Big Boys Hobbies

Which rock tumbler to get?

U

unojc

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Messages
39
Anyone have any preference on which to get and where? Im not looking for the most expensive. Just want to throw some clad in and get em clean.

Can you put other items in the tumbler?

Ive browsed amazon and there are several to choose from so thanks in advance for suggestions.
 
Harbor freight double tumbler with a 20-25% off coupon and when they are on sale which happens several times a year.
Ends up to be about $30-$40 or so, about 1/2 price...well worth it.
Single tumbler a little less but the double is a better value.

And yes, you can clean brass items up well with these things along with a bunch of other things.

Also it polishes rocks.
 
I like the Lortone 33B, although it's not the cheapest. https://www.homesciencetools.com/lortone-33b-double-barrel-rock-tumbler

If $$'s are an issue, I understand that Harbor Freight has some decent units....and yes, there are lot's of things you can use the tumbler for, other than cleaning clad....

Either way, I would suggest a two barrel tumbler. You need to tumble the coppers separate from the other coins, so with two barrels, you can do both at the same time. Just saying !
 
DIGGER27 said:
Harbor freight double tumbler with a 20-25% off coupon and when they are on sale which happens several times a year.
Ends up to be about $30-$40 or so, about 1/2 price...well worth it.
Single tumbler a little less but the double is a better value.

And yes, you can clean brass items up well with these things along with a bunch of other things.

Also it polishes rocks.
Click to expand...

What kind of rocks you recommend to put in to polish the coins?
 
I just use the cement mixer that we've got lying in the yard. We didn't buy it to tumble coins but it works well for that as well.

I usually tumble 100-150 coins at once with a hand full of sand, a few hand fulls of blue metal (construction aggregate) and enough water to cover everything.

Leave it on for 30mins and 95% of coins come out clean. They don't come out shiny, but a dull colour silver colour. Those that remain dirty I throw in the next time.

Only coins that I return to circulation I put in the cement mixer.
 
X-Terra70 said:
I just use the cement mixer that we've got lying in the yard. We didn't buy it to tumble coins but it works well for that as well.

I usually tumble 100-150 coins at once with a hand full of sand, a few hand fulls of blue metal (construction aggregate) and enough water to cover everything.

Leave it on for 30mins and 95% of coins come out clean. They don't come out shiny, but a dull colour silver colour. Those that remain dirty I throw in the next time.

Only coins that I return to circulation I put in the cement mixer.
Click to expand...
Cool! How much is a cement mixer?
 
I just use my....

I just use my dryer at home. I triple bag my coins and have never had a problem of them getting out. No rocks... Just coin on coin. Seems to work the best for me. I purchased a small rock tumbler on ebay but works slow and very noisy.
 
Ludlow6 said:
I just use my dryer at home. I triple bag my coins and have never had a problem of them getting out. No rocks... Just coin on coin. Seems to work the best for me. I purchased a small rock tumbler on ebay but works slow and very noisy.
Click to expand...

And a bag of coins bouncing around in a dryer - is quiet ??? :?:
 
DIGGER27 said:
Harbor freight double tumbler with a 20-25% off coupon and when they are on sale which happens several times a year.
Ends up to be about $30-$40 or so, about 1/2 price...well worth it.
Single tumbler a little less but the double is a better value.

And yes, you can clean brass items up well with these things along with a bunch of other things.

Also it polishes rocks.
Click to expand...

Been using the same thing for about 3 years now and still going strong. Aquarium gravel, a squirt of Dawn and if really bad a splash of CLR works wonders. Just make sure you separate the pennies from everything else or everything will be orange when you're done.
 
I also use the Chicago dual drum tumbler from harbor freight. Going on two seasons now and it's still running strong. A word of advice, don't over fill the drums, if too heavy it will not turn and your motor will burn out. Happy hunting!
 
unojc said:
Anyone have any preference on which to get and where? Im not looking for the most expensive. Just want to throw some clad in and get em clean.



Can you put other items in the tumbler?



Ive browsed amazon and there are several to choose from so thanks in advance for suggestions.
Click to expand...



Harbor Freight has a wide range that if you time the purchase can get on from about $21 to $100. Harbor Freight also has gloves, knee pads, batteries, magnifying glasses, and lots of other useful ancillary tools fairly inexpensive when bought on sale.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Ludlow6 said:
When the clothes are in it you can hardly hear the coins. Never run more then 20 coins at a time.

works for me
Click to expand...

Okay, just wondering. A heavy duty zipper drives us crazy. Hey, if it works, have at it. I am usually doing around 3-4 lbs per run, a bit more significant weight. No harm, no foul.......Happy Hunting ! :yes:
 
I use the Harbor Freight double tumbler like a few members have mentioned. Separate the clad from the silver and copper. Fill about a 1/3 with coins. I used solid stainless steel small pin media that it used to clean ammo casings. Fill about 1/3 with media. Just enough water to cover. A drop of dish detergent and an 1/8 teaspoon of Limi-shine. Tumble for a couple of hours. And that's about it. Again, just don't mix copper with clad.
 
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