NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Professional Rock Tumbling Kit - Patent-Pending GemFoam 2lb Barrel, Grit Rock Polisher for Kids & Adults, Platinum Series Ultra Quiet, A Great STEM Science Kit

The media could not be loaded. EDIT: I contacted the company regarding the unit I purchased and was sent a replacement quite quickly. They also provided everything I needed to return the original. The replacement works perfectly and IS as quiet as a dishwasher! The customer service experience was wonderful and the tumbler works as advertised. Very pleased!!This is NOT as quiet as a dishwasher. It was when I first started it up. Nice and smooth motion and quiet. Just 8 hours in I started getting error codes. I would take everything out, clean the whole barrel and all the contents, reduce the amount of rocks, and put in fresh grit and water. Started it up again and it would run fine for a couple hours and then a new error code. So I ran through the process again. Now, after not even one full day of tumbling, this thing sounds like someone is beating down our door. It sounds awful. When I remove the barrel, it spins just fine, but with the barrel on (NOT overloaded) it sounds like it’s going to EXPLODE! 🤯 NOT at all as advertised. It’s tumbling the rocks, but I spent a but more on this one so that I didn’t have to hear it rattling the house all night!

I haven't been able to complete all 4 cycles. The barrel leaks. I made sure to wash the barrel and the seal after each cycle, but that didn't help. I need more supplies before I can proceed. In fact, I probably need a new rock tumbler as this one is a waste of materials and money. The return policy expired. I could not finish the first batch of stones that come in the kit. I'm super bummed because I really wanted to enjoy this.Edit: I contacted online sales support via email and was sent a new barrel. I have read a number of reviews with others experiencing the same issue. One person asked, how can this be designed for a child if an adult cant get the lid off of this thing. I then realized that these little kids are probably having more success than us adults with leaky barrels. So I now tighten the lid down as if I had small child strength and have not had any issues with leaking. I apologize for the poor review brought on by my lack of knowledge and experience with this type of tumbler. And thank you for sending me a new barrel.Another edit: Still going without any issues. Make sure that you don't over tighten the lid, and wash it well when you change grits. It's around 2/3 as loud as my other tumblers.

This looked quite promising, and given what it is doing the sound isn't that bad ( Make sure to put it somewhere you don't spend a lot of time) also know that they give you some stuff for crafts but don't give any instructions or adhesives which would seem necessary, also they don't sort the rocks it comes with well, I only had 2 very small pieces of sodalite that didn't survive the process, and frankly a lot of the rocks ground down to be smaller than a grain of rice so I would look else where if you want to purchase stones to tumble or find them yourself. But my only real complaint (honestly if not for this I probably would of given it 4 stars) with this unit is that the motor is weak. At least I think that's the problem, I followed all of the instructions, and after a few hours, it errored. Got it going again and after a few days it errored again. It happened 3 times on the first batch, I am currently on my second batch and it has stopped twice all already (I'm only on step 2 of 5). I made sure its not over loaded and the fact it takes hours or days between stopping makes me think the motor is weak. Given the cost of the unit I am considering sending it back and purchasing a different unit. ( Also if you want to get a good shine on the stones I would add an extra step at the end and run it with Aluminum oxide, made a big difference on my first batch.)Update 4/9/23: I was able to get it to work well by moving from a shelf to the floor, but unfortunately after 6 months of use, the motor gave up and natgeo isn't any help. This is priced to high for the quality of the tumbler.

Rock tumbling is a fabulous exercise in patience in this world of instant gratification. It is a long, slow process, which makes the final product all that much more personally valuable. Every kid should have a rock tumbler at least once in life, and as an adult, I must confess it has been good for me as well. Excellent product. Well made. Not excessively noisy and runs without a flaw. This is a quality product.

Update: the seller reached out and sent me an updated version with a new metal and rubber lid and modified rollers. The barrel is now much easier to open and close and doesn't leak at all. It looks like all new purchases have this new barrel type, so I changed my rating to 4/5 stars. The grits are still not great, so I can't give it a full 5 stars.I will say this, it is the prettiest and quietest rock tumbler I've ever seen, but that's where the pros run out. The lid is plastic, with plastic threads, so it is near impossible to get a tight seal. Since the barrel sits sideways on the rollers, this allows leaks to drip onto said rollers, gumming them up. Now, since it is fully enclosed and seems to be well sealed, you can wash it out and get it running again, but it is very annoying. The Nat Geo grit is acceptable, but not great, and the kit only comes with enough for one round of stones. I got this to tumble stones I find on various trips and I've had to go to various rock tumbling forums and groups to get advice because the instructions seem to only apply to the provided stones. Overall, I'm quite disappointed and will be replacing this as soon as I can.

I took up rock tumbling a couple years ago. I had another tumbler and decided to upgrade to this one, especially because it has the cover to lessen the noise. I was able to get some good results for the first batch. After that, when it was time to go to step 4, it stopped working. I followed the instructions closely and it is still broken and sitting on my bathroom shelf. I will be getting a new one, I guess, and hoping it won't go the way of its brother. It will be great if and when I can actually see the finished rocks from Step 4.