So, after spending twice as long as usual in traffic on my way home from work (and I leave early, I don’t travel during rush hour) because of the hostage situation in Downtown Silver Spring affecting all the roads in my area, I finally get home – find a notice from the Post Office that my package of findings was not delivered because it required my signature, which I specifically asked the company sending it to NOT require a signature, do my chores around the house, eat dinner and settle in for a little Brush n’ Tumble. I brushed enough silver for a couple of tumbler loads and put my first load in the tumbler. I always put it on a towel on the floor in the upstairs living (which is on a slab) to absorb any noise vibration but I usually need to adjust it a few times during the first load of the season. Sure enough, a few minutes later the thing was squeaking like crazy so I just lifted the whole thing up at an angle (like I usually do) to adjust the position of the barrel, which migrates and winds up rubbing against the mechanism – hence the squeak – and it stopped rotating! I then had to search high and low for a screw driver so that I could take it apart and see what was going on. That took 1/2 hour. Finally, I found one, took the thing apart, and found that the little rubber ring that attaches to the motor and makes it rotate had slipped off and it was an easy fix.
So, after an afternoon and evening of escalating aggravation I finally was able to tumble one load. Bleah.
That load was in the tumbler for over 2 hours and it wasn’t nearly as shiny as I would’ve expected.
Tonight I have two loads ready to go but I still have more that I have to brush – its going to be a looooooooong night…