Best tumbler for newbie

Lortone or Thumler. Can get a smalll of either for less than $100.

I have recently taken up the hobby. Had the same thoughts about wanting to get a unit that would last. After reading some post on this board and visiting other websites, I settled on a 33B Lortone tumbler. It has two 3 lb barrels on it. My goal was to use one for the grit stages and the other for polish only. Of course I ended up being a little impatient and ordered a second tumbler to increase the amount of rough rock I can tumble. But would buy the Lortone 33B again as I have not had any issues with it.

I bought mine at the Rock Shed which is in SD so not sure but might be close enough you could go there in person and talk with them. I am sure that they would be able to give you good advice and would set you up with all that you need.

I was in your kids shoes once, long ago and far away- and if I recall correctly, I ran about 2 batches as a kid before losing interest which it took another 35 years to get back.

A process that takes weeks on end usually doesn't do well with the attention span of kids that age, but if you can keep him distracted with other activities during the week so he isn't sitting around waiting for shiny rocks to magically come out of the barrel (they usually don't on the first try or two) you might be able to sustain his interest longer than I managed to without such guidance.

Knowing all I know now, I would recommend the Lortone 33B for a starter machine, but don't be too shocked if dad needs to fiddle with the motor/belt tension a time or two starting out.

You can start with the Lortone grit kit, but don't be expecting terrific results as their polish has a somewhat dubious reputation, supplement their kit with a pound or two of higher quality Aluminum Oxide polish from someplace like the rock shed, so your boy has something more to try if he isn't happy with how they come out the first time around.

If the interest continues past those first couple of batches, you can stock up with more bulk grit- I still use the Lortone grit kit containers just because they have color coded labels, are very handy and a nice size to keep on the shelf, but now I buy my grit and polish in 10-50 lb batches (Miles supply for 50Lb of coarse at a time- Rock shed for all the rest) for the sake of economy.

And yeah- if you are in South Dakota, a trip to the Rock Shed needs to be on the family agenda for sure, really nice folks and a great shop to deal with.