Big Boys Hobbies

How do you use your tumbler?

tinsmith

tinsmith

Elite Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2013
Messages
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Location
CT.
Hey guys n girls. Finally I got a two barell tumbler for Christmas. Its one of the blue color frame with 4.5" barells Called Rock n Roll Tumbler.

My question is they sent a bag of various size rocks from 1/4" to 1" and looks like some granite and some white or quartz.
Are these a medium for tumbling things or practice polishing rocks?

Also I've heard aqarium rocks are good to use on coins. How much pennies, rocks and anything else do you find best?
4.5" barells.
 
No idea,but I want a tumbler too!:grin: Almost ALL of my coppers are ROACHED,it’s impossible to get a date with all the corrosion. Please post pics of how it’s working as you go...
 
tinsmith said:
Hey guys n girls. Finally I got a two barell tumbler for Christmas. Its one of the blue color frame with 4.5" barells Called Rock n Roll Tumbler.

My question is they sent a bag of various size rocks from 1/4" to 1" and looks like some granite and some white or quartz.
Are these a medium for tumbling things or practice polishing rocks?

Also I've heard aqarium rocks are good to use on coins. How much pennies, rocks and anything else do you find best?
4.5" barells.
Click to expand...

I've been using the single barrel tumbler from Harbor Freight for about 4 years. I usually put all my clad through the tumbler --- I clean up about $400 a year.

Here's what works for me:

Tumble no more than 2 pounds (total solids in your tumbler) at a time.
Tumble copper and zinc (copper-coated) pennies SEPARATE from the quarters, nickels, dimes.
Use WHITE aquarium gravel (small handful). Gravel can be re-used for a total of maybe 3 times.
Fill tumbler with water and 3 generous drops of dawn dishwashing soap. Water should be maybe 1-2" above the level of coins.
Tumble for ~ 12 hours total. This gets coins clean enough for the bank.

Some folks swear that ammonia really helps get the coins shiny, but I've never tried that. I just want them clean enough to take to the bank.

Hope this helps...I'm sure much more advice will be coming your way.

Happy New Year and HH!
 
tinsmith said:
Also I've heard aqarium rocks are good to use on coins. How much pennies, rocks and anything else do you find best?
4.5" barrels.
Click to expand...

Aquarium gravel works find. After you use it, it'll turn white, and won't be colored anymore.

Fill your barrel about 1/4 full of coins, about a handful of gravel, a TBSPN of ammonia and dish soap and half cup of water. Tumble for three hours.

Keep pennies separate from other clad or it will all have a reddish color.
 
IDXMonster said:
And yes,Gary has a link to EVERYTHING! Quite honestly I have no damn idea how he does it...:grin:
Click to expand...

:lol: .......thanks for the compliment though :lol:

......okay, I'll let you in on the secret.....it's called.......

......"The Search Button" :laughing: (just being funny :lol:)

search.jpg

seriously though, sometimes it's not easy finding exactly just what you're looking for :?:,
sometimes you need to try different combinations of search words for some very specific things :hmmm: :newidea: :lol:

.....and even then you sometimes need to scan thru a lot of search results to find just what you're trying to find.
 
Last edited:
ME&MYACE400 said:
what's a tumbler :?:
Click to expand...

It is normally used for smoothing and polishing rocks, gems, glass, and metals, but also has also been used by detectorists for cleaning non-valuable coins.

Of course you would NOT want to use it to clean coins that are valuable, like old coins and coins that are collectors items, a tumbler should only be used to clean face-value non-collectible clad and modern non-valuable pennies.

Here's an example -

https://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-rotary-rock-tumbler-67631.html

image_5745.jpg
 
interesting :wow:

maybe after i receive my razor blade towel I'll beable to dig up all these specials :yes:
 
Other tumbler uses...

In addition to what the other folks posted above about coins and the like, I also use my tumbler (the one Gary posted from Harbor Freight in fact), to tumble headstamps.

For any of you who just started detecting and don't know, headstamps are what remains from older shotgun shells and some people, like me, collect them. Older shotgun shells had paper sides, so all you find are the headstamp portion. You can then bounce the headstamp design off various websites and get an exact or approximate age of the headstamp. This info can then be useful in dating the area you're detecting.

Anyway, my "recipe" for polishing headstamps is as follows:

1. Fill tumbler 1/3 with headstamps
2. Add water to just cover headstamps.
3. Add a couple tablespoons of Dawn soap.
4. Add a small handful of steel BB's.
5. Add #1 grit.
6. Tumble 8 - 10 hrs

REPEAT, but change the water and add #2 grit. Repeat with #3 grit, then #4 and you're done. Takes a couple days to complete but they come out looking pretty cool.

Check it out.
 

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tinsmith said:
Hey guys n girls. Finally I got a two barell tumbler for Christmas. Its one of the blue color frame with 4.5" barells Called Rock n Roll Tumbler.

My question is they sent a bag of various size rocks from 1/4" to 1" and looks like some granite and some white or quartz.
Are these a medium for tumbling things or practice polishing rocks?

Also I've heard aqarium rocks are good to use on coins. How much pennies, rocks and anything else do you find best?
4.5" barells.
Click to expand...
I spent $25 on my tumbler, it came with all sorts of rocks and minerals, polishing medias and assorted jewelry fixtures. Basically a rock tumbling kit. It looks kind of cheap and is gear driven, but I've used it many times over the last five or six years. It's also programmable to tumble for 24, 48 or 72 hours.
 
That Sears 16 gauge really stands out. Bet it's been awhile since Sears sold ammo, and 16 gauge is rare to begin with. Nice collection and method you shared.

Enjoy your tumbler Tinsmith.
 
Thanks all for the great replies. That should get me started. Its the weather for tumbling. I figured the 2 barell would let me run pennies in one and clad in the other same time. Prob paid too much; 60 bucks to the door.
 
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