Before You Buy a Rock Tumbler

Before You Buy a Rock Tumbler<br /><br />The toy stores carry a type of rotating tumbler, where the rocks fall over and over and over, polishing rocks in much the same manner as the ocean has for millions of years. I recommend buying a tumbler from a company that has been around a while, with an established record of quality and service. Eventually, you will need a replacement part; you want the company to still be there when that happens. Lortone offers several sizes of tumblers, some with double barrels. They cost a bit more, but have two characteristics that make them more desirable for certain users: they polish rocks much more quickly and they retain the essential shape of the rocks rather than producing only rounded rocks. They are a bit quieter, too. Raytech is an established manufacturer of vibrational tumblers and other lapidary equipment. Tumblers are sized according to the weight of the load they can continuously bear. The most common cause of rotor failure and belt breakage is improper or over loading of the barrel. Smaller barrels hold smaller rocks no big surprise, so larger barrels can hold both bigger rocks and more small rocks. Double barrels can be used to polish lots of rocks or to ensure a really good polish if you reserve one barrel for that purpose.<br /><br />How to Polish Jewelry with a Tumbler<br /><br />Okay, so youve selected your tumbler! First, keep the time it takes to tumble in your mind about a month for a rotating tumbler/ week or two for vibrating or agitating types. Get vaseline to seal the barrel against leaks! Buy extra grit unless you want to keep that as an excuse to go out and buy more stuff. If noise is a concern, consider getting a cooler or other sound insulator to house the tumbler.