NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Professional Rock Tumbler Kit - Complete Rock Tumbler for Adults & Kids with Durable 2 Lb. Barrel, Rocks, Grit, and Patented GemFoam Finishing Foam Polish, Rock Polisher

The media could not be loaded. I just got this rock tumbler kit today, and so far I am very pleased with it!It is quiet, and doesn't take up too much space, and it comes with rocks to tumble, a jewelry-making kit, an extra pully band, foam and grit, and a nice booklet on the rocks included with the tumbler.A very nice little kit from Nat Geo, for a good price!It definitely does not come with enough grit though.I purchased additional 120 grit aluminum oxide to use with for my future rock tumbling.I might get a different grade of grit later, but to start out 120 aluminum oxide seemed most likely to give my rocks the best shine, without grinding them into dust.I can also say that the wheel looks a bit wiggly, but it doesn't seem to hinder the machine at all.I am trying an experiment right now where I soak my rocks for 24 hours prior to tumbling them, and then I am going to add just a bit of mineral oil to the water, grit and foam.I am testing my rocks in; vinegar, mineral oil and water/ mineral oil and water/ water.I will update this review of the results, after I have results to post.UPDATE: DO NOT USE DARK COLORED/BLACK GRIT/SAND/POWDER WITH LIGHT COLORED STONES!It grinds into the stones, and changes their color, based on the grit/powered/sand you're using!After 3 days of tumbling to each batch of stones, these are my results:- The vinegar, mineral oil and water mix:Shined and cleaned the rocks, and seemed to soften them, creating a visible effect in their polish.- The mineral oil and water:Also shined the stones, and seemed to soften them, without much difference in their cleanliness, and added a visible effect in their polish.- Water:Did not soften or clean the stones, and had less of an effect on their polish.OVERALL RESULTS OF EXPERIMENT:I think pre-soaking the stones in mineral oil and vinegar had the most noticeable effect on the stones polish.They seem to soften in the mineral oil, and the vinegar does get them clean pre-polish.I also tried tumbling the stones in mineral oil and water, with the aluminum oxide powder, and found that the dark colored powder ground into the stones, specifically the Tigers Eye....Which is NOT the result I wanted.Upon further experimentation and research, I have decided to use clean/white sand and colored sand as grit, to see if those work better as a polishing medium than the aluminum oxide.If my theory is correct, pre-soaking the stones in mineral oil and vinegar and then tumbling with the color sands should grind the sand color of my choice into the rocks.Will update later with pictures, if/when possible.So far, it's a going well and I'm having fun experimenting with geology!Yay, shiny rocks! Thanks Nat Geo!

My 7 year old loves this, it was easy to do and worked perfectly. It only comes with 1 pack of tumbling supplies and it's loud. We set it up in the garage so the noise wasn't ever an issue and we plan to buy more tumbling gravel

Works great and the result is nice iiií

This is my first batch, a little less shiny than I had hoped, but pretty none the less. I used a combination of rocks received in the kit and some I found, tried to go with a batch of equal hardness.My only complaint about the product is the lid attachment is a bit sketchy. The inner lid just pushes into the rubber barrel then the metal outer lid is held on by a screw. Day one, I tightened the screw too tight thinking it would be better to have a tighter closure, but as a result the first morning I woke up to check on the tumbler, the lid had pulled out causing the water, rocks and grit to pull all over the place marking a huge mess. The kit only comes with one packet of each grit, so I had to order a new grit set to get going again. Seem counter intuitive to me, but don’t close the lid too tightly to avoid disaster!Looking forward to seei mg blow round two comes out.

I bought this for myself 4 years ago when I was in my 50s. I knew nothing about rock tumbling. This has been a great little tumbler. Since then I've purchased a larger tumbler and a vibratory tumbler. That said I still use this tumbler! If you join an online rock tumbling group some people might be a little snobbish about this tumbler, but I can't say enough good things about it. I haven't used it 24/7, but it's gotten a good workout over the years. I'm careful to clean the barrel after every use and between stages. My fingers maybe aren't the strongest anymore so I use a screwdriver to pop the metal lid from the barrel and have no problem removing the top. I'm going to attach pictures of the first batch I tumbled. For stage 1 I tumble the rocks without any added filler/media (ceramic). I also bought ceramic filler and used that for stages 2-4. I like using the included foam pieces for stage 4 and I'm really pleased with the nice shine they provide. Yes, it's a little noisy so I put it in a room that doesn't get much use. I bought a plastic washing machine drain pan to place this in just in case I would have leaks, but that hasn't been an issue.

Easy to use. It does make noise, so I would recommend keeping it somewhere like the basement or the garage, since it runs for days at a time. My rocks turned out very smooth. My husband bought one for me, and I liked it so much that I bought this one for my grandpa who had collected rocks, arrow heads, and fossils his whole life. My grandpa is a simply country man and has never once gotten excited about a gift I've given him until this. I'll be getting him more grit and more rocks for Christmas this year.

Absolutely a pass. This will last one year, and one year only. If it lasts more than a year, you're not using it.The motor is designed to fail, and it's cleverly designed to fail right after one year so you're not covered under warranty. National Geographic told us (after waiting four months to respond to an inquiry sent about warranty) that our purchase date was (now) over one year. It wasn't when we sent the email.They don't stand behind their products, they don't sell replacement parts, and don't use standard, available components.The problem:The motor is a brushed DC motor. It uses a consumable part to run. The motor looks exactly like a power tool motor, easy to swap right? No it's a specialized speed, with a non-standard housing. If you swap the brushes out, the unit stops itself every 1-2 days, by powering off.Besides looking nice, and having some features this is absolute trash. Pass for a cheaper model if you're getting it for little kids, or bite the bullet now, and buy a truly well made tumbler.