darticus
off to a rocking start
Member since September 2019
Posts: 4
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Post by darticus on Dec 29, 2019 15:13:50 GMT -5
Anyone ever buy a Harbor Freight vibrator or rotating tumbler from them. I now had to move to an apartment and afraid to start up the vibrator tumble because of noise and neighbors. This was a great price for a 5 pounder but it uses a plastic drum. Any info would be great! Should I take it back now and not even try it? they call it a metal tumbler.
I also pick up a double drum rotating tumbler and this hold 3 pounds of rock each drum. These seem to be rubber barrels and its staying as it was also a great deal. I hope this is a quite unit. and suggestions? Thanks Ron
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Post by aDave on Dec 29, 2019 20:22:02 GMT -5
Anyone ever buy a Harbor Freight vibrator or rotating tumbler from them. I now had to move to an apartment and afraid to start up the vibrator tumble because of noise and neighbors. This was a great price for a 5 pounder but it uses a plastic drum. Any info would be great! Should I take it back now and not even try it? they call it a metal tumbler. I also pick up a double drum rotating tumbler and this hold 3 pounds of rock each drum. These seem to be rubber barrels and its staying as it was also a great deal. I hope this is a quite unit. and suggestions? Thanks Ron The first two safety warnings in the manual indicate not to use with wet or water based media, and to not use for tumbling stones. Metal tumblers are not usually "heavy-duty" enough to run rocks. The plastic barrel may get beat up, springs may break, you could end up with rust on the rod, and/or you may have leaks. I'd recommend that you return it...unless you have a need for cleaning ammo brass or other metals. As far as your rotary tumbler, HF stuff seems to be hit and miss. They can work, but sometimes they take alot of tinkering to keep going. Most folks here will use a rotary produced by Thumlers or Lortone (I'm a Lortone guy). Sure, they tend to be more expensive, but I'm a "buy once, cry once" sort of person. Lastly, don't look at the National Geographic or other "toy" tumblers if you end up looking for something else. Barrel capacity is not good, and results can be marginal. Some folks here are of the belief that some of the rocks provided with those kits won't produce a shine no matter what is done, and the different grits are not labled by size. That's the biggest downfall IMHO. That's about it. Good questions. Ask further before you drop more money on this stuff. You might have to spend more at the outset, but there's a reason for that. Crappy stuff will require more work at the end of the day. |
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pizzano
Cave Dweller 
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Dec 29, 2019 20:43:03 GMT -5
I've owned a couple of those dual barrel HF rotary tumblers........for knock off versions of better machines they will do the job for awhile, but they will be maintenance head aches over time if used continuously for over 6 months..........the barrels are well made and really are the only endearing aspect of that tumbler. The plastic rod end caps wear and eventually get very sloppy, causing the rolling rods to drift around. The motor bearings are not fit well during manufacturing causing roll friction, which causes over heating, which causes bearing failure. The plastic barrel (adjustable) guides at each end will wear against the metal barrel lids, eventually becoming useless. The clear rubber tubing covering the roller rods is soft in the beginning, but eventually hardens and becomes slippery, causing the barrels to slide in one direction or another (even when tumbler is placed on a flat level surface).......this causes the wear of the plastic barrel end guides.
The drive belts are hit or miss.......adjusting the tension helps with belt life, but over time the ability to adjust belts (by loosening the motor mounts) and shifting the motor placement, will become useless since those threaded bolts are secured directly into the motor and the treads strip out after a few adjustments (which you will be doing quite often)........
Other than that, they are very inexpensive and if you don't mind adjusting all the time and giving them a very good (complete) cleaning after EVERY use, they'll last long enough for one to decide whether or not "rotary" tumbling is the method you want use to grind down rough stones.......It is a long process regardless whether or not you go cheap or more expensive for the better rotary tumblers like the HF........Just a thought....!
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El JeffA
spending too much on rocks
Member since February 2016
Posts: 353 
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Post by El JeffA on Dec 29, 2019 20:50:56 GMT -5
Yep, what aDave said. There are plenty of posts on RTH with suggestions to point you in the right direction. Go with what works and avoid the frustration that ultimately awaits when using inferior machines. I truly believe that these crappy machines and the unrealistic grinding times cause people to leave the hobby. Buy something that works that you will enjoy, or you may abandon the hobby before you know what it has to offer. I hope you find the thrill and satisfaction that I and others here have found in just tumbling “rocks”. Good luck! Jeff A |
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on Dec 29, 2019 20:54:18 GMT -5
Anyone ever buy a Harbor Freight vibrator or rotating tumbler from them. I now had to move to an apartment and afraid to start up the vibrator tumble because of noise and neighbors. This was a great price for a 5 pounder but it uses a plastic drum. Any info would be great! Should I take it back now and not even try it? they call it a metal tumbler. I also pick up a double drum rotating tumbler and this hold 3 pounds of rock each drum. These seem to be rubber barrels and its staying as it was also a great deal. I hope this is a quite unit. and suggestions? Thanks Ron Stay away from the HF vibe..........The bowl is not a water tight seal and trying to make it water tight will be a waste of time since the mechanical vibe action and spring set-up of that vibe will not provide the proper mechanical action (internal rotation) needed to grind and polish stones. It's also a very noisy machine and needs to be placed on a perfectly level surface for it to function without faliure.......however, if you don't mind the noise, it works great (when using the proper media), to clean, de-bur or remove rust from metal parts and ammo shell casings.....! |
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Post by knave on Dec 30, 2019 14:57:08 GMT -5
I have a HF rotary. It works but I don’t expect it to run trouble free for years. Stay away from the vibe from HF.
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