The QT66 that I got thanks to an awesome barter unfortunately doesn’t want to turn both barrels. The drive shaft works ok and the belt tension is perfect but no luck turning. After a bit of a google search I found a random post on a forum somewhere that suggested using a rubber band around the barrel and it worked!
Unfortunately the rubber band fix around the barrel didn’t last for more than a day as the rubber band broke but it kept turning so I’m leaving it be. After getting the barrel ready for Stage 2 it would no longer turn on it’s own so another rubber band was added. I know it will break from the constant turning again but I hope that it still continues to turn on its own just like it did last time!
In the meantime, I’m still searching for a more permanent solution to the rubber band fix. If you happen to have any ideas please let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear from you!
Update: Permanent Solution Found!
Batch 69: 6lb Tumbler 2
Stage 1: F60grit
Number of Stones: 156
Weight in: 2194grams
6 Tbspns of F60grit
1 Tbspn Borax
No ceramic media added
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 1842g – loss of 352grams
Removed 10 stones (redos)
Stage 2: 220grit
Number of Stones: 156-10=146
Weight in: 1564g
6 Tbspns of 220grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Ceramic media (small) added
Days Tumbling: 7
Weight out: 1328g – loss of 236grams
Removed 2 stones (redo Stage 1)
Batch 69: PreTumble (Wet)
Batch 69: Ready for Stage 3
Stage 3: 400grit
Number of Stones: 114+144-9=249
Weight in: 2212grams
6 Tbspns of 400grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Ceramic media mix of big & small pellets added
Days Tumbling: 11
Weight out: 2013g – loss of 199grams
Stage 4: 600grit
Number of Stones: 249
Weight in: 2013grams
6 Tbspns of 600grit
1 Tbspn Borax
Ceramic media mix of big & small pellets added
Days Tumbling: 7
Weight out: 1800g – loss of 213grams
Pre-Polish Soap Tumble
Stones rinsed and into clean water and 1 tspn of grated sunlight soap for 24 hours.
Ready to Polish
This was a big batch of Gemstone Beach stones and the first batch I’ve tumble polished in a 6lb barrel. Unfortunately I was really disappointed with the final results. Most of the stones were quite dull and not at as shiny as I thought they might be.
I am starting to think that the bigger barrels are best used for shaping and grinding as they hold a lot more stones that can knock together and the smaller barrels are better to do the polishing and/or borax tumbles. That’s my thinking at this stage anyway. I am going to keep that in mind as I progress the outstanding batches of stones currently in all the other barrels.
In the Stones of Interest images at the bottom of this post you can see some of the dull scratches or surface areas of some of the stones.
Stage 4: Polish Mix
Number of Stones: 249
Weight in: 1800g
Polish Mix: 5 Tbspns of polish powder mixed with 400mls of clean water.
Small ceramic media added for cushioning
Days Tumbling: 10
Weight out: 1793g – loss of: 7 grams
Polish Complete
Polished Stones of Interest: Batch 69
Batch 69 | 6lb Tumbler 2 | Gemstone Beach | 30 June – 29 July 2024
I wonder if putting more than one rubber band around a barrel might extend the time it goes before all the bands break? Or maybe putting a band of sticky tape (maybe 2 or three layers) around the barrel might also work and last longer? It seems really strange to me that the barrel doesn’t go round on its own!
I too use the bigger barrels only for the early grit stages as I have found that using them for polish doesn’t always work well.