Help with Nat Geo Tumbler Video - FIRST VIDEO DONE (Pg. 5)

Jugglerguy
gets rocks for Christmas

Alpena, MI

Member since December 2011
Posts: 6,874

Help with Nat Geo Tumbler Video - FIRST VIDEO DONE (Pg. 5) Apr 21, 2021 11:55:48 GMT -5 RedWingTumbler likes this

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Post by Jugglerguy on Apr 21, 2021 11:55:48 GMT -5

Apr 20, 2021 13:34:34 GMT -5 RedWingTumbler said:

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.

Thanks RedWingTumbler. I hadn't seen a replacement barrel offered. I'm really surprised they were willing to just send you one. Tumbler barrels are not cheap.

I'm on my second batch of rocks in that tumbler now. I'm tumbling Bahia agates from the Rock Shed. I have found that four days in the tumbler at the slowest speed breaks down 46/70 grit completely in four days. I'm doing the next run for three days to see if that's long enough. Also, the Bahia agates are not decreasing in volume nearly as fast as some of the soft rocks that came with the tumbler. Whatever the black rocks were that came with it were pretty much gone by the end of the four stages they recommended.

Rob
Michigan Rocks YouTube Channel

electrocutus
spending too much on rocks

Member since October 2020
Posts: 341

Help with Nat Geo Tumbler Video - FIRST VIDEO DONE (Pg. 5) Apr 21, 2021 13:39:37 GMT -5

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Post by electrocutus on Apr 21, 2021 13:39:37 GMT -5

Apr 20, 2021 13:34:34 GMT -5 RedWingTumbler said:

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.

That's good customer service!
I wish the Nat Geo barrel would fit on my Lortone 33B. I only have 1.5lb barrels. Because of the larger diameter, it just sits on the metal edges instead of the rollers.
I guess I'll have to buy some 3lbs Lortone barrels too :-)

electrocutus
spending too much on rocks

Member since October 2020
Posts: 341

Help with Nat Geo Tumbler Video - FIRST VIDEO DONE (Pg. 5) Oct 31, 2022 12:32:34 GMT -5

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Post by electrocutus on Oct 31, 2022 12:32:34 GMT -5

I am still using my "Dr. Cool Pro" (which is the same as the Nat Geo Pro) on a regular basis, especially for the first stages that don't mind the fast rotating speed.
One annoying thing I recently found out about it is that because it has a push-button ON/OFF switch, it will not restart on its own in the event of a power outage. So, after the power comes back ON, make sure you go and turn it back ON quickly before the slurry sets in :-)

apotropaic
off to a rocking start

Member since March 2023
Posts: 5

Help with Nat Geo Tumbler Video - FIRST VIDEO DONE (Pg. 5) Mar 16, 2023 14:22:18 GMT -5

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Post by apotropaic on Mar 16, 2023 14:22:18 GMT -5

This is a interesting thread for me, a newbie with the N.G. Tumbler. My plan is to drop the voltage using my own lab grade power supply to get to roughly 42RPM as Rob has recommended.
I did buy other grits and rough rocks from a UK supplier so will try them. I did have serious doubts over the gem foam with the N.G tumbler.
Over here, it near impossible to get Aluminum oxide powder as polishing agent, it pumice powder and Cerium oxide powder I have so will compare them over my experiments with my tumblers.
Just to work out best stage 3 'grit' to use instead of 500 AO, so if anyone can recommend anything other than carbide grit, please pipe up.

My plan is to do a basic tumbler start to finish at speed 1 on the N.G. and use the supplied grit but use pumice powder as stage 4. This just to see how it turns out, then how to better results, see how each rock type changes in the tumbler. Experiment and more experiments, I like science and repeatable results.

Once I work out how to post video and pics (newbies eh!), i do not use forums so still getting used to it all, but will document my 'work' and findings. Bear with me please folks please.
I have a Evans tumbler too, so will use that as a standard for comparisons against but use the N.G. tumbler as the variable factor and see how each experiment fairs, does it help or work etc.

If anyone can give any ideas or advice or anything on how I should proceed in these experiments, please pipe up, let me know. I am listening on full volume to you all with more experience and working knowledge that I have in this hobby.

I am curious with the larger sized N.G. barrel if I should drop the RPM to around 38 to 40 RPM, use a lot of ceramic pellets as buffers or plastic pellets. I have still to read up on threads about them. Its information overload stage for me.

Looking forward to learning from you all.

Apotropaic.

skmcconnell361
starting to spend too much on rocks

Member since August 2023
Posts: 125

Help with Nat Geo Tumbler Video - FIRST VIDEO DONE (Pg. 5) Aug 11, 2023 20:14:50 GMT -5 electrocutus likes this

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Post by skmcconnell361 on Aug 11, 2023 20:14:50 GMT -5

Mar 16, 2023 14:22:18 GMT -5 apotropaic said:

This is a interesting thread for me, a newbie with the N.G. Tumbler. My plan is to drop the voltage using my own lab grade power supply to get to roughly 42RPM as Rob has recommended.
I did buy other grits and rough rocks from a UK supplier so will try them. I did have serious doubts over the gem foam with the N.G tumbler.
Over here, it near impossible to get Aluminum oxide powder as polishing agent, it pumice powder and Cerium oxide powder I have so will compare them over my experiments with my tumblers.
Just to work out best stage 3 'grit' to use instead of 500 AO, so if anyone can recommend anything other than carbide grit, please pipe up.

My plan is to do a basic tumbler start to finish at speed 1 on the N.G. and use the supplied grit but use pumice powder as stage 4. This just to see how it turns out, then how to better results, see how each rock type changes in the tumbler. Experiment and more experiments, I like science and repeatable results.

Once I work out how to post video and pics (newbies eh!), i do not use forums so still getting used to it all, but will document my 'work' and findings. Bear with me please folks please.
I have a Evans tumbler too, so will use that as a standard for comparisons against but use the N.G. tumbler as the variable factor and see how each experiment fairs, does it help or work etc.

If anyone can give any ideas or advice or anything on how I should proceed in these experiments, please pipe up, let me know. I am listening on full volume to you all with more experience and working knowledge that I have in this hobby.

I am curious with the larger sized N.G. barrel if I should drop the RPM to around 38 to 40 RPM, use a lot of ceramic pellets as buffers or plastic pellets. I have still to read up on threads about them. Its information overload stage for me.

Looking forward to learning from you all.

Apotropaic.

I do not know if you found the information You are looking for Yet, But If not this may be of help for you.
there is a link in the description for the variable voltage P/S supply he uses.

I just got my first rock tumbler a few weeks ago, The Nat Geo Hobby tumbler with 2 1/2 pounds of rocks. The 1/2 pound of gemstones was packaged in the tumbler barrel already and a pound each of Gemstone and Jasper refills. I got the half pound of rocks going right away. And also started searching the internet for rock tumbling information. I bought the book from rocktumbling.com and also found Rob's YouTube channel "Michigan Rocks", at least I did two things right. I decided to go ahead and see the Nat Geo instructions to the end and use the Information I learned to make adjustments to the instructions such as repeat step one 1 to 2 more times(weeks). I also lowered my expectations for this first batch. and ordered the Nat Geo bulk Grit pack, Ceramic media and the Geo Foam. Harbor Freight opened a new store near me and I also bought the Chicago Power Tools dual barrel rock tumbler. I continued using the Nat Geo tumbler through the first three steps. But two days into step 4 the hobby tumbler decided to quit. Thinking I had too much media in the barrel I took most of it out, but could not get the tumbler to stay on more than a minute or so. I ended up tossing out the slurry and starting step 4 over and moved the barrel over to the Harbor Freight tumbler. I sent Nat Geo an email with the issue I was having and what I tried to fix it. They are sending me a new tumbler. Today I found a couple of solutions I can try to revive the hobby tumbler if I do not need to send it back. At least I can give Nat Geo Customer service 4 or 5 stars.

capegal
off to a rocking start

Member since January 2024
Posts: 1

Help with Nat Geo Tumbler Video - FIRST VIDEO DONE (Pg. 5) Jan 25, 2024 11:36:17 GMT -5

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Post by capegal on Jan 25, 2024 11:36:17 GMT -5

Apr 1, 2021 15:14:56 GMT -5 Jugglerguy said:

I just took the rocks out of the foam. The water was black. The foam cubes were slightly rounded on the edges. The rocks looked just like they did when they went in, dull. The agates had a very slight polish, but the rose quartz and tiger's eye had no polish whatsoever. I'm working on finishing up the video now.

My first time too and I'm just about to put my rocks in with the jem foam. Like a first timer I followed the directions with the Nation Geographic tumbler. I wish I had read more about Rock tumbling before I started it. After the 4th stage there is still no shine.and I ran them at the max days they say. I'll see how mine turn out if it makes any difference. I hear it's all in the kind of polish you use in stage 4. Are there places in Canada you can buy good polish?