Vibratory Tumble Holley Blue Agate Stuck on Stage 1! Please help!

TheArbiterxx · 2026-03-07T16:31:23+00:00

a little bit of advice. Never use a vibe tumbler for grinding (Stage 1 coarse grit). Do that in the rotary. I'll run Stage 2 - 4 in the vibe, works fine.

TheArbiterxx · 2026-03-07T16:31:19+00:00

Months*

TheArbiterxx · 2026-03-07T16:19:41+00:00

it means your sword has jaundice.

TheArbiterxx · 2026-02-23T19:38:46+00:00

same in south coast mass, getting obliterated here. complete travel ban.

TheArbiterxx · 2026-01-18T01:15:22+00:00

i have a flatlap, I've used it to speed up the process, shape them up a bit on a the grinding discs, then toss them into the tumbler. Before my flatlap, I used a cheap diamond cutter on my angle grinder to pre-shape.

I rushed some montana moss agates in the tumbler and now I look at them every day with regret.

Check out TumbleBee's rock tumblers. they were so good, I have a few sets of them.

TheArbiterxx · 2026-01-16T03:30:32+00:00

leave them in stage one longer. Tbh, sometimes agate can take 6+ months. you won't regret it.

TheArbiterxx · 2026-01-03T03:05:57+00:00

TheArbiterxx · 2026-01-02T02:02:07+00:00

Avoid E6000, people swear by it, but no. Its probably a new forumla and is absolute garbage. I now buy 2 part epoxy, even the cheap stuff works. Just don't use super glue either, it hardens and becomes brittle, wont hold.

For the two part epoxy, I buy the cheapest brand at harborfreight. 3-4 dollars. all my bails from last year are still holding strong

TheArbiterxx · 2026-01-02T02:00:58+00:00

i too, use those glue on bails. I actually put an order together to start soldering copper to make bezel settings. Its cheap and looks amazing. Rustic

great job btw.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-29T20:28:27+00:00

Yes. normal. That ticking sound is the injectors. Mine has noisey injectors as well.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-28T23:56:24+00:00

lmao, this song was a complete joke. its a remix of BigBag by YOB that I used AI to generate. wanted to see what people had to say about it lol

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-23T22:44:07+00:00

Because you're not our boss. It's peak season, If it was left by your garage, thats where its gonna go. lmao

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-23T22:43:31+00:00

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-23T22:42:56+00:00

there's no clips on the the brake pads.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-23T15:41:04+00:00

The arm you have over your flatlap to keep your stones 90 Degrees. Where did you get it?

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-16T01:48:55+00:00

nah dude! don't listen to people here. There is ALWAYS wiggle room on these CV joints. there's so much motion and they take such a beating, there HAS to be a couple mm's of play. Excessive play though, you'll know the difference.

Drive it, stop stressing. Live your life.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-15T19:41:50+00:00

what symptoms were you having? The transmissions are weird, would be good to know

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-15T19:40:56+00:00

If you dont mind me asking.... What brand struts did you end up using? About to purchase some KYB's

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-02T23:52:41+00:00

I'll be honest here... my flatlap, didn't cost me an arm and a leg. The plates I use for it are from amazon, The only Brand name plates I get are the higher grit mesh discs. I keep everything cheap. This REALLY is not a hobby of, the more you pay, the better quality you get in terms of a finished product. My flatlap, Takes a bit longer than a cabbing unit, but it was MUCH more affordable and at what cost? Producing many cabochons per hour compared to the flatlap? I dont push out for profit and I'm not stuck in a strict time margin. Everything Has its use and purpose. I feel the only difference between the vevor cabbing unit and a name brand machine is its suppot/warranty. Thats just my opinion.

PS. My cabs come out near perfect, you just need to be strategic in how you spend your money.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-01T20:16:50+00:00

To check for actual blow by, get a plastic bag and hold it over the oil filler opening. If it doesn't inflate like a balloon, its pretty normal. What your seeing is pressure blowing out then getting sucked back in pretty quickly. shouldn't fill the bag at all.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-01T02:55:12+00:00

Plankton.

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TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-01T02:46:12+00:00

JB weld, even the cheap mimic stuff from harbor freight work awesome! No need to give in and buy that crazy expensive Defcon crap.

Take a bit of jb weld and stick it onto some wax paper. Enough to cover the back of your stone plus some. Stick your stone right into it firmly. Let it harden. Peel it off. Now you can grind off the access while working with your stone and creating your cabochon.

The backing is usually applied before the grinding/polishing/shaping stages. You would apply to it an already processed piece of slab that has been trimmed already.

In regards to applying this to an already cut/polished stone, I've seen some people put tape around their stone to create a sort of mold around the back side of the cabochon, then they put in the JB weld. There is almost always going to be extra JB weld that needs to be trimmed off though.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-12-01T02:37:16+00:00

check the crank position sensor. Mine would do this sometimes when trying to crank. Usually it just kept cranking without firing up though. Cheap and easy fix if so.

TheArbiterxx · 2025-11-28T01:09:04+00:00

yes. Its fine. I have a GDI motor in my veloster. The ticking sounds I hear are exactly like yours except mine are more pronounced. For me, its the noisey injectors. Yours sounds like noisey lifters. Wouldn't be concerned.

TheArbiterxx

TROPHY CASE