Rock Tumbler

Product Description

BEST IN ITS CLASS

Take your rock tumbling seriously with this top-of-the-line rock tumbler from National Geographic. This set has all the features and accessories you’ll need to master rock tumbling, start an extraordinary rock collection, and create beautiful homemade jewelry.

Contents and Features:
• Power saving automatic shutoff timer
• Reliable, long-lasting motor
• Leak-proof
• Noise reduced operation
• Plenty of stones (1 lb) and four levels of grit
• Jewelry fastenings so you can create your own unique jewelry

Rock tumbling is a fun activity for children of all ages and promotes a healthy interest geology and science. Introduce your kid to science the fun way, and join National Geographic as we inspire future generations.

National Geographic Toys is proud to provide a 100% satisfaction guarantee with all our products so that you can buy with confidence.

About the National Geographic Society
With a mission to inspire people to care about the planet, the 126-year-old National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations.

National Geographic’s net proceeds support vital exploration, conservation, research, and education programs.

Top Reviews

Defective lid and no response from seller.
by Rachelle (2 out of 5 stars)
June 25, 2017

I've had this running for over 3 weeks straight without any problems. Does not leak at all as long as you don't overfill it and screw the lid on tight. I've tumbled rocks and made two batches of sea glass that turned out wonderful. I ordered the plastic bead filler and it improved my results and makes the tumbling quieter. I do wish the unit was a little bigger and able to hold more.

UPDATE: The sealer lid has a defect. The rubber gets loose and comes off. I learned this the hard way when I came home to an awful mess of glass and grit spilled all over my work table. The seller says they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee, but I've emailed them twice and no response. I sealed the rubber piece back to the lid with E6000 glue, but I'm not confident that will hold for long.
↭ 🍁 ↭
Stan the Man Reviews: Nationa Geo Rock Tumbler
by Stanley Troy Thompson (5 out of 5 stars)
February 10, 2018

The machine is fine so far but, like most things National Geographic, about a third of what you are paying for is probable the National Geo name attached to it.

I rant the rocks and others of the grit provided and was rather disappointed at the result. Further experimentation with my other, newer and far cheaper rock tumbler, led me to the conclusion that there was far, far too little grit provided. Research and experiment has led me to believe that you should use a level Tablespoon for every pound your barrel holds for the coarse and medium grit and half that amount for the fine grit and polishing step. You can also, supposedly, burnish your stones by using about a Tablespoon of Ivory Soap flakes and tumbling the stones, with water as per the grit, for three to six hours or overnight. Ivory Snow would also work if you can find it at the grocery. Some person on line was selling a box on line for thirty five bucks if you can believe that.

My guess is you can grate dry bar soap with a common food grater the way you grate cheese and onions. My guess is also that any soap, as opposed to a detergent bar like Zest, will work. Soap leaves a residue which is probably what you want on the stones the way you want wax on your car. Detergent, usually Sodium Laurel Sulfate, commonly known as shampoo, does not which is why it won't dull your hair and you can save the beer rinse for the beer.

I am just starting this rock tumbling routine with my grandkids but the first thing I found out is that the first step, the coarse grit, is what rounds the rocks off. Statistically, I guess, all the rocks should eventually wind up oval or round it you ran them long enough with coars grit. They could also grind away completely which is what sand basically is.

Beware dumping grit down toilets or drains. Some of it is almost like drywall mud when the tumbler is opened up.

I love National Geographic by the way. I used to live in Maryland and drive into D.C their building all the time to look at the displays and buy books and maps. The magazine still makes a dandy gift though, as a real science journal it is past it's day.
↭ 🍁 ↭
Super easy for a super beginner!
by Myra (5 out of 5 stars)
December 4, 2015

This positive review compares the Professional Quality Rock Tumbler by National Geographic with the Model A-R1 Special Kit Rock Tumbler

I collect rocks wherever I go and finally decided to buy myself a rock tumbler. Enter the A-R1, a highly reviewed tumbler from ages past. I made the mistake of buying it used, which I don't recommend for any beginner-how can you tell if it works right! The A-R1 is simple, mostly reliable mechanism, without any switches or timers. But I couldn't figure out if I was doing it right and gave up....

Enter the National Geographic tumbler.

I was super happy to have the opportunity to try tumbling again. So I set up both my tumblers for a real go, and was immediately happy with the NG. The instructions were simple (with pictures), the barrel lid seals properly (yes, you stick the seal on, then the lid, and tighten them together), and comes with a spare belt (a 4" O-ring), which I threw on my needy A-R1.

While it's nice the NG instructions are clear, they are almost too simple. The kit comes with some rocks you can test with, and some small packets of grit. But the packets don't say how much grit they contain, and the instructions don't say how much grit to use with this tumbler. I wanted to test the tumbler not for what came with it, but for sustained use. So I tumbled my own rocks, with grit I had bought in bulk. I used 4oz of the roughest grit... which I think was too much, but it worked.

The A-R1 recommends running rocks of similar size and smoothness, e.g. all river rocks. You fill the barrel about half full, put in the grit, cover with water, seal with the lid, and begin tumbling.

The NG tumbler has two electric controls, one for days and one for speed. Instructions say run the first grit 3-5 days, on the highest setting (I chose 4 days). The A-R1 runs at a slower speed, so has to run almost twice that time. The second round runs for 6-8 days... mysteriously the NG setting for days only goes up to 5, so you have to remember to start it again once that finishes.

All in all, you're looking at about 3 weeks for the entire cycle. I'll post results.

One more thing I love about the NG is that it's actually really quiet, considering it's a rock tumbler. I put mine in the garage and barely notice it when I'm in the house. If I had to keep it inside, I don't imagine it would be any worse than the laundry machine or dishwasher.

Quick setup, easy maintenance, and good results so far!

Box contents:

Electric tumbler base with 2-prong plug, day timer (max 5 days) and speed (1-3)
2lb barrel with nice, sealing lid
2 belts (4" O-rings, for gear/rolling mechanism)

Grit for 1 full cycle (4 packets)

Hand sieve

Pack of gemstones to experiment with

Some jewelry fixings (necklace to put gemstone in, etc.)

Basic instructions

WARNING

After each cycle, you wash the rocks and the tumbler. DO NOT wash them in your sink! I recommend filling a plastic bucket with water and washing them there, then dump the grit-filled water outside and rinse the bucket with a hose.
(Pictures show the rocks before, the rocks in the barrel, then the rocks after the first cycle.)

UPDATE 2/1/16:

I've added a picture of some finished-tumbling rocks. They are shiny and beautiful!! Also, a picture of the unit after this time. Notice the black powdery stuff. The barrel got too close to the rollers on the right and it began grinding at the lid. If I'm careful to set the barrel all the way to the left there is no problem, but if the lid touches the right it will grind. And get all over the place. Eeeeew. But otherwise, still going well!!
↭ 🍁 ↭
way cool!
by David Zinn (5 out of 5 stars)
January 22, 2017

Works well i have done. 3 compete batches from stage 1-4. no issues each batch takes about 18 days unless you really want to stretch it out.

it is very noisey. I guess what do you expect from rocks tumbling in water.

this is the professional model not the cheaper plastic one others complain about.

i only filled about 60-75% with rocks so is has room to tumble. After just the first 3 days of tumbling I looked at our rocks. way cool!
↭ 🍁 ↭
Great potential, but needs more written instructions and info on tumbling
by Sun Diego (3 out of 5 stars)
January 13, 2019

I purchased with to tumble various rocks and used it for about a month before returning it. In that time I learned many things about tumbling rocks and the return was made for many reasons the most pressing was that I was having problems and the Dr. Cool Customer Service Rep pinpointed it to a mis-aligned base. I chose to return the unit and go with a completely different one because as I was packing everything up I noticed that the box indicated that the tumbler could handle 2lbs of tumbling and I was sent 1lb of rocks to start with in the kit. Therefore, I should have been able to tumble the entire 1lb of rocks supplied and I was no where near being able to do that. Instead I was only able to tumble a few rocks at a time. So I decided that I needed a different machine that has duel barrels and is rated for 3lbs in each barrel (half the price too).

What I learned from my limited time tumbling with this model...
1) There isn't enough instructions included with this tumbler, had to scour the web.
2) There should be more than just water, rocks, and grit in the barrel. I didn't get good results and noticed that the rocks were bruising from banging around together. Scoured the web for information and read about plastic and ceramic media. Included instructions don't mention the need for media at all, but after looking into itI can understand how it helps.
3) The barrel should be 1/2 to 3/4 full. Had I been able to tumble the full 1lb bag the barrel would have been at this level, but the constant error messages prevented this. The instructions stated that the "E" error light indicates too heavy of a load and to clear it you had to remove some rocks, unplug, the try again.

Now that I am going through all of this I am down grading my review from 4 stars to 3 stars. I know my machine had problems and I hope that this is why I had to have such small loads, but I truly do not know. I think the potential for this machine is great and if HF does me wrong I may give this one another chance.
4) Check your tumbling results DAILY, or more often with softer rocks. The sparse instructions say 3-5 days on the first grit, but after a full 24 hours I had nearly lost a few rocks to the process.

MY ADVICE IF YOU PURCHASE THIS TUMBLER: Look up a few rock tumbling sites for further information and purchase a bag of ceramic media. I am positive that this would have improved my results and now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if my base mis-aligned due to the rocks banging around without any of the media to provide a cushion...
↭ 🍁 ↭
Don't buy
by luvtohike (1 out of 5 stars)
December 10, 2017

This is the 2nd one I have bought from Nat. Geo. first one of less quality the tumbler leaked, this one I have tumbled the rocks completely through twice, and they are not polished at all, had them on the on longest days suggested, the only way they looked polished are when wet. Wasted a lot of money on their products and they stink.
↭ 🍁 ↭
Crummy junk. National Geo should be ashamed to have its name on it.
by CO Tim (1 out of 5 stars)
December 30, 2015

JUNK. Two problems right away. First, the digital setting for the run time (days) keeps re-setting to zero. Second, the wheel connected to the motor that drives the belt broke in the first 5 seconds!!! See the picture. It is a crummy little plastic wheel - there is no way it will last. It is connected in the center to metal rod from the motor, and will wear out for sure. This wheel should be metal, not plastic. This thing is NOT built to last. Clearly the electronic part of it is screwy too. I expected more for my $119.00.
↭ 🍁 ↭
Five Stars
by Robin Swanson (3 out of 5 stars)
April 22, 2017

Got done with my first load of rocks, they look good. BUT, the bottom of the rubber barrel has worn down and has a goopy feeling. When I set it down it leaves behind rubber. I'm not sure if that's supposed to happen? I wouldn't think so.
↭ 🍁 ↭
Great tumbler with great functionality!
by Cory Palmer (5 out of 5 stars)
July 18, 2018

My great-grandfather used to tumble rocks in Missouri and it was always something I was fascinated by. To the extent that I received a tumbler from my parents one year as a child and used to tumble rocks as a hobby. I was vacationing in Cape Cod recently and found so many gorgeous stones on the beach and was inspired to get a tumbler again and start the hobby back up. I'm not disappointed at all! The varying speeds and timer you can set for the tumbler all work perfectly. The instruction guide is simple and straight forward and of course the gemstones that come with the tumbler are already coming out beautifully. I'm on the fourth day of my second phase of the tumbling process and I can't wait to see the finished product. When my rocks ship in from the Cape I'll have a year's worth of fun. It is a little noisy but that's to be expected with a rock tumbler. I put it in a room far away from the quiet spaces in my home and it's churning away doing its work as I type. I love it!
↭ 🍁 ↭
Disappointment
by Sassy Gilmore (1 out of 5 stars)
December 9, 2018

It has a 2 year warranty, but not way to return it.

it did not last long. It was a gift, and now the gift if broke, total disappointment.

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

*If this is not the "Rock Tumbler" product you were looking for, you can check the other results by clicking this link.  Details were last updated on Sep 29, 2024 09:26 +08.