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Rock Tumbler | 
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| Brand: NSI
Category: Toy
List Price: $34.99
Buy New: $30.00
You Save: $4.99 (14%)
New (16) from $30.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  58 reviews
Sales Rank: 5371
Batteries Included: No
Age: 10 - 14 years
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.8
Dimensions (in): 13.1 x 13 x 5.1
MPN: 263561
Model: 26354
UPC: 042409006535
EAN: 0042409263549
ASIN: B00000ISUU
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: With tracking. Still sealed in shrink wrap. Has wear to box
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| Features:
| • | Includes amethyst | | • | Includes jasper | | • | Includes agates |
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| Similar Items:
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| Editorial Reviews:
Editorial Review
It may be a grind to wait nearly 30 days to create polished rock jewelry with the Rolling Stones Rock Tumbler. But, as the makers write, "you are grinding in days what it takes nature thousands of years to do in a stream, river, or ocean." So, find a clean, remote area with a properly wired outlet where the constant tumbling won't disturb others (and where curious little hands won't wreak havoc), and start rolling. The first step involves assembling and lubricating the tumbler itself. Once the two-cup, plastic barrel rolls easily atop its 10-inch-long and 6-inch-high plastic base, it's time to open the small bag of gritty stones that comes with the kit. Constant maintenance and much patience will reward the owner with shiny stones in about one month. A small sampling of jewelry settings and findings is provided, along with order forms for gold-tinted accessories. --Liane Thomas
Product Description
This is the real thing! Heavy duty rock tumbler does much more than
ordinary rock polishers- it actually changes rough stones into beautiful
high-luster semi-precious gemstones. You can even make jewelry and key
chains with the settings included in this set. U.L. Listed. Set includes
tumbling machine with heavy duty motor, rough semi-precious stones (incl
uding amethyst, jasper, agate and others), grit, polish, jewelry settings,
glue and instruction manual. Ages 10 and up.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 53 more reviews...
 very disappointing August 1, 2008
Bought with high hopes but was very disappointed. Barrel started to leak after 2nd grit on it's first run! Polish/grit all ran out, barrel seems to warp on its own. No wonder their reorder form has new barrels you can by in bulk!
 Not bad. Why all the fuss? February 14, 2008
I don't know what all the complaining is about. We ran a full cycle of Oregon agates and they came out great. No "pinhole leaks" no leaks at all. Perhaps the complaint was because they forgot to seal the lid with Vaseline. No breakdowns. The noise was standard but non -existent when in the garage... did anyone really plan on keeping it in the kitchen? There were complaints of the time it took- we are doing the grinding of 9000 years. A few weeks seems like a bargain. Only complaints are the small barrel capacity and the final polish was a little duller than what you find in the store. Overall, for a starter tumbler, not a bad buy.
Doesn't last January 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Our children (5 and 8) enjoyed our first process of rock collecting and tumbling even though it does take time and it is noisy(we put it in the basement so that helped). However, after our 2nd batch of rocks, we no longer have a rock tumbler. The entire red drum is destroyed and has several holes. My husband rigged it so we could at least make it through the last step of polishing but it was such a mess. Definitely don't waste your money on this one...look for one with a sturdier drum.
Fun and educational tool for the family January 16, 2008
Our seven year old son is the proud owner of this rock tumbler. He really enjoys checking in on the process and taking progress notes, and is now soliciting rock samples from friends and family members around the world to see what colors and patterns hide in seemingly boring lumps of rocks.
Apart from the noise it makes, we have had no issues of any kind with this tumbler. Moving the tumbler from the deck to the basement took care of the noise issue.
Yes, the process takes a while, but we never expected it not to. After all it is a tool simulating the process of natural erosion, a handful of rocks at a time. Our second grader had no problem grasping that concept.
 Not in a month of Sundays December 29, 2007
7 out of 9 found this review helpful
What the packaging fails to say is that it takes this product about a month to make a semi-precious gemstone out of a rough rock. "But", they say, once you get inside to the instruction manual, "it takes Nature thousands of years to achieve this, and you can do it in just 30 days".
IMHO, this is a part of Nature's job description, and she's got countless streams and brooks to do the work. They also get the job done a lot more quietly, and they clean up after themselves.
In this imitation of life, you have to leave the tumbler running for almost a month, stopping only to clean out the gunk, wash the machine and chuck in a new size of grit. The motor only pulls 10 Watts, but the constant noise can be extremely irritating, and the clean-up is very messy.
I don't know about you, but a month is much too long to produce a smooth stone that looks nothing like the fancy stones on the box, especially after enduring the noise, cleaning up the mess and answering ad nauseam the "Is it done yet?' question.
As Jim Croce would have sang, if there were different lyrics for "Time in a Bottle"
If I would shake stones in this tumbler
The first thing that I'd have to do
Is to tumble away
`til the thirty days passes away
Just to see them get smooth
If I could make kids wait forever
To see if their gemstones come through
I'd spend every day with my earplugs and then
Again, I'd go clean out the goo
But there never seems to be enough time
To smooth the rocks you want to shine
Once you find them
I've used the grit enough to know
It oozes out through every hole
As it finds them
If I had a dime for each product
That works as you think it should do
My box would be empty
Except for the memory
Of dimes from 1972
In summary, forget this messy, noisy toy and go for a nature walk instead. It really is better not to mess with Mother Nature.
Amanda Richards, December 30, 2007
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