Rock Tumbler from Harbor Freight

[pplinker]

29.95 Chicago Rotary Rock Tumbler, 3 lb capacity. I brought it home put all my coins in there from since late November. Added a little Arm and Hammer washing soda and a little water and turned it on. It ran great, then i checked back a couple times and it had quit running. My husband said it was because he oiled it and got some on the shaft. But he cleaned it with alcohol and q tips and it started working okay. I only tumbled the coins for about 5 hours and they came out looking pretty good.

12.56....not much money for the hours and hours and hours i spent finding them. Not enough to even pay for the batteries or the gas to go places.....But it was fun! I like looking at the cleaned up coins and they seem more valuable just because i found them.

[Drosera]

I have the same tumbler and I found that if you add too much water it won't rotate properly. Are you saying you just add coins, water, and arm and hammer? I've been using aquarium gravel as well, but it seems to take a lot longer than 5 hours.

I think I'm going to try using vinegar in the tumbler. I think that might speed up the cleaning.

[pplinker]

Actually, after i added the water, that is when it quit spinning. My husband thought it was because he had oiled it, but maybe you are right and it was the water. Anyway it worked right again after he cleaned the excess oil. But, he also put a piece of tape on one end of that rubber tube that goes over the shaft, because the shaft was spinning inside the rubber so nothing was happening. It might have been from too much weight from the water, even though i didn't add that much.

I also put in some tiny glass beads. But they were round not sharp. Next time i want to use aquarium gravel, but have to buy some.

Yes, 5 hours and they were reasonably clean. Most of them were shiney, like new. About one in ten would still be dark colored, but you could tell what they were and read the date. I didn't want to tumble them overnight because they looked satisfactory after the 5 hours.

I wish i had some more to clean. It's almost as much fun as finding them.

Penny

[ual10]

Yes, I have the same tumbler. I use basic aquarium/pea gravel you can get for a few dollars. Just fill enough water to break the top of the gravel, I use a few tbs. of laundry soap or dishwasher powder and sometimes a little "barkeepers Friend" or cleanser. I spin about 2-3 hrs., cleans up clad good enough to cash-in. Also the bottom of the drum will sometimes rub against the side of the tumbler if overloaded and stop spinning. I sometimes tilt the tumbler a bit with a shim, works o.k.

[Don]

I too purchased a Harbor Freight tumbler..........It's been working great!!!

[Me&MyBoy]

I broke down and bought that tumbler on Friday and then got to work cleaning. I used smooth aquarium gravel, dish soap and water and it did a great job after less than two hours per batch.

I did the full copper separate from the zinc, and then did the quarters, dimes and nickels together. I even threw in this year's wheat finds for about 10 minutes (there are all common and well worn already) to knock off the extra crud and they look better than ever.

What I was amazed with is how it cleaned up the zincolns. I couldn't have imagined that it would make some of them look so good again.

I'd rate it as a good buy for the money.

[Ohio Rusty]

Those rock tumblers work really great !! I use one for cleaning all my empty brass pistol shells before reloading them. I use the finely ground walnut shell media you get at the pet store. I think it is used for lining the bottom of bird cages. I know it works really great as all my brass comes out shiny and new. I'm sure it would do a good job of cleaning other metals and doesn't do any damage at all..

There is also a finely ground corn cob media sold at the pet places (I've seen it at Walmart) that is also an excellent metal cleaner in the tumbler and vibrating shell cleaners.

The great thing is a big bag of this media is only 5 or 6 bucks. One bag would work for years of cleaning the dirt and tarnish off finds. I bet the walnut media would do a great job on cleaning nickels.
Ohio Rusty ><>

[JBEXPRESS]

I have a quick question about the 3 Lb. Rotary Rock Tumbler, When your tumbling the coins is it loud or pretty much is quiet? I use a cheap tumbler from a hobby shop that is plastic and it is SO loud and you can only put in a few $$$ at a time, but it works good just LOUD, lol

[13rannon]

I use the Chicago Vibrating Tumbler for Canister Balls I find. Works pretty good and hasn't broken yet.

[Me&MyBoy]

Originally Posted by JBEXPRESS

When your tumbling the coins is it loud or pretty much is quiet?

I don't think it's particularly loud, but I put mine in the garage, making it a non-issue. The drum is made of rubber so that probably dampens it some and it might depend a little on what you use as a tumbling media. I wouldn't keep it on your nightstand though.

[pplinker]

Was back at Harbor Freight again and took a look at the tumbling medium. They had triangular plastic things for about 9.00. Some different grits of sand or glass and it all seemed pretty expensive. This old clad is costing enough in batteries without an extra expense for tumbling medium.I decided to take some old ceramic tiles and put them in a cloth bag and bust them up. Was thinking about busting glass bottles but that might result in sharp shards. I'm gonna go with the ceramic tiles.

[x2bj]

i use coal slag that i get from my local sand blaster or u can use play sand