Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[newbury]

Now, I would be very interested in a giant tumbler that maybe held a hundred pounds or so. In fact, I did a post in search of ideas a while back. I would do that in a heartbeat.

Cement mixer?

 

[Travelover]

............ we put it in the spare room and shut the door. This was around 25 years ago. .........

I'm guessing that your rocks are done now. Better check....:laughing:

 

[sixdogs]

Cement mixer?

Intriguing.

I'm guessing that your rocks are done now. Better check....:laughing:

Nope, he checked last year and someone must have removed the rocks. All that was left was some granular dust.

 

[Baby Grand]

I think the challenge is that today's instant gratification youth might get awfully bored with this. Not saying they are coming from Grand Theft Auto to this, but there are so many competing attractions out there, with cable tv, the internet, tweets but NOT twerks...

off topic, sorry, but most of us are old enough to remember when these simple things were just the best.

If the kid(s) can survive a 4 hour car trip without the use of any electronic gee-gaws, then the tumbler would probably be a great gift.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

You all have me about convinced to get this tumbler. The concept of delayed gratification is one of the reasons I think it would be a good idea. And, little polished rocks seem like just the kind of useless trinket my kids would get all excited about.

So the question becomes, do I get a dual or single drum?

Also, does anyone know if the tumbler comes with a starter pack of grit?

 

[daugen]

Amazon.com: Lortone 33b Double Barrel Tumbler: Arts, Crafts & Sewing


hard rubber drums, now that's how to control the noise...

Amazon.com: Tru-SQuare Rock Tumbling Grit, No 304: Toys & Games

and you need different types of grit too

you really could build one of these things...

 

[pwright]

Get the double barrel tumbler. You want to keep one of the barrels reserved only for the polishing stage to avoid any cross-contamination between grits. You would hate to have all the pretty rocks that came out of the 3rd stage get all scratched up again in the last polishing stage.

 

[sixdogs]

...

...

Also, does anyone know if the tumbler comes with a starter pack of grit?

This is the gift that keeps on giving, as has others have noted. You'll need several different grits and then must make sure the container is clean before you go to the next stage or all the delayed gratification will lead to delayed disappointment of scratches in a surface not expected. I still think buy a pack of polished stones and think of something else for the $$. Harbor Freight has all sorts of "sales" 24/7.

 

[Baby Grand]

Those new plastic jugs that some brands of coffee come in look like they'd make great tumbler drums. Or maybe a metal coffee can lined with inner tube. If you have one for each grit and mark it clearly you can reduce the risk of grit contamination. If the cycle time is too long to hold interest, then consider making your own machine with the capacity to run the same number of drums as the number of grits. That way you can run multiple batches at the same time and have polished rocks coming out at intervals of one grit cycle ... assuming you can keep a supply of rocks to feed it. Stream beds are a good source for tumbling stock.

 

[Baby Grand]

Very happy with the 1/2" Drive 25" Breaker Bar.
Used it to break the lug nuts loose while fixing a leaking bead on our B2320's rear tire.