Hobbies And Interests
Vibrating Rock Tumblers
This type of tumbler uses a bowl to hold grit, water and the rocks. When the machine is turned on, the bowl vibrates. It is this vibrating action that makes the rocks rub against the grit, which in turn polishes the rocks. This is a good choice if you want to keep more of an edge to the rocks, as it does little to make the rocks round. Another advantage of this type of tumbler is that it takes less time to process a batch of rocks.
Rotary Rock Tumblers
The basic design of a rotary tumbler is a barrel with a motor. The rocks are placed into the barrel with polishing grit and water, then the motor is turned on. The barrel rotates, which tumbles the rock against the polishing media and other rocks. This type of tumbler is a good option for those who want to produce rocks with a more rounded edge. While this type of tumbler takes longer to polish rocks, it is popular choice since it is often lower in price than the vibrating tumblers.
Kid's Rock Tumblers
Smaller in size than the other tumblers, this type usually has a hard plastic barrel and can polish about 1/2 cup of rocks at a time. Often sold as kits with polishing grit and a cloth, they are a lower cost option for kids interested in polishing rocks. Some kits even come with jewelry findings so the rocks can be made into a finished product. Since the barrels are made of a harder plastic, the machines can be noisy.
Choosing the Right Tumbler
There are many things to consider when choosing the tumbler that best fits your application. Think of how much rock you want to process, as well as what you want it to look like when it is polished. Some of the sonic vibrating tumblers can also be used to polish jewelry and coins, whereas that is not recommended in a rotating tumbler. Depending on the type of polishing media used, any of the tumblers can also polish sea glass or other glass fragments. Just like with rocks, a rotating tumbler rounds the edges and a vibrating tumbler leaves more definition to the edges.