I would like to contact some dealers who have used or still use a
large size tumbler. I have a homemade tumbler that uses two 5 gallon
buckets for barrels. The rough grits down to the 220 grit work OK but
I don’t get a good polish even when I go with a long fine grit and
then a cerium polish. What I would like to get is some first hand
and ideas from experience. Since I am looking at the
rolling barrels I would like this for comparison.
How loud is it when running?
How long does it take for a good rough grind? (Does it usually take
two times with rough (36-90) grit to get the rounding done?)
How long does each other grit runs take to get the batch ready for
the next grit?
What proportion of “fist size” rocks can be put in each load and have
the load all come out in good polish?
Does the hex barrels work better than the round barrels? (From your
view.)
How much 36-90 grit is used per load (50 pound load or what ever your
tumbler holds.) And for each grit size after this.
I will have other questions I am sure but this is a start.
I have some catalogues from people like Covington, Star Diamond, but
have not seen a lot of available until the machine is
purchased. I would like the so I would be informed before
I either go buy a new commercial tumbler or do a major remodeling job
on my homemade tumbler/
Larry E. Whittington