Rock Tumbler - seriously! (2 Viewers)

[WedgeRock]

@WedgeRock

 

[GreekRedEye]

As a serious answer, the rock tumbler would introduce wear to the chip that is very different than the type of wear that makes a perfectly broken in chip buttery smooth to shuffle and handle.

Shuffling a chip rounds down the sharp edges with a minimum of wear across the face (where the chips slide across). It's a pressure thing with the pressure being higher on that small edge versus the larger surface are of the chip.

A rock tumbler doesn't care and will smooth everywhere across the chip. If you leave a rock in a rock tumbler long enough, you'll start making thing that are closer to marbles.


Nobody wants marble-shaped chips.

But have we tried it? Or are we all just assuming it won't work? Think of the satisfaction you will get when you do it and prove me wrong. It will be delicious!

Someone out there, right now, is alternately reading this thread and looking at the rock tumbler gathering dust on their shelf. I'm talking to you: do it! If you want to PM me, that's fine. No one else needs to know!

Also, you can always put a bit of masking tape on the face, so there's that. Will that work? Only one way to find out!

 

[cpiaaq]

I have a vibratory tumbler… at one time I thought filling it with erasers and chips would remove chip rust.

What exactly to you want to see happen? 1 chip alone? I’ll test for science with any chips you send (or I have a few I could donate)

 

[GreekRedEye]

View attachment 1241873 + View attachment 1241874

For this, you are forgiven for setting chips on fire, my son!

 

[Josh Kifer]

We all know there isn't anything you wouldn't do if the price is right. I will pay you tree-fiddy!
(Seriously, I will PayPal you $3.50 right now if you promise to put a chip in a rock tumbler).

 

[GreekRedEye]

I have a vibratory tumbler… at one time I thought filling it with erasers and chips would remove chip rust.

What exactly to you want to see happen? 1 chip alone? I’ll test for science with any chips you send (I have a few I could donate)

Woohoo! I will send you the below chips. PM coming your way. What medium do you have? If you don't have anything that will work, I can order some and have it sent to your house.

And congratulations on being a founding member of the PARTing technique! They will make this post a sticky someday and we'll be immortalized!

The Grand Casino is a reference of the type of wear I'd like to emulate. The rest of the chips are all either already damaged or inconsequential - I don't care if they are destroyed.

Spoiler

Just kidding on the Indiana Grand $1k.

 

[WedgeRock]

 

[GreekRedEye]

 

[cpiaaq]

To be clear, thiis is what I have:
https://www.harborfreight.com/5-lb-metal-vibrator-tumbler-67617.html

 

[GreekRedEye]

Perfect! I think a vibrator is better than the tumbling cylinder for this sort of work. I had access to one (years ago) and used it to give a matte look to a knife after hardening but before adding handles and sharpening. Never tried anything plastic in it.

Chips will go out tomorrow! I can send you a bag of spherical ceramic media or walnut shell (anyone have opinions?). If you can get a bag of dry rice and maybe some play sand (I can venmo you for cost) we have some options to try!

 

[allforcharity]

I'm choosing to interpret this GIF as "I've already done it, I know the answer, but I'm afraid of @allforcharity".

Go ahead and tell us everything and I promise that I can protect you from @allforcharity and he will and it will be worth it!

I can assure you that nobody here is afraid of me. Especially the ones who know what I look like.

 

[Mangatang]

 

[RainmanTrail]

Yes, I've tried it. And yes, it works. I couldn't fit many chips in at a time though. And it takes forever. But if you want to wear down a rack of chips to get it to match other chips in your set, it's a viable option.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Yes, I've tried it. And yes, it works. I couldn't fit many chips in at a time though. And it takes forever. But if you want to wear down a rack of chips to get it to match other chips in your set, it's a viable option.

Where were you last night!?!?! What machine did you use? How long? What media? Do you have pics? Tumbler or vibrator? How many chips at once?

@cpiaaq Do not think you are off the hook. I am mailing you these chips today!

 

[RainmanTrail]

Where were you last night!?!?! What machine did you use? How long? What media? Do you have pics? Tumbler or vibrator? How many chips at once?

@cpiaaq Do not think you are off the hook. I am mailing you these chips today!

I made it myself. Just used a small wood barrel I had and rigged it with a wheel and a small motor. Could only do about 10-15 chips at a time. I used some plastic sand stuff inside. It broke though, and I didn't care to fix it. I didn't take any pics. I was mostly just messing around. But it did work. Sharp edges were no longer sharp.

 

[GreekRedEye]

I made it myself. Just used a small wood barrel I had and rigged it with a wheel and a small motor. Could only do about 10-15 chips at a time. I used some plastic sand stuff inside. It broke though, and I didn't care to fix it. I didn't take any pics. I was mostly just messing around. But it did work. Sharp edges were no longer sharp.

I appreciate the DIY approach! Cool to hear it worked. I imagine it's all about dialing in the abrasive and the amount of time. Did you do Paulsons or CPC/ASM? Did they have inlays?

 

[Budha]

Perfect! I think a vibrator is better than…

If there was ever an out of context thread quote, this is it

 

[AWenger]

This is a serious question. Anyone tried putting chips in a rock tumbler or a vibratory tumbler (for removing rust/paint from metal)?

I searched the forums, but all the references I found to rock tumbling are said in jest. I am sure me just asking the question will tilt some folks. Why on earth would I consider doing this? I have an old set with worn chips and I am looking to add on and new chips are just too sharp to fit.

I do have a tumbler, but it is in storage and I will not see it for months. Wondering if someone is already foolish enough to have tried (and brave enough to admit it).

Hey @GreekRedEye, don't let the naysayers nay say. I have a few used, and very used sets myself, and have wondered the same thing. (One example: I have 99 light green RHC chips that are worn enough to fit 22 to a 66.7mm barrel, and I would like to be able to make a chip to match to fill the rack).

If you're getting out your rock tumbler in months, I would be willing to help in any experimentation, and I would donate some random solid chips I have. I've got some random spare solid color Paulson chips left over from several hundreds of chips that I bought from @allforcharity years ago -- those would make a good sacrificial test subject. Lol.

For me, I object to modification of chips of any real historical value. But blanks, no name hotstamps, or fantasy chips...have at it and have fun!

+ I second this.

As a serious answer, the rock tumbler would introduce wear to the chip that is very different than the type of wear that makes a perfectly broken in chip buttery smooth to shuffle and handle.
Shuffling a chip rounds down the sharp edges with a minimum of wear across the face (where the chips slide across). It's a pressure thing with the pressure being higher on that small edge versus the larger surface area of the chip.

A rock tumbler doesn't care and will smooth everywhere across the chip. If you leave a rock in a rock tumbler long enough, you'll start making things that are closer to marbles.


Nobody wants marble-shaped chips.

I completely agree with you that nobody wants marble-shaped chips. The goal would be to test the rock tumbler out to see if it could try and mimic normal wear on chips, and if it does, to try and come up with parameters (i.e. type of sand/media to use in the tumbler + length of time running in the tumbler) to try and match the wear on chips, before they got to be marbles or 3-dimensional ovals. There might even be a way to do a combination of rough sanding plus a short stint in the rock tumbler, to get chips to be thinner, with rounded edges to match.

 

[RainmanTrail]

I appreciate the DIY approach! Cool to hear it worked. I imagine it's all about dialing in the abrasive and the amount of time. Did you do Paulsons or CPC/ASM? Did they have inlays?

Did Paulsons. Old school leaded rack of Outpost green fracs. I wanted them to match my set better, which was lightly used. And I didn't have the patience to shuffle them forever.

 

[RainmanTrail]

Hey @GreekRedEye
I completely agree with you that nobody wants marble-shaped chips. The goal would be to test the rock tumbler out to see if it could try and mimic normal wear on chips, and if it does, to try and come up with parameters (i.e. type of sand/media to use in the tumbler + length of time running in the tumbler) to try and match the wear on chips, before they got to be marbles or 3-dimensional ovals. There might even be a way to do a combination of rough sanding plus a short stint in the rock tumbler, to get chips to be thinner, with rounded edges to match.

They won't turn into marbles. It takes a really long time to wear them down. I forget how long it took me, but I was constantly checking on them and running my makeshift tumbler all week, maybe longer, just to get one rack done. And they weren't very worn looking when I stopped. More like buttery smooth look and feel. But I'm sure if you used something harder like sand or had a more professional setup, it could wear them down faster. If you're worried at all though, just use a softer medium in your tumbler. That's why I used plastic in mine.

 

[shorticus]

This is why I think it might hold up better in a tumbler/vibrator than we might think.

I don’t know about a tumbler, but @BamaT8ter is always talking about his 9 in vibrator. It might work for this scenario.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Hey @GreekRedEye, don't let the naysayers nay say. I have a few used, and very used sets myself, and have wondered the same thing. (One example: I have 99 light green RHC chips that are worn enough to fit 22 to a 66.7mm barrel, and I would like to be able to make a chip to match to fill the rack).

If you're getting out your rock tumbler in months, I would be willing to help in any experimentation, and I would donate some random solid chips I have. I've got some random spare solid color Paulson chips left over from several hundreds of chips that I bought from @allforcharity years ago -- those would make a good sacrificial test subject. Lol.


+ I second this.


I completely agree with you that nobody wants marble-shaped chips. The goal would be to test the rock tumbler out to see if it could try and mimic normal wear on chips, and if it does, to try and come up with parameters (i.e. type of sand/media to use in the tumbler + length of time running in the tumbler) to try and match the wear on chips, before they got to be marbles or 3-dimensional ovals. There might even be a way to do a combination of rough sanding plus a short stint in the rock tumbler, to get chips to be thinner, with rounded edges to match.

Amen brother!

@cpiaaq has our back! I packaged a few sacrificial chips but did not make it to the post office today (2 sharp H-mold CPC, 2 sharp no mold ASM, 2 sharp hotstamp RHC, and a couple other randoms). Sending them to him tomorrow. Already ordered some abrasive that is headed his way. Ask @cpiaaq if he wants more test subjects.

My tumbler is a crappy little thing for kids to polish rocks. @cpiaaq's I think would be much better for this type of job. (Because as we all know, CENSORED is so much better!) If it works then you can get one of those machines for not too much new from Harbor Freight or used off of eBay.

Your use case is similar to my own. I might end up buying add ons from CPC to fill out the Longhorn set and I feel like sharp chips mixed in would spoil the magic some.

And if this proves to be really effective, then I'm going to plant the seed: imagine having the very first Tiger bike tire set!

 

[GreekRedEye]

They won't turn into marbles. It takes a really long time to wear them down. I forget how long it took me, but I was constantly checking on them and running my makeshift tumbler all week, maybe longer, just to get one rack done. And they weren't very worn looking when I stopped. More like buttery smooth look and feel. But I'm sure if you used something harder like sand or had a more professional setup, it could wear them down faster. If you're worried at all though, just use a softer medium in your tumbler. That's why I used plastic in mine.

Great data point! Yeah, I think finding the right media is going to be the key.

 

[kmccormick100]

FFS somebody just put a barrel of shitty cheap RHC $1s in a rock tumbler and get us results so we can put the issue to rest

 

[BamaT8ter]

I don’t know about a tumbler, but @BamaT8ter is always talking about his 9 in vibrator. It might work for this scenario.

You’re obsessed with that thing.

 

[allforcharity]

but @BamaT8ter is always talking about his 9 in vibrator. It might work for this scenario.

Cue Out Of Context thread

 

[drdr]

Done some rock tumbling, got two 1.5 kg barrel tumblers. I think the challenge to this science is the flat disc shape of chips. I imagine most chip to chip contact will be face on face rather than the sharp edges. Could add some similar coarse blocky material to reduce face to face contact. Maybe ceramic tumbling media with the fine grit. But those may damage face art. I really want to see what happens. Fun tragedy perhaps.

 

[cm1204]

Okay, I'll admit that I have done some chip tumbling. I have a dream of having custom fracs made by CPC then wearing them down to match a (very) casino used set I'm working on.

I put ten CPC A-crest hot stamped color sample chips through a basic kids rock tumbler, just dry with play sand. I also added 2 duct tape baffles to the inside of the cylinder to increase tumbling action, before this the chips sounded like they were mostly sliding along the curved wall of the cylinder. I think I let it run for 2 days at a relatively slow speed.

I'm away from home for a few days but will post result pics later if anyone's interested. I wasn't particularly successful. I ended up with some bigger flea bites and definitely an odd wear pattern with near-bike tire edges but still with cross hatching on the faces. I also got a ton of discoloration (various color chips seemed to homogenize). It seemed to be magic erasable.

There are a lot of variables here to play with: grit type, filler media, wet vs dry, tumbler speed, baffle use / type, etc. I do believe there is promise in this method but more experimentation is definitely needed.

 

[GreekRedEye]

Okay, I'll admit that I have done some chip tumbling. I have a dream of having custom fracs made by CPC then wearing them down to match a (very) casino used set I'm working on.

I put ten CPC A-crest hot stamped color sample chips through a basic kids rock tumbler, just dry with play sand. I also added 2 duct tape baffles to the inside of the cylinder to increase tumbling action, before this the chips sounded like they were mostly sliding along the curved wall of the cylinder. I think I let it run for 2 days at a relatively slow speed.

I'm away from home for a few days but will post result pics later if anyone's interested. I wasn't particularly successful. I ended up with some bigger flea bites and definitely an odd wear pattern with near-bike tire edges but still with cross hatching on the faces. I also got a ton of discoloration (various color chips seemed to homogenize). It seemed to be magic erasable.

There are a lot of variables here to play with: grit type, filler media, wet vs dry, tumbler speed, baffle use / type, etc. I do believe there is promise in this method but more experimentation is definitely needed.

Thank you for posting. Interesting results - I would not expect the edges to wear so much more than the face. Yes, photos would be great!

 

[chippitydoodah]

I made it myself. Just used a small wood barrel I had and rigged it with a wheel and a small motor. Could only do about 10-15 chips at a time. I used some plastic sand stuff inside. It broke though, and I didn't care to fix it. I didn't take any pics. I was mostly just messing around. But it did work. Sharp edges were no longer sharp.

He also invented an electric toothbrush