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Techniques for Collectorsrock splitters
24th Oct 2006 19:02 UTCPaul Hewitt
24th Oct 2006 19:25 UTCBarry Flannery Expert
Barry
24th Oct 2006 19:59 UTCDavid Von Bargen Manager
24th Oct 2006 20:31 UTCDouglas Merson 🌟 Expert
The splitter could be screwed down against the piece prior to applying the hydraulic pressure. This was nice as it was faster than pumping it down. There was not enough spport to keep the extended screw / piston assembly rigid. The cutters would break off because of the lateral movement when pressure was applied. The cutters were also hardened completely instead of just the cutting edge. This made the portion retained in the piston assembly too brittle to take much lateral force.
I would not consider getting one of these again. There are a few dealers on the web that offer them.
When stationed in Hawaii, the club there built one using railroad track for the up rights and cross members. It had a 50 ton jack and a 1/2 " plate shield around it. It would handle rocks up to 15". You mihgt find somebody in your area that could fabricate one for you.
Doug
24th Oct 2006 20:45 UTCRay Hill Expert
25th Oct 2006 08:37 UTCChris Tucker Expert
Of all the trimmers that I have used, the Zuber MP5 is by far the best. They can be obtained from several dealers and directly from Zuber. Parts and accessories are readily available as well. I have used five different Zubers over the years and only ever "broke" one; it was in the shop for a few hours to get new seals and is now back in use. The one that I have here at the house is used/abused nearly everyday and it still works fine even though it is now ten years old.
Stay away from the Chinese junk (Wydar and the Zuber clone sold by well known dealer based in Colorado). They may be a bit cheaper but China is a long way to go for parts. I am not personally aware of anyone with a Chinese made trimmer that has not broken, leaked, bent, etc...
You can of course build a trimmer. If you want one that is the same size as a Zuber, expect to pay as much for the materials as the trimmer. As several of the other responders to your question noted, trimmers can be built using a bottle jack. Trimmers made with bottle jack will be significantly higher to account for the jack height.
Regards,
Chris
25th Oct 2006 22:18 UTCcraig pearson
Chris, would you have the contact information for the Zuber rock splitter. E-mail phone number address ect any and all dealers you know of...
Thanks, Craig
26th Oct 2006 06:38 UTCDon Saathoff Expert
26th Oct 2006 07:46 UTCChris Tucker Expert
You can go directly to Zuber at zubermaschinenbau.de/index.html
David Shannon Minerals was the main dealer here in the US. Since Dave passed away I believe that the trimmers are handled by Michael. You can reach him through their site, shannonsminerals.com. Dave's wife, Colleen, was still running the business and she can probably help you with trimmers as well.
In Europe, Zubers are carried by Mikon.
Regards,
17th Jun 2007 20:17 UTCRock Currier Expert
We have used commercial brick splitters to trim specimens in our business for years. I think the last one we bought was about ten years ago. They are used for commercially breaking bricks and concrete blocks. They come with little flat tables on both sides of the blades that you will need to remove. They cost three or four hundred dollars but we feel are well worth the price because they have a little cogged hand crank device that allows you to quickly adjust the cutting blades up and or down to quickly snug them against the rock in the position where you want to break it. Then it is usually just a few strokes of the hydraulic jack handle to finish the break. If you have a lot of specimens to trim, this feature is very important. Most of the trimming time on rock trimmers is moving the cutter up and down to get it snug against the specimen. If you really need to trim or break specimens that are 18 to 24 inches you are going to need a really large trimmer and you may wish to consider having one constructed that is powered up and down by an electrically driven hydraulic pump. Some rocks break easily, but others like the crossite that is the typical matrix of the benitoite and neptunite from San Benito Co. California can be so tough that even trying to break a 10 inch specimens strains my brick trimmer to the limit. In such cases I sometimes wrap a towel around the specimen before I really pile on the pressure. These specimens often just explode and can throw rocks across the room and bounce them off the wall. I would be afraid to be around a trimmer powerful enough to break a 20 inch piece of crossite when the rock broke. If the trimmer were massively built out of big I beams so there was not much give to the thing, these ‘explosions’ could be reduced a lot I think.
Rock
21st Jun 2008 04:11 UTCGrace Lim
email: gracelim@naturalwvs.com
Thanks!
Grace
23rd Dec 2015 00:15 UTCP. Bigos
23rd Dec 2015 00:24 UTCSteve Hardinger 🌟 Expert
23rd Dec 2015 00:30 UTCP. Bigos
23rd Dec 2015 02:17 UTCTom Mortimer Expert
Tom Mortimer
8th Sep 2017 20:50 UTCKen Moffett
Our Geology mineral prep lab has a yellow, closed-frame, hydraulic trimmer that has a pump that looks like the one in the Wydar in the P.Bigos' post. Ours is not lowering the ram when we pump. I suspect that it's low on oil, but have no idea how to fill it. There are two setscrews on top that look like they might be where you put the oil or bleed the pump. Have you ever done that?
Ken
8th Sep 2017 21:06 UTCWayne Corwin
first ... Welcome to Mindat !
second, a photo would help, oe several.
third, are you closing the valve before pumping?
just a thought other than needing oil.
8th Sep 2017 22:07 UTCKen Moffett
So it's late Friday afternoon and Geology has gone. I tried on my own. If you lift the handle all the way up, the ram returns. Now it appears that if I do full rapid strokes (not quite all the way up) the ram advances. This may be a non-problem. I'll know more Monday.
Ken
8th Sep 2017 23:08 UTCTed Hadley
www.SwarfSystems.com
9th Sep 2017 01:34 UTCJohn Oostenryk
I have not used one of these~ but old sales ad states- "One Touch" so ALL function is in handle.
Maybe as you say Full Up- is release?
I would suspect handle would close or release pressure valve. ((like screw in or out) as on rolling floor jack for vehicles)
It sure looks clean!
Unless you cleaned up heavy oily mess around unit- it is likely not low on fluid.
There is typically always some residue around hydraulic pressure pump- so you judge that~
SURELY- plenty of people here have used style prior~ and can direct!
That Said- Denver 2017 show is NOW- so response may be slow/delayed.
(OLD?) ad page https://attminerals.com/product/mineral-specimen-trimmer-large/
On his latest website home page- I do not see this listed anymore. If no reply here at MinDat~~
DO contact him.
https://attminerals.com/contact/
Best Regards!
~JohnO:)
12th Sep 2017 15:13 UTCKen Moffett
We also had a student twist the frame on the open-frame one we had prior to our current closed-frame one:
Ken
12th Sep 2017 22:01 UTCWayne Corwin
Why would you twist the frame?
The jaws are supposed to meet up,,, exactly!
18th Nov 2017 03:06 UTCDennis Beals
The frame can be bent in two ways.
Not all the chisels were ground equally.
The biggest problem is when people try to break too hard a rock. If pushed too hard it can twist it out of alignment.
John Li designed the top pump to solve problems with the old design. Set screws did not hold the pump and people never tighten them. M8 allen head metric set screws bite down much better.
They are filled with oil by removing the Acme thread top screw, turning upside down and remove the screw on the bottom of the pump. Using a thin blade gently pry up the bottom plate. Make sure before you start that the pump is bottomed out. Fill to within 4 mm from the top with hydraulic jack oil. Gently work the pump to remove all air bubbles. Make sure the piston, when done, is close to bottomed out. A replacement o ring can be obtained at Ace Hardware or at a specialist shop. Don't do this on the kitchen table! When replacing the bottom plate place a rag over the bolt hole or oil will squirt out. Replace the bolt. Replace the Acme compression screw. The pump can be bled of air bubbles by removing the bottom chisel and raising the Acme thread compression screw as high as it will go. At the bottom of the chisel well is a set screw, loosen but don't remove. A small ball bearing is under it! Gently pump until only air comes out, this is a very small amount. Keep clean!
A clear piece of plastic with a hole the size of the bottom chisel shaft and the width of the bottom frame and draped over will keep the wiper seal clean.
Check all bolts on a regular. I cannot emphasize this enough.
All the old machines are gone.
The top screw designs are pumped by short strokes and released by lifting to the top of the stroke.
20th Nov 2017 20:59 UTCJohn Lawson
Some thoughts on this topic,
We have an ‘old rock splitter’. It was made in the U.K. by a good friend of ours, who is an agricultural engineer.
Basically it has two hardened steel Jawa, which are held firmly in place by Allen keys.
The bottom jaw is completely moveable, and freely rises or falls, on two 1 inch steel rods.
The sample is broken, by putting a 5 ton hydraulic car jack, underneath the bottom jaw.
We have had this machine for nearly 30years.
Unfortunately the designer no longer makes them, since he was concerned with any potential litigation which might arise from pieces, being ejected from the breaking of the sample.
I would think that any competent, metal fitter could make one!
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Copyright © mindat.org and the Hudson Institute of Mineralogy 1993-2024, except where stated. Most political location boundaries are © OpenStreetMap contributors. Mindat.org relies on the contributions of thousands of members and supporters. Founded in 2000 by Jolyon Ralph.
Privacy Policy - Terms & Conditions - Contact Us / DMCA issues - Report a bug/vulnerability Current server date and time: May 9, 2024 22:17:41