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MarilynW
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I have a house full of rock hounds and we do not have a rock tumbler. I started researching one ages ago as a possible investment- but I did not find one with good reviews - I got the impression that they are all loud, guzzle electricity, take ages to polish and also break quickly?  I had given up on the idea - but all my children got back from the Rock and Mineral Show this week all excited and I am wondering if I should try and find one again.
Does anyone have a rock tumbler/polisher they really like and would recommend?
Thanks
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Marilyn
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lapazfarm
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Yes!
We have a Lortone model 45 C and it is a real workhorse. Yes, it is a little loud, but considering that a pile of rocks are tumbling around inside it, it's not all that bad.
I can definitely recommend the brand.
Lortone tumblers
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Theresa
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Angie Mc
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Perfect timing! Theresa, any words of wisdom for choosing a size?
Love,
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Angie Mc
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lapazfarm
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No, not really. We have the 45C which is 4lbs I think and it is fine for us. Sometimes I wish we had a double barrel one, though, but that is not necessary.
I would recommend getting the starter kit as it includes everything you need to get started, and then you can expand from there.
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Theresa
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Angie Mc
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lapazfarm wrote:
No, not really. We have the 45C which is 4lbs I think and it is fine for us. Sometimes I wish we had a double barrel one, though, but that is not necessary.
I would recommend getting the starter kit as it includes everything you need to get started, and then you can expand from there. |
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Showing my ignorance once again  ...double barrel...why?
I'm definitely getting the starter kit - yea!
Love,
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MarilynW
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lapazfarm wrote:
Yes!
We have a Lortone model 45 C and it is a real workhorse. Yes, it is a little loud, but considering that a pile of rocks are tumbling around inside it, it's not all that bad.
I can definitely recommend the brand.
Lortone tumblers |
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Thanks Theresa. I have a couple of questions:
1) How long does it take for the polishing? When I was reviewing some other ones, it seemed that you had to leave them on for a month continuously?
2)An unrelated question - how do you store all your rocks? We have so many I am having storage issues. We just got back from a hike where the children found lots of rose quartz pebbles and I have made them leave them in egg cartons in the car port - trying to figure out how to store them
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lapazfarm
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MarilynW wrote:
Thanks Theresa. I have a couple of questions:
1) How long does it take for the polishing? When I was reviewing some other ones, it seemed that you had to leave them on for a month continuously?
2)An unrelated question - how do you store all your rocks? We have so many I am having storage issues. We just got back from a hike where the children found lots of rose quartz pebbles and I have made them leave them in egg cartons in the car port - trying to figure out how to store them |
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1. It takes a while. Several weeks to do it right.
2. Storage=everywhere.
Angie--Double barrel simply to do more than one batch at a time. In order to polish well, all of the stones in a batch should be of approximately the same hardness, or else the harder ones wear against the softer ones, scratching them, etc. So if for instance we wanted to do calcite (3) and lapis lazuli (5), we have to do them in separate batches, with weeks in between. It's be nice to do them at one time. That's all.
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Angie Mc
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Thanks, Theresa. I located a dealer not too far from me  .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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Paula in MN
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MarilynW wrote:
| An unrelated question - how do you store all your rocks? We have so many I am having storage issues. We just got back from a hike where the children found lots of rose quartz pebbles and I have made them leave them in egg cartons in the car port - trying to figure out how to store them |
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We keep all of our rocks (and shells) in egg cartons. They are the perfect size, have a lid that can be closed, and you can write on them for a better idea of what is in them. I keep them on the top shelf of our bookcase.
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MaryM
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MacBeth and Tami had some suggestions here as well. Rock Tumblers
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cvbmom
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Jumping in late here, but we have a rock tumbler like the one Theresa was suggesting. What do you do when the rubber belt breaks so frequently? Is this normal? Where do you get good strong belts?
Thanks!
Christine
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lapazfarm
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cvbmom wrote:
Jumping in late here, but we have a rock tumbler like the one Theresa was suggesting. What do you do when the rubber belt breaks so frequently? Is this normal? Where do you get good strong belts?
Thanks!
Christine |
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Wow. We have never had ours break and we've had it for several (I think 5)years. Maybe you just got a bad belt?
One tip I can pass on is that you need to be sure you place the tumbler on a very level surface.That ensures that it rolls smoothly and doesn't wear in odd spots.
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Theresa
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ALmom
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As for storage - fishing tackle boxes are great and they are generally cheaper than most storage containers!
Janet
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stefoodie
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We also have the Lortone and got the starter kit... 4 years ago or so. The belt broke within the first couple of months, so it's been sitting in the basement the past few years.
I'm debating with myself on whether to give it another try with a new belt or not.
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Angie Mc
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Updating to add that we ended up getting the less expensive one (budget constraints) and have used it for our first project...and we're so happy with the results! I shared it here, faux sea glass craft.
Thanks for the help!
Love,
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Angie Mc
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JennGM
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I'm bumping up this thread because I did a no-no and picked up a used rock polisher set, but it was a kid's version. For the cost, I thought I would give it a whirl. It's missing all the grinding powder, and I'm just wondering if I should just appeal to dh to upgrade to a real one with all the powders, or should we at least give this one a go to gauge interest?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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lapazfarm
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You have it, so you may as well give it a whirl. You can order the powders online.
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Theresa
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JennGM
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LOL I guess it sounded like I needed permission. I just was wondering if I'm setting ourselves for disappointment. For a dollar, I was willing to try.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Rock tumblers/polishers
