3.1LB Professional Advanced Rock Tumbler Kit, Include Rough Gemstones, 4 Polishing Grits, with 3 Speed Settings and Digital 9-Day Timer

This little tumbler works just fine. We finished one set of rocks using the media that came with it. The final polish resulted in very smooth but dull rocks. We ran the final polish again with Polly Plastics polishing grit and they came out beautifully.This little tumbler runs really fast. We have actually stopped using speed 2 and 3. Speed 1 is plenty fast.It is also necessary to keep the bearings oiled fairly frequently. We started getting fine grinding dust below the ends of the tumbler rods after about a week. The little tumbler barrel started making little jumps and jolts. It also got louder and squeaky. A few drops of oil on all four bearings (not sure exactly what they are at the ends of the barrel turning rods) and everything was instantly fine. We keep oiling it about once a week.The inside of the barrel is not smooth round, but has flat sides kind of like an octagon (I didn't count) that keeps the rocks tumbling well.It is pretty loud, or rather the rocks tumbling are pretty loud. We have it closed in a bedroom. We set it on a small stool with a plastic tub underneath just in case it leaks.So far, it is water tight.The little belt is fine. And, it has a spare belt.Overall, so far we are very pleased.

Worked ok for the 1st half hour, slowed down drastically on level 3, tried to turn it down to level 2 and makes a high pitch noise while still turning. Made it through the 1st grit and had to replace a belt that left a fine powdery mess. After replacing the belt we tried level 2 again and a high pitch noise continues while it turns, so we tried level 1, and same noise. So back to the only level without noise 3 but the speed Has slowed to what level 1 would be. Checked on it after a day again a powdery mess on the table, and the the barrel hardly moving..

My 9 year old daughter has collected interesting rocks from nature hikes, campgrounds, visits to grandparents, etc for a few years. We thought it would be fun to get a rock tumbler so she could polish the rocks she collects and give her a way to engage in her interest in nature a little more. After looking at the entry level tumblers available, we decided to get this one.We have finished up the first set of rocks that come with the kit, so I thought this would be a good time to write a review.First and foremost, we weren't prepared for how loud rock tumbling would be. It's not a knock against this tumbler, but you can imaging putting a handful of rocks into a container and rolling them around continuously will make a racket. If you want to get an idea of the noise, put a handful of rocks into a plastic food storage container and shake it, its probably a pretty similar noise level. I'm not holding that against this tumbler, because that's just how rock tumblers are.The kit comes with everything you need to do a set of rocks. My daughter likes the little instructions booklet. It is printed well in full color, and it gives a good amount of information on addition to the instructions. She read through it just to learn more about the different types of rocks and it makes a good reference for stepping through the stages of polish.The kit also came with an assortment of interesting rocks to polish, along with the grit packets to step through the stages of the process. Everything you need to polish that first set of rocks is in the box. The only thing if note is that the rocks get smaller as they are polished, so we have a few rocks that ended up about the size of a standard marble once finished. It's just something to he aware of when loading the polisher in the future.Overall, the process worked great, and the rocks came out looking awesome. The included jewelery pieces in the kit are pretty cheap, and probably don't add anything to the kit. I doubt my daughter will do anything with them aside from maybe the necklace mount. The rest of the jewelry pieces are really flimsy and cheap.The one flaw with the tumbler is the end stops of the rollers. As the tumbler rolls on the rollers, it will drift and ride into one or more of the end stops on the rollers, causing them to wear. After one use, they have worn down a noticable amount. There was plastic dust after each stage that we had to clean up from those plastic roller end stops. For my tumbler, this will probably be what goes first, and I need to try to figure out a way to fix them before they wear out completely. It's not stopped us from using the tumbler, but I'm going to have to DIY a solution eventually.If you have a place to run this where the sound will not be an issue, I do recommend this tumbler. I think this is especially good for curious kids with the included booklet. The process takes about 4 weeks from start to finish to get through the stages, so it may not be something for kids that get bored easily. My daughter doesn't have that issue, she likes to check on it every day, and js starting to learn how to change it over between stages. I would say you will likely need to help with that change over just because kid fingers and hands may struggle opening and closing the tumbler itself, but it's a pretty straightforward process that is easy enough to do.

I struggled with the covers initially but once I got the hang of it, not a problem.I had read reviews about the noise level so I stationed mine in the garage and it never bothered me. I've experimented with various sizes of stones and rocks and find it best to place similar sizes together. Be careful with smaller rocks as the tumbling and polishing will smooth them down. The longer they tumble, the smaller they become. I have always loved stones with all the colors and designs. I know you'll enjoy polishing rocks whether you're a child or an adult. It's certainly brought out the kid in me. I'm considering buying a larger one now.