Beginner

[jackstraw]

I want the get into tumbling but don’t know a good beginner’s tumbler and all accessories needed. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Rick

[chris1956]

Welcome from Missouri.  A lot of tumblers on this forum.  I suggest you check out some of the Michigan Rocks Youtube videos on tumbling.   A couple are below.  










If you have the money, I would suggest getting a Lortone or possibly a Highland Park tumbler.  Maybe start with 3 pound barrel.  National Geographic and Harbor Freight are other choices that may not be as expensive.  I don't have one but it sounds like Harbor Freight has many different types some of which might not be good for rocks.   I think Lortone tumblers should be in stock now (stopped being manufactured for a while) and you could check with:  The Rock Shed;  Kingsley North, and Minnesota Lapidary Supply.   The 3 pound tumblers should be able to be bought with a kit which might be a good place to start (usually includes grit, polish, and rocks) but keep in mind it will only be good for one run but will at least give you a feel for what you are doing.  Watch the videos and then you can order grit and polish in larger quantities.  Lortone was (hope it still is) good about at least givning you a manual for the tumbler.   Last I heard, Highland Park still didn't have one for theirs which is pretty much the same as Lortone (you can download the Lortone manuals).  

You will probably need some 5 gallon buckets for washing the rocks, colandar is good (you can set this on top of the bucket and pour water to wash the rocks), and I use a fine mesh strainer for smaller material.  Don't put any slurry down the drains.  

When you get hooked, you can look into vibratory tumblers which can finish the process quicker and use far less polish which can be expensive with a rotary unless you recycle the polish.

Hope this helps,
Chris

[pebblesky]

Welcome and +1 to what Chris said. Rob (Michigan Rocks) has a lot of great videos to check out.

[vegasjames]

Welcome from Southern Nevada.

[titaniumkid]

Hi from Australia. Definitely agree with Chris. Nat Geo tumblers can be a great starting point and they do sell grit and rocks with their kits, but you will need to buy a better polish if you want to get a shine. It's also a good idea to start out with agates or jaspers while learning to tumble.

[chowbelanna]

Hello fellow new person! I have just started tumbling and I love it. I am in the UK so the choice of kit is not great. I started with a single NatGeo tumbler and liked it so much I bought another, and then I bought the 3 pound one as well. Yes, the stuff you get with it is cr*p but it's easy enough to buy better grit and if you use them at the lowest speed they do a pretty good job. Best of luck to you, hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Just an edit to add; the videos mentioned above are brilliant, really helpful. Thanks Rob!

[andyiii]

I know a lot of folks give them the cold shoulder, but I started with a Harbor Freight tumbler. My first one was a single 3 lb. drum, but they don't make those anymore. They recently re-branded their dual-drum (two 3 lb. drums) as "Chicago Electric" but I think it's the same unit with a new paint job. Anyway, I still have the original (5 years old maybe?) plus 2 of the doubles and they are all still working just fine. As long as you keep the little plastic bushings oiled with some 3-in-1 oil each time you swap the barrels it'll last a good, long time - and the price is usually less than half or even less than a 3rd of these other brands. If you get a Harbor Freight "super coupon" - which are less common but not unknown these days - you can buy anything in the entire store for 20 percent off. In my case, with patience, I bought all 3 of my working tumblers (a total of 5 3-lb barrels) for less than $150 total.

Just note, the Harbor Freight tumblers come with spare drive belts, but no grit and no "starter" rocks.

If you want to practice on cheap rocks at first, go to your driveway or a gravel road or rocky beach/stream nearby and pick out about 5 pounds of quartz type rocks, or other nice hard rocks - no need to buy rocks as a beginner. Note: I say about 5 pounds of rocks assuming you'll start with a 3 lb. barrel - you'll need to add rocks each week as the original load grinds down, hence you need more than a barrel-full to get going.

Ditto the above posters re: Michigan Rocks YouTube channel. Rob is a master and has a knack for making things clear and very understandable.  I like this one for using a rotary all the way through the process:

[python]

Aug 25, 2024 21:26:53 GMT -5 andyiii said:

I know a lot of folks give them the cold shoulder, but I started with a Harbor Freight tumbler. My first one was a single 3 lb. drum, but they don't make those anymore. They recently re-branded their dual-drum (two 3 lb. drums) as "Chicago Electric" but I think it's the same unit with a new paint job. Anyway, I still have the original (5 years old maybe?) plus 2 of the doubles and they are all still working just fine. As long as you keep the little plastic bushings oiled with some 3-in-1 oil each time you swap the barrels it'll last a good, long time - and the price is usually less than half or even less than a 3rd of these other brands. If you get a Harbor Freight "super coupon" - which are less common but not unknown these days - you can buy anything in the entire store for 20 percent off. In my case, with patience, I bought all 3 of my working tumblers (a total of 5 3-lb barrels) for less than $150 total.

Just note, the Harbor Freight tumblers come with spare drive belts, but no grit and no "starter" rocks.

If you want to practice on cheap rocks at first, go to your driveway or a gravel road or rocky beach/stream nearby and pick out about 5 pounds of quartz type rocks, or other nice hard rocks - no need to buy rocks as a beginner. Note: I say about 5 pounds of rocks assuming you'll start with a 3 lb. barrel - you'll need to add rocks each week as the original load grinds down, hence you need more than a barrel-full to get going.

Ditto the above posters re: Michigan Rocks YouTube channel. Rob is a master and has a knack for making things clear and very understandable.  I like this one for using a rotary all the way through the process:

I have two of the new Harbor Freight tumblers. The new version has brass bushings that seem to work great (so far). I did a couple of modifications to them before using them and have no complaints so far. I am actually about to buy two more of them soon.

[rockbrain]

Welcome from Central California and good luck in your tumbling endeavors!

[jasoninsd]

Welcome to the forum from South Dakota!

Looks like you've gotten some pretty good leads on some beginning tumblers.