Lortone 33B Rotary Rock Tumbler

Great tumbler! I've tumbled probably a dozen batches and it's still a workhorse. I purchased the Lortone 33B because it takes so long to tumble rocks that I wanted more than just one container. Because I'm tumbling year-round, I put the tumbler in the guest room -- inside a large Styrofoam chest (the cheap kind you take on picnics). I poked a hole in the chest through which I ran the cord. While this is a fairly quiet tumbler as is - it's still too much noise unless you muffle it some way. Inside the chest - it's virtually silent. Tips: Make sure you oil it regularly as suggested in the manual. If you don't, you'll hear squeaking. If you set it up in a garage or basement, check on it daily -- you don't have to open it -- just listen to make sure it's not squeaking. If it is - - oil it immediately. The key to beautiful polished rocks is to choose hard rocks that won't grind away during the tumbling process. Flint is wonderful, as is quartz, but anything like sandstone will be gone by the end of the tumbling cycle. The other key is not to skimp on tumbling time. Don't get impatient -- add a day to a cycle if you like, but don't think you can stop a day or two short on any of the cycles without sacrificing the end result. I like to add a variety of stone sizes in a canister. Your stone will be smaller than it was when you put it in, so, if you plan to use your stones for handmade jewelry, keep that in mind. Thin, flat stones have a tendency to break in the first tumbling cycles, especially if you put larger stones in the container with them. I've owned this for over a year now and it's still going strong. I would buy it again.

I am very happy with this tumbler and have been using it for about a year. Easy, quiet, clean, good quality and good results. I also have a Thumbler tumbler which I am throwing away after one use because it is filthy (throws off piles of black rubber shreds), noisy and doesn't spin well . The Lortone is a winner. It is far superior to the Thumbler.

I bought this for my son. He is 9 and loves rocks (he totally got that from me!). I'd wanted a tumbler as a kid myself so when he asked for one for his birthday, I didn't want to skimp. If you are wanting to get your child started on a hobby that can last them the rest of their life, lapidary art is a great one. But if you are really wanting a kid to enjoy it, buy a tumbler like this one that will last!!! Waiting the long times that it takes to tumble a set is hard enough for a kid, and the disappointment of having a cheapo "bargain" tumbler quit will be enough to help them loose interest in furthering their hobby. (I've known a few kids who got those and the tumbler quit a few weeks in. They never went back to try again.) So it is worth it to invest up front. Lortone is known for having some of the best hobby/light use tumblers. This model has two rubber barrels. Which is great for doing two stages at once, or having two different types of rocks going. Even a beginner can run this-- its literally plug and play ;) You will need to buy grit also-- none included with this piece. This is the one area I'd recommend grown up involvement. My son and 5 yr old daughter can load, sort and wash the rocks. But I add the dry powder. Some of the grits/polishes are ultra fine, and I cannot imagine that inhaling that stuff could be ok. It runs much quieter then I thought it would considering it's a spinning jug of rocks. But there is for sure some noise involved. This can't go in your kids bedroom! Or your own! Though in saying that I will say that it does provide a little bit of a white noise sound after a while that I have gotten used to. Maybe it would not be too bad as a background noise if you need to drown out traffic etc. But for most, the best location is an entry, garage or shed. It runs constantly, day and night, and the motor box stays warm-- though not hot. So I wouldn't leave it where you can't check on it once in a while or where there would be a danger of something falling on it.

Tumbler performs as expected without incident and delivers a great outcome. It seems to be a well made, well designed product. However after about 12 hours of use, the motor seems to have lost its strength and will not turn the bins. Since I don't know the cause, I am not necessarily lowering my rating because of this. I am lowering my rating because I emailed a detailed description of the problem together with any visual observations that might help diagnose the problem. I received a timely response which made it clear that the author did not carefully read my email as the author suggested a problem which I had identified as not being the problem. My second email has not been answered in more than a week.

I got this for cleaning reloading brass and use it with stainless steel pins. I like having the two drums. I can do two different calibers and keep them separate. I put around 75 handgun cases in each drum, maybe closer to 100 for 9 mm. I like having the drums inside a frame rather than some other designs with exposed belts, etc. The machine works great, but I've learned it's probably best to stick with dawn dish soap with a little Lemi Shine per recommendations. I experimented with other additives that invariably gave lesser results. As far as leakage I follow the instructions provided and have not seen a single drop. Just make sure the rim is clean and the lid and aluminum cover are seated evenly all around the edge. Tighten firmly but not crazy tight.

Love this tumbler. Very solid and very quiet.

Really works good, quiet. Excellent. Worth the money

Exactly what I wanted!