saraha Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Does anyone have a rock tumbler? What do you like/dislike about it? Does it get used, or is the turn around time too long? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aura Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I thought one would be cool, too, until I learned that to polish your rocks, you have to run the machine for about 2 weeks using a coarse grit. Follow that for another couple weeks with a finer grit, and then another round with an even finer grit. You're looking at a probably six weeks to 2 months of constant running to get one batch of nicely polished stones. They tend to be very loud as well. I love the idea of it, but couldn't stomach to idea of running that thing for so long (noise! electricity!). If you find a machine that is quiet and doesn't take as long and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, please let me know!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 THEY ARE VERY LOUD!!!!!! Sorry to shout, but the noise is pretty much all I remember about the one my sister had when we were kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Very loud and take a long time. And . . if you start a cycle of rock polishing, don't just unplug the machine and leave the rock mess sitting in it because you will never use the rock polisher again. That's what happened to our first one. Now my 9 yods is asking for another one for Christmas. We'll see. We run ours in our garage because even in the basement it echoes through the whole house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I thought one would be cool, too, until I learned that to polish your rocks, you have to run the machine for about 2 weeks using a coarse grit. Follow that for another couple weeks with a finer grit, and then another round with an even finer grit. You're looking at a probably six weeks to 2 months of constant running to get one batch of nicely polished stones. They tend to be very loud as well. I love the idea of it, but couldn't stomach to idea of running that thing for so long (noise! electricity!). If you find a machine that is quiet and doesn't take as long and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, please let me know!! :iagree: Once my ds read the instructions, he didn't even bother using the stupid thing. It takes forever and it's incredibly noisy. What a waste of money. (Thankfully, we didn't buy an expensive one!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 It is loud, but you do get really neat results! My son had one and used it several times to polish rocks that he collected along Lake Superior. He made jewelry gifts out of them for Christmas presents, or sometimes just kept them. We kept it in the garage which is separate from our house, so we didn't have to hear the noise all the time! In all honesty he probably only used it about half a dozen times, but it was really fun to see the final product. I'm sure we just had a cheap one, but I think for what it was, it was worth it for our son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 It is noisy and it does take a while, but the results are beautiful. We need to get more supplies to do another batch. If you have a basement or garage, and are able to run it there, it won't be intrusive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 I AGREE - THEY ARE SO LOUD!!! :) In the end, I painted some rock I found in the stone fill under our back porch and rubbed on those transfer letters to spell MOM. My mother still has that ring... <3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Agree with loud and long. We had it plugged in in the garage but the dc gave up sometime in the middle of the second phase. Then they completely lost interest after that; it just took too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted October 15, 2013 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Also the cheap ones the motor can burn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Yep, really loud and takes forever. We didn’t get great results, either. SIL gave it to us one year and it got used after Christmas and hasn’t been used again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 We loved ours. You need a good uncle to do these projects with. :D Yes they ran in the garage for a couple of weeks with this grit and then that grit. You can even buy rocks to tumble. They turn out so very pretty. You can even give them away for Christmas presents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 No. Just don't. LOUD and the dang thing has to run for about 3 weeks straight 24/7. My kids had forgotten all about their rocks by the time they finished tumbling. It is definitely not for kids who are into instant gratification. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted October 16, 2013 Author Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks everybody! This definitely sounds like it would have been a bust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted October 16, 2013 Share Posted October 16, 2013 We are such party poopers... ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyontheFarm Posted October 17, 2013 Share Posted October 17, 2013 If you want to buy one please let me know what brand is your favorite headache medicine, I'll be sure to buy stocks in it! They are VERY LOUD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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