thanks for watching! Honestly a 7” diameter anything won’t fit in a normal size vibratory tumbler. You could get a bigger one and fill it with lots of ceramic media I suppose but then I’m not sure how strong the vibratory action will be. The big ones may be too aggressive. If you can get one big enough and with the right amount of action I suppose it would work for your purposes. Good luck!
@@spwinaustin thanks a lot I appreciate it 🤞 yeah being a crown ring shaped thing it won't be able to tumble with medium and it may just rub on the bottom make a ware spot or not so anything. It's a tricky shaped jewelry piece just thought I'd ask before I make the investment. I'll try the ceramic abrasive and see if I can get one large enough to work with that 7 inch circumference. Thanks again appreciate you helping us out 👍
Wow. What a journey. I’m glad you found a way to work through the problems and find solutions, but definitely kind of daunting.
Try banks Jenny! I do enjoy working on projects in the shop 😉.
I got the smaller blue one which started to completely wear out. The bowl itself was wearing down after one batch and I could never get the rocks to move evenly even with it leveled. I returned it and just got a harbor freight cheap tumbler which worked better.
Hi Rachael, thanks for watching! I’m sorry to hear about your negative experience. I guess you just never know about these darn tumblers.
Great information. Have you tried a Lotto- tumbler before ?
Thanks for watching! I have never tried that tumbler but hear good things about it.
Muitas máquinas hein amigo like merecido
Thanks Gilberto!
Can you tell me where i can find a replacement motor for a chicago electric 18 pound cap. vibratory tumbler?? thank you so much
Hi, thanks for watching! I wish I could give you a good answer but I honestly I have not dealt with Chicago Electric. My recommendation would be to check with Harbor Freight. They should be able to point you in the right direction. Good luck!
I got 2 Chicago electric 15lb from HF for 135 and its a beast i be running em 247 for months now no problem
That’s a heck of a deal, good job, and thanks for watching!
How many rocks does one need to tumble to pay for all this equipment and repairs?
Yikes, I shudder to think!😆 I always tell people that rocks are my hobby, not my job, and that jobs make money while hobbies make it go away 😂
My job is an inconvenience that pays for my hobbies.
$3 apiece adds up, and they work all day and all night.
Hi, just wanted to let you know that the amount of weight that you put in the bowl makes no difference on the motor. The motor is not directly connected to the bowl plus, the tumbler works on vibration only so load that sucker up as much as you want. 😊
Thanks for the feedback, and thank you for watching!
If only anyone have vibrating tumblers in stock.
I hear you! It’s crazy out there trying to get a hold of tumblers. Thank you for watching!
I have the mini sonic and I’m seeing so many videos with water but the instructions say not to use water.
I never had much luck with my mini-sonic but I do know that you do not want that much water in the hopper. If you can see any standing water in the bottom then you’ve added too much. I recommend that you keep the rocks damp enough to allow for good motion but no more.
You can not use water and struggle with toxic dust. The biggest wholesale manufacturer of American produced tumbled stone uses no water in hi industrial sized vibes and it works but his factory has veils of silica dust in the sir and all surfaces including vertical walls are thickly coated. I have used the mini sonic for decades with water when using silicon carbide grit and dry when using corn cob with diamond power.Corn cob and diamond are fabulous for the final stages.
Re: that tumbler motor: it's a shaded pole motor: the cheapest crappiest design on the planet. It's what's in all the cheapest domestic fans if you want another one. The only thing that's good about them is they don't burn out when you stall them. They just turn into heaters as you discovered 😉
Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it, and thank you for watching!
Great info👍
I would like to hear if you have any thoughts on what might be a better replacement type. The standard UV-18 motor is a thermally protected, 3000 rpm, 1/20hp motor which can take weight mounted to the shaft. I believe they are just HVAC motors. It would be good to identify an upgrade replacement which could be easily retrofitted, since Thumler seems unable to source these any more (the one on mine is a Fasco motor).
Honestly I think as long as you find one with similar specs and dimensions it should work, as long as it has a good quality shaft bearing design. The unbalanced action of the offset weight over time seems to be the biggest problem. A good cooling fan at one end also helps!😁