The problem with using a vibratory tumbler for steel shot is not the
power of the tumbler as much as it is the contour of the bowl, the
small gemstone works well with it’s angled bowl, but it is my
understanding that they no longer make this modle, We purchased a
larger gemstone tumbler and it worked very well for several years,the
motor burnt out so we bought two 3 Quart ultravibe tumblers and were
very heart broken when we tried to use Stainless Steel Shot, it
wouldn’t work the shot just vibrqated in place, OK so I put the
orange bowl from the gemstone tumbler and got more than sufficent
cavitation to produce great results, So Lesson to be learned is if
you look at the Raytech tumblers they have bowls specifically
designed for tumbling with steel shot if you look at those bowls the
sides are not as convex as are the other tumblers designed for
abrasive finishing, Possibly see if the gemstone still make a 3 quart
bowl it will easily accomodate 20 to 25 pounds of shot and has an
excelent cavitation, also y9ou can set up your own flow through
system using truck tire inflAtor valves the kind the are threaded on
the outside and have a rubber grommet on the inside , a cheap water
pump from a garden supply (the kind used for small fountains and two
small water valves for controlling flow in and out Outward flow is
very important so you dont loose too much solution, also I quit
buying the Expensivwe stainless steel burnishing compound liquid and
started using Simple green at 1/2 cup per 2 gallons of water for both
abrasive tumbling and for polishing with Stainless shot, It works
very well and is a lot less expensive. The medium size gemstone
tumblers are great units as the bases are made of plastic and don’t
rust out loke the ultravibe bases do, But maybe I expect things to
last too long any way. Raytech is excelent but you will pay what
seems to me to be a very high price for minor differences, I really
shouldn’t whine about the ultravibes the one left is still over 10
years old and still works and hasd had very limited care. Kenneth
Ferrell www.shadras.com
I purchased a mini-sonic tumbler and had the same problem - the shot
just sat there and vibrated - while the pieces to be tumbled did not
seem to move. I was using the amount of stainless shot that the
company suggested. I tried another tumbling compound and noticed
that if I added more compound to the tumbler, the compound not only
vibrated, but also rotated like a rotary tumbler - and fast. So I
doubled the amount of stainless shot I originally had in the tumbler
and it works like magic. My work is done in about 1/8 the time of
the rotary tumbler. You may spend a bit more money on the stainless
shot, but for the time it saves, it is worth it. I use an MT-14
mini-sonic from Diamond Pacific.
I purchased my two tumblers from Midway USA. You can find them on
the web with the tumbler displayed for $44.99. I’ve used them for
years with stainless steel shot. Model #110.
LaVerne
Which one did you get? I am also looking for a tumbler (small 3lb capacity for PMC).
Bea, I bought the Lyman 600, which is a vibratory tumbler. Never
having owned any kind of tumbler before, I don’t have any comparison
feedback for you. It’s noisy but not deafening. I run it in the
garage any time except when my daughter is asleep (her room is right
above).
Cheaper than Dirt now lists a vibratory tumbler that is even less
expensive than mine–only $43! But they’re out of stock right now,
so the specs aren’t available on their website. Its lid is not
see-through, which would be inconvenient for me because I need to
see the amount of foam (I don’t meaasure).
Janet