electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 341 
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Post by electrocutus on Apr 7, 2021 10:35:21 GMT -5
Great video. Very detailed and fair review.The best part of the tumbler is the barrel. Same design as the Lortone, but the lid is sturdier. It probably doesn't matter much, but the edges of the Lortone lid can bend a bit if it is hard to take off, while the NG lid doesn't.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 7, 2021 12:18:06 GMT -5
Great video. Very detailed and fair review.The best part of the tumbler is the barrel. Same design as the Lortone, but the lid is sturdier. It probably doesn't matter much, but the edges of the Lortone lid can bend a bit if it is hard to take off, while the NG lid doesn't. Good point about the lid. I have never bent any of my Lortones, but I could see how it would happen. I was surprised that they use stainless steel because it's probably more expensive and it'd definitely heavier. With the little motor in this machine, I would have thought a lighter lid would be a better choice. |
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Brian
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2020
Posts: 1,512
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Post by Brian on Apr 7, 2021 13:59:33 GMT -5
Great job on that video, Rob! You did a very fair and balanced review from everything I have read about that tumbler. More importantly, I hope people who have purchased one of those tumblers watch it and learn from it so that they don’t get discouraged and give up on the hobby altogether.
The one positive I took away from the video is that the tumbler itself seems to be decent enough quality and the barrel looks very nice.
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Post by Drummond Island Rocks on Apr 7, 2021 15:52:19 GMT -5
JugglerguyJust happened to see this pop up on my facebook feed. This person 3D printed a pulley for their Nat Geo to slow it down. The video that was posted showed a stock one next to the modified one and with both on speed #1 the stock was about 80 RPM and the modified was about 50. Just food for thought.  Chuck
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 7, 2021 16:04:56 GMT -5
Great job on that video, Rob! You did a very fair and balanced review from everything I have read about that tumbler. More importantly, I hope people who have purchased one of those tumblers watch it and learn from it so that they don’t get discouraged and give up on the hobby altogether. The one positive I took away from the video is that the tumbler itself seems to be decent enough quality and the barrel looks very nice. Hopefully, with my next video, I can help people actually get a good shine with this machine. That's my goal. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 7, 2021 16:05:35 GMT -5
JugglerguyJust happened to see this pop up on my facebook feed. This person 3D printed a pulley for their Nat Geo to slow it down. The video that was posted showed a stock one next to the modified one and with both on speed #1 the stock was about 80 RPM and the modified was about 50. Just food for thought. Chuck That's a really good idea. That person should sell those. |
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Wooferhound
Cave Dweller 
Lortone QT66 and 3A
Member since December 2016
Posts: 1,432
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Post by Wooferhound on Apr 7, 2021 21:41:42 GMT -5
Jugglerguy Just happened to see this pop up on my facebook feed. This person 3D printed a pulley for their Nat Geo to slow it down. The video that was posted showed a stock one next to the modified one and with both on speed #1 the stock was about 80 RPM and the modified was about 50. Just food for thought. Chuck
Too Cool It would even gear it down and make the motor run better
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 341
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Post by electrocutus on Apr 8, 2021 10:39:36 GMT -5
Jugglerguy Just happened to see this pop up on my facebook feed. This person 3D printed a pulley for their Nat Geo to slow it down. The video that was posted showed a stock one next to the modified one and with both on speed #1 the stock was about 80 RPM and the modified was about 50. Just food for thought. Chuck
Too Cool It would even gear it down and make the motor run better
The mark of a serious hobbyist !! |
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ncboxorox
having dreams about rocks
Member since March 2021
Posts: 62
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Post by ncboxorox on Apr 10, 2021 13:36:10 GMT -5
I own the hobbyist model, the motor and the one resistor on the “circuit board” fried after 3 months. So I have nothing good to say about the electrics, but the base is made well minus the exposed “belt” on the side. The barrel is actually made very well, it’s ten sided on the inside, the rubber is fairly flexible, and the the lid and outer metal cap are well made. I still use the barrel for small batches that need to be polished. Overall the electrics kinda suck but barrel-wise it’s decent.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 10, 2021 14:30:01 GMT -5
I own the hobbyist model, the motor and the one resistor on the “circuit board” fried after 3 months. So I have nothing good to say about the electrics, but the base is made well minus the exposed “belt” on the side. The barrel is actually made very well, it’s ten sided on the inside, the rubber is fairly flexible, and the the lid and outer metal cap are well made. I still use the barrel for small batches that need to be polished. Overall the electrics kinda suck but barrel-wise it’s decent. I haven’t had the motor die yet, but I think your assessment seems about right. You should contact customer support, it sounds like they’ll send you the pro model as a replacement. |
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Post by aDave on Apr 10, 2021 17:43:28 GMT -5
Nicely done on the video, Rob Jugglerguy. We always thought the polish was suspect, but it's great you were able to confirm what it actually is. I don't doubt you'll be able to get a polish with the right grits, even using the time frames as noted in the instructions. When I first started tumbling I used Lortone's "one week for each stage," and I was still able to get a shine. Granted, they weren't totally smoothed, but the end results were still satisfying. I'm looking forward to seeing what you get out of the tumbler. Thanks for taking the time to do this. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 11, 2021 9:59:40 GMT -5
aDave I’m interested to see how the tumbler does with a better method, my only concern is that the rocks will get damaged by the fast barrel speed. On the plus side, that fast barrel really grinds the rocks fast too.
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Post by aDave on Apr 11, 2021 11:25:22 GMT -5
aDave I’m interested to see how the tumbler does with a better method, my only concern is that the rocks will get damaged by the fast barrel speed. On the plus side, that fast barrel really grinds the rocks fast too. I agree that the speed, while good at first, may end up being your nemesis. That's where your filled barrel and/cushioning will also help, but you already know that.  |
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Post by Rockindad on Apr 11, 2021 12:52:40 GMT -5
Nice job Rob Jugglerguy. I didn't want to comment until I was able to watch the entire video which I did with my coffee this morning- a nice way to start a Sunday. It is a thorough and fair review and you successfully walked a thin line between presenting the information to completely inexperienced tumblers and throwing in enough tidbits to keep more experienced ones engaged. Like many others, this is the machine we started on (December 26, 2018) and continue to use it today, though not full- time. This was a Christmas gift for our son and at that time I never had any desire to polish a rock, times have clearly changed! We ran our first batch per the instructions and with the included grits/rocks and got what I would describe as very good results considering the methods and materials used. It was certainly good enough to get us hooked. A couple things I noticed from the video: -The foam blocks were not included back then. I guess I get the theory (increasing fill level, providing cushioning, etc.) but wondering if it helps at all or maybe even hinders polish. -Wondering if the grit packs have changed over time, though they sure look familiar. Looking at our purchase history we may have used the polish from this kit instead of the included packet (it looks the same as what is in the packets): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRKI4W0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1While the finished product was not up to our standards today they were pretty shiny and A.J. has some of them in his display case to remember his first batch. I look at them now and am actually impressed considering the lack of prep work, knowledge, etc. We didn't even finish the linked containers of grit as we graduated quickly in knowledge (in large part because of this place), equipment and supplies. The first three jars we dumped into our SiC containers but we didn't want to risk using the "polish" any more once our results really took off. -As noted the barrel is a Lortone copy but I find the knob on the NG superior to the small knurled nut on the Lortone, I have rather large hands so this may not bother everybody. -A lot of the criticism about the NG on the forum is about the lacking instructions. In fairness, this seems to be almost a universal shortcoming among tumbler manufacturers. I don't believe this is an oversight, I couldn't imagine a manufacturer saying "If you buy this tumbler you can have nice shiny rocks in 3-5 months" -I actually like the on/off and wish all of my tumblers had them, only our Thumler's UV-10 does. I also like the concept of the speed control, just wish it was executed better. -Kudos to you for attempting to use the worlds smallest elbow noodle strainer, never did use ours. -After going on almost 2 1/2 years I can absolutely confirm this machine will shut down when "overloaded" (what most here would consider properly filled), particularly when on the high speed. This happens less often when on the low speed and has never failed to restart. Finally, I can honestly say that as far as running loads start to finish (coarse to polish) there is zero difference between what we get out of the NG versus our Thumler's AR-2 (3lb. barrels), Lortone QT-66 (6lb. barrels) and Thumler Model B's (15 lb. barrels). As we have a vibe we polish less and less in rotary, usually only when we are backed up. Our NG is usually reserved for softer materials as they typically turn out better in the smaller diameter barrels. After reading so much about these machines over the years one thing is pretty clear: The owners of Lortone, Thumler's, etc. should thank National Geographic as these tumblers have been a gateway drug tumbler to their products. Al |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 11, 2021 13:04:02 GMT -5
Nice job Rob Jugglerguy. I didn't want to comment until I was able to watch the entire video which I did with my coffee this morning- a nice way to start a Sunday. It is a thorough and fair review and you successfully walked a thin line between presenting the information to completely inexperienced tumblers and throwing in enough tidbits to keep more experienced ones engaged. Like many others, this is the machine we started on (December 26, 2018) and continue to use it today, though not full- time. This was a Christmas gift for our son and at that time I never had any desire to polish a rock, times have clearly changed! We ran our first batch per the instructions and with the included grits/rocks and got what I would describe as very good results considering the methods and materials used. It was certainly good enough to get us hooked. A couple things I noticed from the video: -The foam blocks were not included back then. I guess I get the theory (increasing fill level, providing cushioning, etc.) but wondering if it helps at all or maybe even hinders polish. -Wondering if the grit packs have changed over time, though they sure look familiar. Looking at our purchase history we may have used the polish from this kit instead of the included packet (it looks the same as what is in the packets): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRKI4W0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1While the finished product was not up to our standards today they were pretty shiny and A.J. has some of them in his display case to remember his first batch. I look at them now and am actually impressed considering the lack of prep work, knowledge, etc. We didn't even finish the linked containers of grit as we graduated quickly in knowledge (in large part because of this place), equipment and supplies. The first three jars we dumped into our SiC containers but we didn't want to risk using the "polish" any more once our results really took off. -As noted the barrel is a Lortone copy but I find the knob on the NG superior to the small knurled nut on the Lortone, I have rather large hands so this may not bother everybody. -A lot of the criticism about the NG on the forum is about the lacking instructions. In fairness, this seems to be almost a universal shortcoming among tumbler manufacturers. I don't believe this is an oversight, I couldn't imagine a manufacturer saying "If you buy this tumbler you can have nice shiny rocks in 3-5 months" -I actually like the on/off and wish all of my tumblers had them, only our Thumler's UV-10 does. I also like the concept of the speed control, just wish it was executed better. -Kudos to you for attempting to use the worlds smallest elbow noodle strainer, never did use ours. -After going on almost 2 1/2 years I can absolutely confirm this machine will shut down when "overloaded" (what most here would consider properly filled), particularly when on the high speed. This happens less often when on the low speed and has never failed to restart. Finally, I can honestly say that as far as running loads start to finish (coarse to polish) there is zero difference between what we get out of the NG versus our Thumler's AR-2 (3lb. barrels), Lortone QT-66 (6lb. barrels) and Thumler Model B's (15 lb. barrels). As we have a vibe we polish less and less in rotary, usually only when we are backed up. Our NG is usually reserved for softer materials as they typically turn out better in the smaller diameter barrels. After reading so much about these machines over the years one thing is pretty clear: The owners of Lortone, Thumler's, etc. should thank National Geographic as these tumblers have been a gateway drug tumbler to their products. Al Thanks Al. There's some good information for me in your comments. I'm happy to hear that the motor is less likely to shut down when running at the slowest speed, since that's the speed I plan to use. I'm surprised that you got any shine at all using the included instructions and materials. As you saw, I did manage to get a very slight shine on the agates, but that's it. I'm encouraged that you do not notice a difference between the results from this machine and your other tumblers. I was worried about the rocks getting bruised by the faster speed. I got started in this hobby the exact same way that you did. We bought a tumbler for my son who was always attracted to shiny rocks in gift shops. He lost interest after a couple years, but I sure didn't. I had some interest in tumbling, but not much. Boy, that sure did change. |
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Post by Rockindad on Apr 11, 2021 13:43:04 GMT -5
Nice job Rob Jugglerguy . I didn't want to comment until I was able to watch the entire video which I did with my coffee this morning- a nice way to start a Sunday. It is a thorough and fair review and you successfully walked a thin line between presenting the information to completely inexperienced tumblers and throwing in enough tidbits to keep more experienced ones engaged. Like many others, this is the machine we started on (December 26, 2018) and continue to use it today, though not full- time. This was a Christmas gift for our son and at that time I never had any desire to polish a rock, times have clearly changed! We ran our first batch per the instructions and with the included grits/rocks and got what I would describe as very good results considering the methods and materials used. It was certainly good enough to get us hooked. A couple things I noticed from the video: -The foam blocks were not included back then. I guess I get the theory (increasing fill level, providing cushioning, etc.) but wondering if it helps at all or maybe even hinders polish. -Wondering if the grit packs have changed over time, though they sure look familiar. Looking at our purchase history we may have used the polish from this kit instead of the included packet (it looks the same as what is in the packets): www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MRKI4W0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1While the finished product was not up to our standards today they were pretty shiny and A.J. has some of them in his display case to remember his first batch. I look at them now and am actually impressed considering the lack of prep work, knowledge, etc. We didn't even finish the linked containers of grit as we graduated quickly in knowledge (in large part because of this place), equipment and supplies. The first three jars we dumped into our SiC containers but we didn't want to risk using the "polish" any more once our results really took off. -As noted the barrel is a Lortone copy but I find the knob on the NG superior to the small knurled nut on the Lortone, I have rather large hands so this may not bother everybody. -A lot of the criticism about the NG on the forum is about the lacking instructions. In fairness, this seems to be almost a universal shortcoming among tumbler manufacturers. I don't believe this is an oversight, I couldn't imagine a manufacturer saying "If you buy this tumbler you can have nice shiny rocks in 3-5 months" -I actually like the on/off and wish all of my tumblers had them, only our Thumler's UV-10 does. I also like the concept of the speed control, just wish it was executed better. -Kudos to you for attempting to use the worlds smallest elbow noodle strainer, never did use ours. -After going on almost 2 1/2 years I can absolutely confirm this machine will shut down when "overloaded" (what most here would consider properly filled), particularly when on the high speed. This happens less often when on the low speed and has never failed to restart. Finally, I can honestly say that as far as running loads start to finish (coarse to polish) there is zero difference between what we get out of the NG versus our Thumler's AR-2 (3lb. barrels), Lortone QT-66 (6lb. barrels) and Thumler Model B's (15 lb. barrels). As we have a vibe we polish less and less in rotary, usually only when we are backed up. Our NG is usually reserved for softer materials as they typically turn out better in the smaller diameter barrels. After reading so much about these machines over the years one thing is pretty clear: The owners of Lortone, Thumler's, etc. should thank National Geographic as these tumblers have been a gateway drug tumbler to their products. Al Thanks Al. There's some good information for me in your comments. I'm happy to hear that the motor is less likely to shut down when running at the slowest speed, since that's the speed I plan to use. I'm surprised that you got any shine at all using the included instructions and materials. As you saw, I did manage to get a very slight shine on the agates, but that's it. I'm encouraged that you do not notice a difference between the results from this machine and your other tumblers. I was worried about the rocks getting bruised by the faster speed. I got started in this hobby the exact same way that you did. We bought a tumbler for my son who was always attracted to shiny rocks in gift shops. He lost interest after a couple years, but I sure didn't. I had some interest in tumbling, but not much. Boy, that sure did change. I was actually surprised by your results as I have seen plenty of your work here, makes me wonder if the grit packs have changed over the years. As we typically only use the NG for softer materials now we do compensate by having a higher fill level and thicker slurry. Never did anything special when we ran agates/jaspers in it. I do not know how long A.J. will stay interested, I'm sure the day will come when he will not want to hang around with dad and play with rocks. Just taking it while I can get it. Al |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 11, 2021 19:26:09 GMT -5
I was actually surprised by your results as I have seen plenty of your work here, makes me wonder if the grit packs have changed over the years. As we typically only use the NG for softer materials now we do compensate by having a higher fill level and thicker slurry. Never did anything special when we ran agates/jaspers in it. I do not know how long A.J. will stay interested, I'm sure the day will come when he will not want to hang around with dad and play with rocks. Just taking it while I can get it. Al Yep, enjoy it while it lasts! |
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electrocutus
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2020
Posts: 341
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Post by electrocutus on Apr 12, 2021 10:30:32 GMT -5
Thanks Al. There's some good information for me in your comments. I'm happy to hear that the motor is less likely to shut down when running at the slowest speed, since that's the speed I plan to use. I'm surprised that you got any shine at all using the included instructions and materials. As you saw, I did manage to get a very slight shine on the agates, but that's it. I'm encouraged that you do not notice a difference between the results from this machine and your other tumblers. I was worried about the rocks getting bruised by the faster speed. I got started in this hobby the exact same way that you did. We bought a tumbler for my son who was always attracted to shiny rocks in gift shops. He lost interest after a couple years, but I sure didn't. I had some interest in tumbling, but not much. Boy, that sure did change. I was actually surprised by your results as I have seen plenty of your work here, makes me wonder if the grit packs have changed over the years. As we typically only use the NG for softer materials now we do compensate by having a higher fill level and thicker slurry. Never did anything special when we ran agates/jaspers in it. I do not know how long A.J. will stay interested, I'm sure the day will come when he will not want to hang around with dad and play with rocks. Just taking it while I can get it. Al I just started tumbling last September, but my 21-year old daughter think it's a really cool hobby, so hopefully your son will continue to love it. As long as the inner kid in you stays interested, that's what counts :-) |
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RedWingTumbler
having dreams about rocks
Member since April 2021
Posts: 65
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Post by RedWingTumbler on Apr 20, 2021 13:34:34 GMT -5
I've been using the 3lb. version of the Nat. Geo. Pro Tumbler for a little over a month. Out of the initial batch of stones (about 2 pounds), I now have just over a pound of stones that went through the first 4 packets of included grit, pretty much following the manufacturer's instructions (with the addition of ceramic media to keep the barrel at capacity.) The fourth packet is definitely not polish & the stones are not shiny, yet. I have them washed & set aside in a container of water. I have since bought grit & polish, and started a 2nd batch, using 2T grit per pound. I'm trying to apply what I've learned so far. Jugglerguy's video has been very helpful to me. Once I have accumulated enough stones ready for polishing, I will give them a tumble & report the results.
One suggestion that I have seen many times in my research is to keep a dedicated barrel for the polish stage. I contacted Nat. Geo. customer support (help@natgeotoys.com) to see if they sell just the 3lb. barrel & they responded "Unfortunately, we are not set up for sales on replacement parts for our 3 pound tumbler at this time. However, I would be happy to go ahead and send an additional barrel under warranty. Please provide your proof of purchase, mailing address and telephone number so we can process your request. We appreciate the opportunity to make this right for you."
So it looks like I will be getting a 2nd barrel for free, thanks to their stellar customer service.
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Post by rockjunquie on Apr 21, 2021 9:02:41 GMT -5
I've been using the 3lb. version of the Nat. Geo. Pro Tumbler for a little over a month. Out of the initial batch of stones (about 2 pounds), I now have just over a pound of stones that went through the first 4 packets of included grit, pretty much following the manufacturer's instructions (with the addition of ceramic media to keep the barrel at capacity.) The fourth packet is definitely not polish & the stones are not shiny, yet. I have them washed & set aside in a container of water. I have since bought grit & polish, and started a 2nd batch, using 2T grit per pound. I'm trying to apply what I've learned so far. Jugglerguy 's video has been very helpful to me. Once I have accumulated enough stones ready for polishing, I will give them a tumble & report the results.
One suggestion that I have seen many times in my research is to keep a dedicated barrel for the polish stage. I contacted Nat. Geo. customer support (help@natgeotoys.com) to see if they sell just the 3lb. barrel & they responded "Unfortunately, we are not set up for sales on replacement parts for our 3 pound tumbler at this time. However, I would be happy to go ahead and send an additional barrel under warranty. Please provide your proof of purchase, mailing address and telephone number so we can process your request. We appreciate the opportunity to make this right for you."
So it looks like I will be getting a 2nd barrel for free, thanks to their stellar customer service.
Dang! That is really cool! Who does stuff like that anymore? |
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