What I Made This Week, Also...A Mechanical Death
My little model, the Bear
I spent some time this week working on a few new pendants for my Etsy shop. I thought I was doing great and things were really moving forward. Then...it happened.
My rock tumbler suddenly ceased to tumble. I took the cover off. There are no visible problems...(who am I kidding? I have no idea what I'm looking at.) The belt, which I have replaced before, was still intact. If I manually spun the main spinny piece, the belt spun the other piece just as it should. Plugging it in produced a small hum, but no visible action.
Sooooo....yeah. My 6 year old tumbler died. Looks like I'm going to be spending some Steem on a new tumbler if I want to continue trying to sell tumbled stones and pendants.
Anyway, here is what I got done this week!
If you'd like to have one of these for your own or you'd like to see more, please visit my Etsy shop, Stoned Hill Creations.
I hope I can either get my tumbler back running or get a new one soon. It's funny how just when I think I'm gaining some kind of identity of my own...something comes and shits on it. Frustrating. Anyway, thanks for stopping by!
Reading through your replies I can see that you have already found a new motor for your tumbler. This is great news as you don’t need a snafuu right in the middle of your latest foray into the world of hand made jewelry. Looks like your best customers are right here on steemit. Where do you find such good models? Lol🐓🐓
Actually, I didn't have to replace the motor! It just needed a good lubrication job. Thanks for looking in! Haha! The girls really enjoyed modeling for me. Hope you're doing well!
Best news yet! Best way to go. 🐓🐓
I'm so sorry to hear about your tumbler! Very frustrating! You made lots of progress this week on your jewelry...very pretty!
Ah, man. Those are fantastic. That white triangle shaped one with the three lava beads is so pretty. I really like the long skinny white one that looks a little like mother of pearl. Great work!
Also, 90% of all the things that break in my house have a spinny piece. What a coincidence!
Thank you, @powellx5! I appreciate your support. :)
I'm really hoping my brother can fix it. I'm lost without my tumbler!
Aaaacck!!! Not the tumbler! Hope it's fixable. You're doing a great job on the jewelry. You're going to need more stones.
Thank you, @aunt-deb!!
I just found a replacement motor for it on ebay for only $32! That's $100 less than buying a new unit. I should be tumbling again in no time! :D
Love the selection. Bear did a great job modeling. Good luck with the tumbler, six years old they just do not make things like they use to any more. Love for all
Thanks, @abbijulie. It may be mostly my fault it quit. I kind of haven't lubricated anything but once. I'm shocked it lasted this long. Love to you and yours as well!
You are welcome. Love
Noooo! Not the tumbler! That stinks but maybe you can find a way to get it going again. And your pendants are beautiful by the way!
Since it's just a motor that does one function (spin a rod), I'm thinking maybe Jake could even upgrade it and make it tumble faster or something. Or able to spin heavier loads.
Have you routinely lubed the gears and mechanisms inside the engine/motor?
I would try some WD-40 before tossing it. The firction for the lack of grease causes the motor(s) to over heat.
I hope it is just that and an easy fix
When my fans seem to die on me they only make a humming sound too. I have now routinely sprayed and taken apart the motors on my fans.
I'll give that a try! I'm not going to toss it. My brothers are both amazing mechanics and I'm going to see if they can fix it or even make it better. If I do get a new one, then I'll have to going! I'd actually eventually like four...haha! Thanks for the advice!
Nice rocks! We got a little table top cabochon machine when our tumbler died... just sayin' - upgrade is an option. It is REALLY fun polishing and shaping them faster and where you can watch!
Oooohhhh? I've never heard of such a thing. I'm going to look it up right now!!!
This is what we have, only we got the base with it. I can't seem to find a link to that off hand:
https://www.riogrande.com/product/SwapTopGrinderandShaperConversionKit/204059?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIndKNsIfA2QIVkf5kCh0ORgBOEAkYBCABEgIwtvD_BwE
Wow. I have no idea how to use that. I'm going to have to look up some videos. I see that this is only about $35. That's not bad. Do you happen to remember approximately how much the base was?
The whole thing was under $250 but I am wondering if they are out of business, I can't find a whole unit on all the intertubes! Learning to use it is half the fun, and it comes with a DVD (at least mine did!) Warning - it is MESSY! Slings droplets of gritty water around, so it needs a garage or mudroom for a home. Now I am on a mission though, I am finding one. I will bring you the link... or know the reason why lol!
Oh, that was not such a quest. Found one, $350 now.
https://inlandcraft.com/shop/swaptop/swaptop-6-flat-lap-machine/
That's a really cool machine! I'm adding it to my list of possibilities. Thanks so much for taking the time to look it up for me!
aww isn't she adorable! The pendants look good too. I wish you much success with it all. Is your machine back to working?
Thank you, @frugallady! I'm hoping for that replacement motor!