I am new(ish) to DMS as in I signed up for a few months during the transition to the Monetary location then went away for a while since I was unable to weld inside etc. so I am not sure of the protocol for stopping a project at DMS - - I am saying that I apologize in advance if I pissed anyone off - - however…
I put my name, phone number, date and time on a project and on the tub containing my materials for the project.
I came back tonight and someone had unplugged the tool I was using (a rock tumber) and removed the rubber belt so I am unable to resume my project.
Frustrated on several level that someone would mess with my project without the courtesy of contacting me.
(1) the media is very basic and will chow down on the stainless I am working with if I leave it for too long,
(2) I work two jobs, so I have limited time to work on projects at DMS,
(3) I fixed the tumbler collecting dust on the shelf,
(4) I clearly marked the project and left my contact info…
So please help a newbie to DMS understand what the proper protocol to use anything up here at DMS is as well as what steps I would need to take should I ever need to stop another member’s project.
Thanks in advance…
Where was the rock tumbler plugged in and running? Since this is an electrical device and could (however unlikely) catch fire and/or cause physical damage to others, I would expect that you’d either run this at home for the lengthy period that it needs to run, obtain committee chair approval (not sure which one?) to run it in their space, or watch it intently while it ran.
I don’t think you can simply plug something in like this and leave it running while you are not at DMS. Someone noticed this going on and “fixed” the problem. Removing the belt was uncalled-for, however.
I was using it in the closet where the ammo reloading tools and other tumblers are (the closet that has a sign above it with the name hatchers I think).
Most tumbling jobs will take a day or so depending upon what members are working on, so if we could leave them running on the cement floor (like I did) in the closet so it will not drive everyone crazy with the constant noise, that would be easiest.
The newer vibratory tumblers consume more power and are much louder than the old-school one I fixed and was using that day. Do we have a power strip with a breaker on it anywhere? That would be a good safety precaution.
Hope that helps…
Out of curiosity, what were you tumbling?
Some stainless steel with some stone media - - if I have any left over you are welcome to it…
Again, you’ll need to get Hatcher’s approval before leaving a tumbler running in their area. We don’t, as a general rule, allow unsupervised machines to be running for individual members.
Nah, just wondering.
This is Russell Ward. I unplugged the tumbler because the belt was missing and the drum wasn’t turning. That tumbler isn’t strong enough to turn a heavy drum, I suspect that is what happened to the belt. There is a wooden frame tumbler on the bench that would be more than adequate. You can take the rubber drum and set it on one of the positions of that tumbler.
I’m sorry you had the problem but I think you will have better results with the large tumbler.
Hi,
I’m Nick the head of Hatchers. To start I wasn’t the member that stopped your tumbler. If you were using the wood frame tumbler, someone may have stopped it because of over heating issues. The wooden tumbler shouldn’t be run more than three hours, because it isn’t geared properly as it is a make shift tumble Russell put together for us.
I wouldn’t suggest leaving a machine running and leaving Dms. If your tumbling is taking more than three hours you might want to change to a more course media and work down to finer medias in stages. Just a tip as I don’t know your tumbling experience.
Sorry your job was stopped, but it is out of the norm to leave a machine running over night and someone could of just shut it off. Who knows, good luck on your project and I hope you are able to get the finish your wanting on the stainless.
Thanks for letting me know guys.
The tumbler belt must have been old, I used to have one like that which could run more than half full for days.
I did not know that there was a specific area that belonged to yall.
I will stick $5 in the room next time I am up there to cover the replacement belt…
OK will do.
Should be up there tomorrow after work so I will try some more aggressive media for a couple of hours and see if it works.
I’m planning on being here tomorrow for a class at 7:00 PM. I should be here between 5 and 6 and I’ll be happy to help you.
Russell Ward