NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Hobby Rock Tumbler Kit - Rock Polisher for Kids & Adults, Durable Noise-Reduced Barrel, Rocks, Grit & New GemFoam for a Shiny Finish, Cool Toys, Great STEM Hobby Kit

To be honest it started flashing and being very temperamental after a month , then just wouldn't spin. I contacted customer service and they were absolutely brilliant and are sending me a new machine. I've had another one for years with no problems so they don't all go faulty and if they do rest assured the customer service is amazing.

There are 3 versions of this, the 'toy', the hobby version (this one) and pro version. The pro has a speed control and bigger drum. One thing I have consistently read is.....ignore the supplied instructions. I looked on YouTube and "Michegan Rocks" does a great set of instructions. Basically, the starter rocks are not quite big enough in volume and supplied grit is nowhere near enough. If you really want this to work, it'll take about 6 to 8 weeks with an additional cleaning step so be prepared to need to order more grit, polishing compound and borax/Ivory soap. That way, you are in better stead to get a high quality shine. If you have the time, this'll work a treat. I'm retired so I've got nothing but time. I have this running right now in an upstairs spare room with the door shut and I can't hear it running too much at all but I'll turn it off at night. Very happy with the build quality. Now it's experimenting time! Good luck and don't expect overnight success. Great bit of kit. Review addendum after stage 1: I've added some pictures of the highlights AFTER my stage 1 tumble. The others are BEFORE. I think the result, so far is pretty good. Couple of things. The rocks provided was small in number and on the small size so some little shards are really small. At the moment I'm really just getting a feeling of it but I have to say, I am really pleased. I've ordered some more stage 1 and 2 grit as after 1 more day, I'll be moving to stage 2. I think more rocks and of harder persuasion will be the real test but results so far are well worth the wait. Great bit of kit.

The product works but be aware that it needs to stay on 24 hours a day for 3 to 4 weeks to complete a cycle and it is noisy so if you don’t have a room far away with a socket I would not recommend it. On the other hand I must say it does work and the stones look great.

I had one of these when I was 13, just 43 years ago then :) I can see it on the shelf in the garage so when my 23 year old expressed an interest I popped to the parents to retrieve it. Gone of course. So I've bought her this one for her birthday today. It does the job, polishes stones, beach stones look fab after treatment. I loved it, living at the seaside, you can equally tumble pathway stones or stones from the garden. And if you buy the correct medium (ball bearings) you can turn shiny glass beads into matt beads naturally instead of using etching fluid. Please though, this isn't a toy for a 5 year old, buy them something to push around the garden or a dolls house or a train set. No child of mine was ever going to find any sort of thrill in a stone tumbler that did nothing but turn around for 4-6 weeks and produce shiny stones until they were teenagers. Please be realistic. It doesn't mean it's not a good product. Yes of course it makes a noise, it has stones tumbling around inside it, what do you expect. Stick it in the garage or in a cupboard if it's a problem for you . A great little machine.

Excellent beginners rock tumbler

The unit was great until it stopped working after 4 weeks. The lights just begin to flash and there is nothing you can do. Apparently, this is an extremely common problem with these things. Most people contact the provider (several different companies make these for NatGeo) and they just send a new unit. This company refused to do that and insisted I mail the defective unit back to get a refund. Since I'm out of the UK, the cost of mailing the broken item back would have been more than the price. So finally after talking to the manager, who was very nice, they refunded the item. The problem is that my son who has been so excited and engaged in learning about rocks and geology from this tumbler is disappointed. We have a broken unit full of wet rocks, and I don't trust this company enough to pay for a replacement and repeat the same thing. These are flimsy plastic little units with weight sensors that frequently and permanently malfunction so again this happens a lot after a certain amount of time. I suspect the reason there are good reviews is because NatGeo normally just replaces the thing in days. In our case, they would not do that, so we are stuck with a barrel of rocks and a broken machine. It's great they refunded the money but the point was to get my son excited about science and geology, and the exact opposite happened. He is now disappointed and disengaged. We weren't buying a rock tumbler, we were buying a learning experience for which this product is marketed--as a LEARNING tool. And in that sense, it failed us completely. Or at least this is not the lesson I wanted to impart. It has been a lesson in disappointment, which he'll have to get used to in life, but I did not expect that from NatGeo. Also after tons of research, we expected a 3-pound barrel which is standard for all these NatGeo machines, and only a one-pound barrel unit arrived. Now I probably didn't look closely enough at the fine print. But the difference between a 1-pound barrel and a 3-pound barrel rock tumbler is immense. It's hard to find half a pound of rocks interesting enough to spend four weeks tumbling. So buy one with at least a 3-pound barrel from a different brand. Thanks to the manager who refunded this, but again no amount of money can refund a child's disappointment with a learning experience. Cheers

Bought as a gift for someone looking into doing jewellery making, it is nice and quite compact doesn't take up alot of space surprisingly not as loud as expected but can be made quieter by place a towel underneath was fun to find out what gemstones you recieved with tumbler as it comes with an assortment of stones for trying for the first time would recommend to anyone who is looking for a new hobby or wants something educational

Not one to usually leave reviews but felt the need as my attempts to contact customer support have failed. The machine itself is adequate for my 11 year old daughter who is showing a keen interest in this subject. Having some years of experience in lapidary I feel this was a cheaper alternative to getting a professional machine at this stage. As I said the design and materials of the rock tumbler are reasonable for the price paid however the kit as a whole is very disappointing. The included rock is of insufficient size or quality to obtain the advertised results, the bag that was supplied consisted of very small pieces & a lot of dust. When tumbled they will gradually wear down to pea sized stones, that is if they supplied enough silica carbide abrasive compound to actually carry out the task. Then there is the polishing compound or lack there of it....there is none. Instead they have included some foam cubes which are advertised as polishing media...it is not and will not provide a shiny finish to rock. If you buy this product be aware that you will need to purchase additional supplies in order to achieve an acceptable finish. I say this as I know how deflated children can become when reality does not live up to there expectations and can quickly turn a desire to learn into a disinterest. As a stem learning toy & sponsored by National geographic I would have expected this to live up to its expectations.

This was very easy to use. As a first-time hobbyist, I've always wanted a rock tumbler, and the instructions and suggestions were very clear and easy to follow. I started making tumbled stone jewelry as gifts for friends, family, and the steady stream of caregivers and medical professionals my husband and I see on a daily basis. We are both disabled and I (despite my own issues) am my husband's main caregiver. Rock tumbling and making jewelry have become my escape from the daily chaos of our lives, my relaxation from my anxiety and chronic pain disorders, and something I can share that is uniquely mine. I've had this tumbler for a year now, and have enjoyed it immensely. Recently, however, the belt broke. Not a big deal but, since replacing the the broken belt with the included replacement belt, the unit was fine for a couple of weeks before it suddenly stopped one night in the middle of a 7-day tumble. I tried re-seating the canister and started it again, only for it to stop again (with all of the lights flashing) 30 seconds later. I looked online for any suggestions dealing with the issue, and came up with several possible things that could be causing the problem. I removed the belt and carefully cleaned the rotating pins. I cleaned between the base rollers and the buffer pads, and made sure no pet hair or dirt was built up anywhere that could be causing the stoppage. I removed the canister and removed half of the stones in case the weight was the issue. Despite all of this, the unit would not keep spinning, and kept "freezing " within minutes of restarting. Today is Monday 1/12/26. My husband is in the hospital due to an infection, and I am trying to catch up on some things I've been putting off due to time constraints. So, I called the customer service number listed on the box. Since the product was purchased from Amazon, I was able to supply the NatGeo/BlueMarble help desk associate with the date and order number of the unit. I was also able to give them the SEC/lot number information since I still have the box. I then found out that I was 13 days past the warranty/exchange period. Some companies would simply refuse any liability because it was past the warranty date, but not this one. After hearing my issue, what I had done to address the problem, and getting the pertinent information about my purchase of the item and the unit itself, they generously offered to replace the entire kit. I was definitely not expecting that, but it was a great surprise and absolutely made my day. In conclusion, the tumbler is great for a first-time or young user. The directions are easy to follow. The stones are beautiful, if a bit small, but perfect for jewelry or other things. There is an included booklet with sample pictures to help you identify your stones, which I found very helpful. Above all, NatGeo and Blue Marble are VERY responsive to any issues and actually stand behind their product, a rare find in today's marketplace. I highly recommend this product for young or beginner tumblers. It took me until my 57th birthday to get one, and I've been having a blast!

cadeau de noel pour mes parents qui aime faire des bijoux fantaisies. il me dise que le procédé est long mais que le résultat est bon. les pierres qu'ils ont ramassé eux même on perdu 50% de leur taille.

It is incredibly loud. There is no place in my house that I can run this overnight. I live in Canada, cannot leave water in unheated shed. There is enough abrasive material for one tumbling cycle. The cycles take 3 - 6 days each. Many of the included rocks are so small, they are unusable after the 2nd or 3rd cycle. This product could be better. It does exactly as intended. My son is more knowledgable since we purchased this product.

Macht ihre Arbeit gut.

God for beguinners