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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 9, 2022 10:38:23 GMT -5
To my surprise and delight, my almost 40 y/o daughter wants to tumble! I found a National Geo kit on her wishlist. I immediately went to The Rock Shed to look at Lortone 3As which I will probably get. BUT, I'm really stuck on what rocks to get- too many choices. There is a soft mix, but no hard mix. Do y'all know a place to get a GOOD rock mix for a small tumbler? Sorry if this is a dumb, redundant question, but I don't tumble, so I don't keep up as much as y'all do.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2022 10:44:36 GMT -5
The National Geographic rock kits are really good and easy to tumble and have some real pretty stones. Kingsley North has this too: kingsleynorth.com/mix-mexican-tumbling-rough.htmlNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Rock Tumbler Refill Kit - Gemstone Mix of 9 varieties including Tiger's Eye, Amethyst and Quartz - Comes with 4 grades of Grit, Jewelry Fastenings and detailed Learning Guide a.co/d/9xj25Lz
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 9, 2022 10:49:30 GMT -5
The National Geographic rock kits are really good and easy to tumble and have some real pretty stones. Kingsley North has this too: kingsleynorth.com/mix-mexican-tumbling-rough.htmlNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Rock Tumbler Refill Kit - Gemstone Mix of 9 varieties including Tiger's Eye, Amethyst and Quartz - Comes with 4 grades of Grit, Jewelry Fastenings and detailed Learning Guide a.co/d/9xj25LzThanks Ashley! I didn't see those kits and I wouldn't have thought to look at KN.
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vance71975
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since September 2022
Posts: 760
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Post by vance71975 on Nov 9, 2022 11:11:24 GMT -5
To my surprise and delight, my almost 40 y/o daughter wants to tumble! I found a National Geo kit on her wishlist. I immediately went to The Rock Shed to look at Lortone 3As which I will probably get. BUT, I'm really stuck on what rocks to get- too many choices. There is a soft mix, but no hard mix. Do y'all know a place to get a GOOD rock mix for a small tumbler? Sorry if this is a dumb, redundant question, but I don't tumble, so I don't keep up as much as y'all do. tumble-bee.com/collections/rock-tumblersThats the tumbler I have, so far I love it, and they also sell tumble kits with rocks and grit.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 331
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Post by electrocutus on Nov 9, 2022 11:37:23 GMT -5
To my surprise and delight, my almost 40 y/o daughter wants to tumble! I found a National Geo kit on her wishlist. I immediately went to The Rock Shed to look at Lortone 3As which I will probably get. BUT, I'm really stuck on what rocks to get- too many choices. There is a soft mix, but no hard mix. Do y'all know a place to get a GOOD rock mix for a small tumbler? Sorry if this is a dumb, redundant question, but I don't tumble, so I don't keep up as much as y'all do. Depending on your budget, the 33B model is also great because you can have 2 batches concurrently. You can also replace the 2 3lbs barrels with 3 1.5lbs barrels and have 3 small batches concurrently. lortone.com/collections/tumblers/products/1-5-lb-capacity-barrel?info
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 9, 2022 11:39:14 GMT -5
To my surprise and delight, my almost 40 y/o daughter wants to tumble! I found a National Geo kit on her wishlist. I immediately went to The Rock Shed to look at Lortone 3As which I will probably get. BUT, I'm really stuck on what rocks to get- too many choices. There is a soft mix, but no hard mix. Do y'all know a place to get a GOOD rock mix for a small tumbler? Sorry if this is a dumb, redundant question, but I don't tumble, so I don't keep up as much as y'all do. Depending on your budget, the 33B model is also great because you can have 2 batches concurrently. You can also replace the 2 3lbs barrels with 3 1.5lbs barrels and have 3 small batches concurrently. That's a great idea and I have thought about that. I don't know how long she'll stick with it, though. She tends to flit from one thing to the next.
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 331
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Post by electrocutus on Nov 9, 2022 11:42:28 GMT -5
Depending on your budget, the 33B model is also great because you can have 2 batches concurrently. You can also replace the 2 3lbs barrels with 3 1.5lbs barrels and have 3 small batches concurrently. That's a great idea and I have thought about that. I don't know how long she'll stick with it, though. She tends to flit from one thing to the next. Having multiple barrels going has helped me stick with it. I start them at different times with different types of rocks, so I don't have to wait as long to look at results :-)
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 9, 2022 11:49:30 GMT -5
I agree with electrocutus. The 33B doesn't cost that much more and gives you twice the capacity. I'd consider not buying a mix but buying one type of rock instead. The Rock Shed has some good choices. Bahia agates are a popular choice. I also like Mexican lace agate, fancy jasper, Mozambique agate, and tiger eye.
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Nov 9, 2022 11:52:52 GMT -5
Depending on your budget, the 33B model is also great because you can have 2 batches concurrently. You can also replace the 2 3lbs barrels with 3 1.5lbs barrels and have 3 small batches concurrently. That's a great idea and I have thought about that. I don't know how long she'll stick with it, though. She tends to flit from one thing to the next. It does seem counterintuitive, but multiple barrels really does help keep interest in tumbling, especially when attention spans are short. I got my kids a 33B so they would each have a barrel for their own rocks or to have two different batches going once they started moving on to later stages. Before we even finished a batch, I already bought a vibratory tumbler to go with it because they were getting frustrated with the amount of time to get the good results. The vibe helped immensely because we could pull a few of the best rocks every week and keep the rotary running on coarse grit. The vibe finishes them up so quickly that they were getting polished results every week. If we had only a single rotary barrel, they probably would have lost interest before the first batch was polished.
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 9, 2022 15:14:00 GMT -5
Glad you are looking for the Loretone instead of the NG tumbler. I have seen a lot of bad reviews for the NG tumblers of various rock and tumbling boards on Facebook. Mainly barrel spinning too fast even on low, polish provided is worthless, machines tend to break down in a short time and customer service is worthless. The last one is kind of hit and miss like the Harbor Freight ones. Some people have no problem with them breaking down and still a lot of reports of the machines breaking down in a month or two.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2022 16:16:20 GMT -5
vegasjamesI think I must have gotten lucky! I have two and have been running the one since April nonstop. We did try to go from stage 1 to polish with it with not good results but I attribute that to the grit they give you. I only use them for the first stage now since getting the lot o. I just got a new one last month and noticed the other day it has a gouge in the barrel so I emailed them and they sent me a new barrel the next day. Great customer service.
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 9, 2022 16:38:49 GMT -5
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rocknewb101
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2022
Posts: 1,368
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Post by rocknewb101 on Nov 9, 2022 16:55:03 GMT -5
I've been running my nat geo without any issue (except one blow out, but that was our fault). Mine doesn't look like the one in the pic though - it's digital. Weird. You win some you lose some, I guess...My Thumbler's is doing great too! Especially after I make sure to clean the slurry from the groove haha.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 9, 2022 16:58:08 GMT -5
Yeah mine is the more expensive one too. Maybe the cheaper ones are crap.
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nursetumbler
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2022
Posts: 981
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Post by nursetumbler on Nov 9, 2022 17:01:36 GMT -5
Kingsley North
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Post by rockjunquie on Nov 9, 2022 17:50:34 GMT -5
Thank you for all your help and input! I even had an offer of some tumbling rocks. I won't go with Nat Geo. I know a few people have had good luck and I have seen Jugglerguy 's videos. But, I'm of the mind to buy once. I've had my 3a for like 20 years with no issues. Yes, a double barrel seems like the best way to go or even triple barrel. Looking around, I see there are still a lot of supply chain issues. Good heavens.
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Post by jasoninsd on Nov 9, 2022 18:55:41 GMT -5
You do realize if you get her a double barrel tumbler and she doesn't "stick with it"...you've got an avenue to post it up for sale and it'll be gone within 23.6 minutes. I think it's awesome she's interested. I seriously see the benefits of a double barrel versus a single barrel...as others have already reasoned.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 9, 2022 21:47:15 GMT -5
I won't go with Nat Geo. I know a few people have had good luck and I have seen Jugglerguy 's videos. But, I'm of the mind to buy once. I've had my 3a for like 20 years with no issues. I wouldn't buy one either, other than to make a video about it.
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Post by aDave on Nov 9, 2022 23:53:35 GMT -5
I won't go with Nat Geo. I know a few people have had good luck and I have seen Jugglerguy 's videos. But, I'm of the mind to buy once. I've had my 3a for like 20 years with no issues. I wouldn't buy one either, other than to make a video about it. rockjunquie I'm with Rob on this. Granted, I've not put my hands on one, but there have been enough problems reported from grit types to rock mix that are supplied with their tumblers to make me stay way clear of them. I'm a Lortone guy, and for the small tumblers, I wouldn't go anywhere else. If you can, find a 33B and get some hard stones from somewhere like the Rockshed. Get the right grit packs, and you'll be good to go. PM me if needed. You know where to find me.
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Post by vegasjames on Nov 10, 2022 0:13:41 GMT -5
I wouldn't buy one either, other than to make a video about it. rockjunquie I'm with Rob on this. Granted, I've not put my hands on one, but there have been enough problems reported from grit types to rock mix that are supplied with their tumblers to make me stay way clear of them. I'm a Lortone guy, and for the small tumblers, I wouldn't go anywhere else. If you can, find a 33B and get some hard stones from somewhere like the Rockshed. Get the right grit packs, and you'll be good to go. PM me if needed. You know where to find me. The grit and polish are only some of the reported issues with the NG tumblers. I have seen some posted videos where they were spinning so fast on the lowest level that the rocks cannot even tumble. NG claims the faster speed makes them tumble faster, which is nonsense. It is called tumbling because the stones need to tumble in the barrel so they are grinding against each other and the grit. When the barrel spins that fast the rocks are being pushed outward towards the wall by centrifugal force preventing them from tumbling.
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