wyorock
starting to shine!
Member since October 2023
Posts: 35
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Post by wyorock on Apr 23, 2024 11:05:46 GMT -5
Asking for my sister. Is a Nat Geo tumbler a good one to start with?
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 23, 2024 11:35:35 GMT -5
Asking for a "friend"...  There's a bunch of threads and posts about the Nat Geo tumbler on here. If you use the search function, you'll get tons of info.  |
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nolasean
having dreams about rocks
Member since March 2024
Posts: 58
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Post by nolasean on Apr 23, 2024 13:37:39 GMT -5
It spins fast and the rocks that come with it can be difficult to polish. It will however be an introduction to tumbling if that is what you are looking for. You can read more about it in the forums and watch videos on YouTube.
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titaniumkid
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2023
Posts: 499
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Post by titaniumkid on Apr 23, 2024 19:12:34 GMT -5
There are different Nat Geo tumblers. Some are worse than others. Definitely search the forum because people will have good info on which ones are good. Also, the rocks they tend to send with their tumblers are fun in terms of variety, but some tend to be soft and wear away to nothing/don't polish well (still good to practice on), and the polish (final stage) that they send is not polish at all, which also leads to getting a poor shine, so your sister will need to buy better polish.
To answer your question, it's a great place to start.
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dshanpnw
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since December 2020
Posts: 1,158
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Post by dshanpnw on Apr 24, 2024 7:03:47 GMT -5
I wouldn't discount it. I think it could work well with better rocks and grits than what it is supplied with.
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Post by chris1956 on Apr 24, 2024 9:23:37 GMT -5
It spins fast and the rocks that come with it can be difficult to polish. It will however be an introduction to tumbling if that is what you are looking for. You can read more about it in the forums and watch videos on YouTube. They all seem to send at least a few rocks with the tumbling kits that are hard to polish. I haven't figured out why they do that but expect a few duds if you tumble what they send with the tumbler. |
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chaosdsm
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since April 2024
Posts: 162
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Post by chaosdsm on Apr 24, 2024 23:43:49 GMT -5
There are about 7 different Nat Geo Tumblers that I've seen.
I have the black Professional 3-speed, 3lb capacity, with 9-day timer. Speed 2 & 3 are pretty fast, speed 1 is fast, but not crazy fast.
The grit included is enough for about a pound of rocks instead of 3 pounds...
If it comes with rocks, they should be separated out by hardness so as not to tumble the softer ones into dust.
I recently posted a video about the tumbler speeds, my results with an overloaded tumbler (3lb 13.35oz) - speed 1 = 48.3 RMP (less than 1 turn per second) - speed 2 = 107.5RPM - speed 3 = 120RPM. Speed 2 & 3 really grind down the grit pretty quickly, so you may have to change grit about every 2 days. Speed 1 has been running about a week, and still plenty of good grit in there Next planned stoppage is Friday to check progress of 2nd batch of stage 1 rocks.
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wyorock
starting to shine!
Member since October 2023
Posts: 35
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Post by wyorock on Apr 25, 2024 7:48:05 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. I have the information now to impart to my sister.
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Nov 14, 2024 18:17:57 GMT -5
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