Today I MADE

[Mackka]

And give it a good go you did and succeeded. Well Done

 

[davsgold]

so I tried the etching on the first big "Letter Opener" I made awhile ago seems to have worked out ok, but it seems you need to do the etching on the clear smooth surfaces, I tried a test run of a piece of the dimpled steel and it did not seem to work

 

[Noreasterly Bloke]

Today I finished a homemade tumbler project to clean the coins I've found while detecting. I put together some bits of pine with paint and plastic saddles to mount the frame, then took apart an old printer. Got the frame, wiring, rollers, motor and power supply from it, and then got a dc to dc buck converter (step down) off the ebays . An on/ off switch and potentiometer from jaycar, all of which gave me an adjustable voltage from 1.2 to 12v so as to adjust tumbler speed. Also a timer to set from the power side for operating a set time. Finally just a peanut butter jar and some thread (plumbers) tape to seal it. It turned out pretty well in the end and rolls just fine.
Only thing is when I tumbled it (for about 1- 1 1/2 hours) either the angle/size of the plastic fin in my peanut butter jar, or the material, which was small sharp gravels (as shown in the photo), or both, dug out some of the coins. I also added a few drops of dishwashing liquid, just the normal stuff from coles or woolies. Could someone advise if their is a good media that won't do this or what other people use. Just want them spendable to clarify. Thanks so much for any input in advance

 

[sand surfer]

grab some of these NB
https://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/plastic-pellets-as-filler-media-for-rock-tumbling( may be able to get them somewhere closer to home )
they are used for building the tumbler up to it's 2/3 fill mark for rocks in the tumbler after each grind media and the the polish stage of tumbling rocks so they don't bang together and damage the polish
they are worth their weight in gold
you can rinse/wash them and reuse them
you should run the tumbler about 2/3 full all the time less chance of them banging together and marking them
i would not use the gravels ,that would damage them

maybe a 800/1000 grind polish media for the rock polishing maybe the go
there is a stainless media that they use for polishing brass shell casings, prior to reloading (never used it)

try not to use dishwashing detergent ,use the lux pure soap flakes

it used to be called lux pure soap flakes but now they have added softly to it to charge more

i am no soap guru but the flakes work well don't ask me how and they make the rocks smell nice
for a rough guide i use 1 tablespoon of the lux flakes in a 3lb tumbler (lortone brand)to planish the polish if needed

 

[Noreasterly Bloke]

grab some of these NB
https://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/plastic-pellets-as-filler-media-for-rock-tumbling( may be able to get them somewhere closer to home )
they are used for building the tumbler up to it's 2/3 fill mark for rocks in the tumbler after each grind media and the the polish stage of tumbling rocks so they don't bang together and damage the polish
they are worth their weight in gold
you can rinse/wash them and reuse them
you should run the tumbler about 2/3 full all the time less chance of them banging together and marking them
i would not use the gravels ,that would damage them

maybe a 800/1000 grind polish media for the rock polishing maybe the go
there is a stainless media that they use for polishing brass shell casings, prior to reloading (never used it)

try not to use dishwashing detergent ,use the lux pure soap flakes
View attachment 12640
it used to be called lux pure soap flakes but now they have added softly to it to charge more

i am no soap guru but the flakes work well don't ask me how and they make the rocks smell nice
for a rough guide i use 1 tablespoon of the lux flakes in a 3lb tumbler (lortone brand)to planish the polish if needed

Thanks so, so much sandsurfer this was just the info I was looking for, much appreciated!

 

[Ausgold]

Don't do this I put a few hundred 3 and 4 mm stainless steel nuts in a tumbler with coins thinking it would work, turned them all black, certainly a bad move.

 

[Nightjar]

Very handy, have made a few of these from varying diameter rope.

 

[sand surfer]

a chaining chain,1.6 meters of old drive chain from a old vegetable wash, it broke years ago so i put a new chain on

i think it is heavy enough

 

[Dave's Office]

I use a motorbike chain Grumpy, looks very similar, they are great and you can see the trail they leave even in Rocky ground.

 

[Mackka]

Ya goin' for a dig SS?

 

[sand surfer]

it's a little bit heavier than the motor bike chain dave ,i can not remember what pitch it is
to much hic water under the bridge
i was a bit skeptical about the length i thought the 1.6 meter length may have been a bit short dave
it was the chain that went from the reduction gearbox to the creep feed for the sweet potato wash

i will see how it goes and if it is a bit short, i have another length of old chain in the shed that is about 5 meters long ,it is only a matter of joining a bit more to it

 

[sand surfer]

not yet makka
still trying to finish rebuilding the old fishing trailer into a prospecting trailer bloody weather will not play ball
sheds too small to fit the car and the trailer in it ,and with all the storms we have had here over the last 2 months it has been a bit hard
plus the heat wave the last week or so i have been a bit idle
jobs are mounting up

just bored old mate making a few things for when i get out and about
you know know what they say mackka, all the gear and no idea but one day i will get there

 

[Moneybox]

a chaining chain,1.6 meters of old drive chain from a old vegetable wash, it broke years ago so i put a new chain on
View attachment 12872View attachment 12873
i think it is heavy enough

Last year I asked my brother Merv to bring some light forklift carriage chain. It's just a bit heavier than motorbike chain and we cut it to length onsite. I was disappointed in its performance so I went back to using my usual 8mm short link galvanized chain connected to 3mm start rope. I think the only advantage of the forklift chain was that it didn't get caught up so badly in really rocky ground.

The best I've seen is a length of square link security chain.

 

[Dave's Office]

I cut the motorbike chain in half Grumpy and it's certainly long enough, but when they kink, as Phil said, they can get caught up in rocks and branches.

 

[davsgold]

I've made a couple more knives since the last one I posted in the topic above in here,

Another large Bowie "Letter Opener" and the last one is much smaller with a Deer Antler handle.

The Bowie Letter opener







And the latest one with the deer antler handle




cheers dave

 

[Windar]

Today I made modifications to my Goldrat 888 sluice to be able to mount the header unit as a highbanker for an upcoming trip to Vic