Decorating rocks look pretty elegant in the drawing-room. But for that, you would need some rock tumbler to polish the fine stones or produce gems from the rocks. Such delicacy won’t come out of any average tools. You would need the best vibratory tumbler in the market.
A vibratory tumbler is highly preferred when you wish to hold the shape of the rocks. It quickly shakes several rocks inside a barrel to polish them and give them a presentable look. Some of them allow wet and dry operations at the same time. You can adjust the action speed so that none of the rocks during polishing.
Though the vibratory tumblers below will take more time than a rotary tumbler, they won’t destroy the natural shape of the rocks. These are your best options to polish the jewelry, stones, and other crafts.
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Top 8 Best Vibratory Tumbler Review
Just being able to polish stones is not enough for the best rock tumbler out there. There are a lot more features that you need to look out for. Here’s a list of our recommended tumblers based on core features.
1. Lyman Pro Magnum Tumbler
The Lyman pro tumbler is a lightweight and easily portable tool to polish the rocks. It weighs only 7.8 pounds and runs on 115V.
Also known as a high-volume reloader, the bowl in this tumbler has the capacity of two gallons. However, the bowl is powerful enough to provide effective rock cleaning even if it’s at full capacity. If there’s any exceptional case, it can handle up to 1000.38 cases.
It’s pretty popular because of its fast cleaning system. The heavy-duty motor makes the cleaning process way more effective than other models. And that’s why it lasts long enough for one decade.
So, if you are looking for such a heavy-duty machine with high volume capacity, you can go for the Lyman Pro Tumbler.
2. Raytech Vibratory Tumbler
The Raytech vibratory tumbler is one of the popular tools for rock tumbling, polishing, and metal finishing. You can also use it in deburring of metals.
It has a bowl capacity of 0.05 cubic feet, approximately 25 ring castings, or 4 pounds of rocks. Though the bowl is made with ABS plastic, it has enough durability.
Another feature of ABS plastic is its clear acrylic lid. This means you can have a clear view of the rock during the polishing time. The cover is secured inside the threaded stud and nut assembly. You can remove the lids whenever you want.
The tumbler is ideal in both wet and dry conditions. However, due to ABS plastic, you can’t use ceramic or steel media. But it can create varieties in rock finishing effects.
3. Hornady Rotary Case Tumbler
The Hornady Tumbler is another lightweight but competent tumbling tool in the market. It has rubber-lined materials that increase efficiency and create enough seals during operation.
It can operate wet or dry, tumbling straight for 8 hours with 30 minutes of break. There is a massive capacity of 17 pounds at the same time.
Inside the case, it has a polished brass cartridge to give a brilliant shine to the rock. As a tumbling media, stainless steel pins are preferable. The design can clean vast quantities of cases simultaneously, and it would be efficient and quicker.
This tumbler uses one short cartridge case that helps to give a new look. To put it simply, this tumbler is quick and efficient in handling a large amount of rock at a time.
4. Frankford Rotary Tumbler
Frankford’s platinum series of tumblers are compact and small tools to polish the rocks. It has a specialty in cleaning cartridges and brasses.
The tumbler has a capacity of 3.3L which can hold 300 cases simultaneously. It just has a simple on/off switch to operate. The clean viewing window comes with an easily twisted cap. It’s easy to work with the tumbler on the workbench because of its small size.
A rubber seal makes the barrel leakage-proof and ensures a mess-free cleaning. You can use a cleaning solution to clean packs in the stainless steel media. That’s why the accuracy of this tumbler is unmatched.
You would need straining caps to allow the strained solution to remove any loss of cases or pins.
5. Eastwood Electric Rock Tumbler
The Eastwood rock tumbler is an extensive polishing and reloading tool for rock, cartridges, or pins. It operates at 120V and 15 AMP.
Rugged high-speed bearings that allow it to withstand any amount of speed action to polish and clean the rocks or other materials. The bearings also ensure the tool’s longevity. It has a 15-inch diameter inside with a 7.5-inch depth.
These dimensions allow holding a large number of cases or pins at a single operating time. This large bowl ensures the maximum tumbling action.
You have to use dry shine media in this tumbler because there’s no leakage proof to use wet media. However, metal polishing will have a better result in an Eastwood rock tumbler.
6. Frankford Arsenal Tumbler
The Frankford arsenal tumbler is well known for easy, quick, and budget-friendly cleaning of cartridges, brasses, etc.
It can contain 350 pieces of 0.223 cases or 600 pieces of 9mm cases at a single time. The corn cob media removes the lubes with oxidation effectively. You will get the master tumbler kit that includes a quick N-EZ case, a plastic bucket, 3-pound cleaning media, 4 ounces of brass polish, a media separator, etc.
30 minutes to 1 hour operation time is enough to remove all the dirt and greases from the cases. To polish the brasses, you need to add some polishing ingredients and wait several hours to complete them.
This tumbler weighs only 1kg. So, you can carry it anywhere in your workbench or your garage.
7. Frankford Platinum Series Tumbler
The Frankford’s platinum series tumbler comes with great specs and a higher cleaning capacity in a single operation.
It has a capacity of 7 liters that can easily hold 1000 cases to clean. You won’t have to replace the belt because it has a maintenance-free drivetrain. On top of that, you will get a built-in timer that can be fixed for up to 3 hours. It will automatically shut off after the set time is over.
You don’t need to use any stainless steel media to clean the brasses. However, you can use a cleaning solution mixed with water.
The tumbler has dual-layer drums that reduce the sounds during tumbling. There’s also a dampening rubber lining to minimize the noise.
8. Leegol Electric Rock Tumbler
The Leegol rock tumbler is made with metal sheet and rubber material to increase durability and reduce operating sounds.
This lightweight rock tumbler has a barrel capacity of 2*3 pounds. You will get a walnut shell media, an instruction manual, and five V belts as accessories. It has a double motor that helps to run multiple rock batches.
The rubber lining ensures leakage-proof operation and reduces noise production. As the motion of the tumbler has similarities with the ocean wave, it helps to keep the natural shape of the rocks during the polishing time. Instead of sand, it uses abrasive media with different grades to ensure smooth and quick operation.
This tumbler’s total operation time of smoothing and polishing takes 4 to 6 weeks.
Things to Know Before Getting a Vibratory Tumbler
Before you buy a vibratory tumbler, you should consider these facts to help you choose the best one in the market.
Materials Type
You need to know the materials types of the barrels and bowls because the whole operation occurs inside them. Therefore, you need to choose between rubber and plastic according to your usage.
Price
These delicate machines don’t come cheap. Therefore, you have to consider the most features within your budget range.
We recommend the tumbler that is value for money to you and provides the most features.
Action Speed
The vibration control is another crucial feature and should not be overlooked, especially while working with small pieces of rocks. So, choose the one in which you control the action speed.
Brand Value
There are many tumblers in the market, but only the branded ones are good quality. So, make sure you buy a tumbler from a renowned brand.
Features
Some models come with just a power switch and some with a timer or other additional features. So, you wouldn’t get value money if you spend a lot and get the minimal components.
That’s why research a bit and get the one with valuable features like timer, double layer rubber lining, etc.
Barrel Size
The barrel size shows the capacity of a tumbler. A big barrel can contain a maximum of brasses, rocks, or pins. It also helps to clean and polish the maximum number of stones.
Barrel Number
You can get one or two barrels with a vibratory tumbler. Two barrels are always better. It will help to tumble the rock smoothly with various hardness levels.
Noise
A vibratory tumbler makes irritating noises during operation. That’s why to choose a model that comes with rubber rings or layers that help in noise reduction.
Multiple Configurations
You may need different barrels to run different batches and set them into different configurations. Therefore, get an upgraded model with multiple formats.
User Reviews
Always check reviews before buying a rock tumbler. That’s because only the customers will share real-life experiences with the products.
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Conclusion
It’s better to have naturally shaped rocks than artificial designs. With a proper vibratory tumbler, you can get a beautiful natural-looking stone within a few days. Hopefully, the discussion on the best vibratory tumbler will prove helpful to choose one for you. Just remember the facts of the buying guide, and you will be benefitted. So, get a vibratory tumbler today if you are enthusiastic about rocks!