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Welcome to Our Rock Tumbling Library!


Learn the secrets of rock tumbling. We have helped thousands of people learn about polishing rocks in a tumbler.
New To Rock Tumbling?
rock tumbler instructions
Rock Tumbler Instructions: A tested recipe for tumbling most rocks in small rotary tumblers.
Modern Rock Tumbling
The Best Book About Rock Tumbling: Steve Hart explains all of the basics and lots of secrets.
Are Rock Tumblers Noisy?
Are Rock Tumblers Noisy? We compare and explain how to pick a quiet tumbler.
What Happens in a Rock Tumbler?
What Happens in a Rock Tumbler? The amount of rough makes a difference.
How Long Does Rock Tumbling Take?
How Long Does Rock Tumbling Take? A short and a detailed answer to this question.
Where to Run Your Rock Tumbler?
Where to Run Your Tumbler? Selecting a safe and convenient place for your tumbler.
awesome tumbled stones
Amazing Tumbled Stones Photos and descriptions of our favorite tumbled stones.
The Best Rocks for Tumbling
Best Rocks for Tumbling: What types of rocks perform best in a rock tumbler?
Mohs hardness
Mohs Hardness is Important! The standard instructions aren't always the best process.
Uses for Tumbled Stones
Cost of Running a Rock Tumbler: Electricity and grit costs by tumbler size.
Rotary and Vibratory Rock Tumblers
Rotary vs Vibratory Tumblers: Which type of rock tumbler is best for you?
Used Rock Tumblers
Before You Buy a Used Rock Tumbler: Some are perfect, others are a waste of money.
Grit for sale
Rock Tumbler Grit for Sale: We sell all the grits needed for rock tumbling.
Tumbling rough
Tumbling Rough For Sale: One of the internet's best selections of tumbling rough.
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Instructions
rock tumbler instructions
Rock Tumbler Instructions: A procedure we recommend for tumbling most popular materials.
Printable rock tumbling instructions
Printable Tumbler Instructions: Print them on one page and take to your tumbler.
why your rocks have a bad polish
Phooey! My Stones Did Not Take a Nice Polish! Learn what to do when this happens.
Burnishing
Burnishing: One short step after polish that can give your stones a better shine!
Sand Instead of Grit?
Can I Use Sand Instead of Grit? We explain why sand performs poorly in tumbling.
tumbling glass
Glass Tumbling Instructions: How to tumble for a frosted or polished finish.
The Best Rocks for Tumbling
The Best Rocks for Tumbling: Most rocks perform poorly. How to select rocks that polish great!
Tumble polishing garnets
Garnet: Finding good rough is almost impossible, but polishing it is easy.
Do Your Rocks Have Gas?
Do Your Rocks Have Gas? Some rocks do produce gas when tumbled.
UV-10 Vibratory Tumbler
How We Use the UV-10 Vibratory Tumbler: Video instructions for you.
Polish Apache tears
Tumbling Recipe for Obsidian & Apache Tears: They are not difficult if you are careful.
Cleaning the Tumbler Barrel
Cleaning a Tumbler Barrel can give you a much brighter polish and fewer leaks.
rock tumbler polish
What Polish Should I Use? A quick lesson on several types of polish and their use in tumbling.
Tips for polishing opal
Tips for Tumble Polishing Opal: You can do a great job or waste a lot of money!
Polishing basalt in a rock tumbler
Polishing Basalt in a Rock Tumbler: It can be polished into beautiful black tumbled stones.
How We Use the Lot-o-Tumbler
How We Use the Lot-o-Tumbler: Video and photo tips to help you get great results!
Modern Rock Tumbling
The Best Book About Rock Tumbling: All of the basics and plenty of secrets.
Rock Tumbler Media
How to Use Rock Tumbler Media: How to select and use the proper tumbling media.
What Happens in a Rock Tumbler?
How Much Rough Do I Need in my Barrel? A video view into a tumbler with a glass lid.
Skipping fine grit
Experimental Rock Tumbling: Sometimes we skip the fine grit step and still get great results.
Custom tumbling
Will You Polish This Rock? Most rocks can not be polished in a rock tumbler.
Electricity cost of tumbling
Electricity Costs of a Rock Tumbler? How much is that going to run up my electric bill?
Printable Tumbling Log
Printable Tumbling Log: Keep a record of your procedures and you will learn a lot!
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Grit and Polish
Grit for sale
Rock Tumbler Grit for Sale: We sell all the grits needed for rock tumbling.
What is Silicon Carbide Grit
What is Silicon Carbide Grit? Learn about grit and what it does in the tumbler barrel.
Sand as grit?
Can I Use Sand Instead of Grit? We explain why sand performs poorly in tumbling.
What polish should you use?
Which Polish Should I Use? Basic information on different polishes and why we use TXP.
Cerium oxide polish
Aluminum Oxide Polish: One of the most widely used polishes in rock tumbling.
Cerium oxide polish
Cerium Oxide Polish: One of the first polishes to be widely used in rock tumbling.
Polish for sale
Rock Polish for Sale: We sell the most popular rock polishes and explain how to use them.
How effective is extra coarse grit
Extra Coarse Grit: What you need to know about its effectiveness.
Borax in rock tumbling
Borax: Lots of people use borax. We experimented. Here's what we think.
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Tumbling Rough
Best tumbling rough
Best Rocks for Tumbling: How to select the types of rocks that perform well in a tumbler.
Tumbling rough
Tumbling Rough For Sale: One of the internet's best selections of tumbling rough.
Rough Size
What Size Rocks Can Be Tumbled? For best results use a mix of rock sizes in the barrel.
How much rough do I need
How Much Rock to Place in the Barrel? See what happens with too much or too little rough.
Stream rounded rough
Tumbling Stream- and Beach Rounded Rocks: It is not as quick as you would expect.
Rock tumbling before and after photos
Before and After photos of many interesting rocks that we have tumbled. Check them out!
Sources of glass for polishing
Sources of Colored Glass for Polishing: Learn where we found some great glass.
Jasper, Agate, Chalcedony?
What are Jasper, Agate, and Chalcedony? How to identify these favorite materials.
Ohio Flint
How to Polish Ohio Flint: This stuff is REALLY tough, but tumbles beautifully!
Igneous and Metamorphic
Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks: Many of them will accept a spectacular polish.
Mohs hardness
Mohs Hardness is Important! The standard instructions aren't always the best process.
materials we have tumbled
A Few Materials We Have Tumbled: Short reports on how we tumbled a variety of items.
Agates and Jaspers
Agates and Jaspers: A book for people who want to know more about agates and jaspers.
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Rock Tumbler Media
Rock tumbler media
How to Select the Right Media? Some simple rules for using media.
Buy rock tumbler media
Rock Tumbler Media for Sale: We sell ceramic cylinders and plastic pellets.
Buy rock tumbler media
Our Media Bucket: This is how we get high quality tumbled stones.
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Rotary Rock Tumbler Information
Thumler's A-R2 questions and answers
A-R2 Q and A: Answers to common questions about the A-R2 tumbler and its operation.
Choosing a rotary tumbler
Which Rotary Tumbler is Right For You? Consider size, price and operating costs.
Plastic tumblers are loud
About the Inexpensive Plastic Tumblers: Should you buy one - or buy a hobbyist tumbler?
Thumler's ar-1 tumbler
A-R1 Tumbler Q and A: Answers to common machine and operation questions.
World's largest rock tumblers
World's Largest Rock Tumblers: They are not used to make polished stones!
Thumler's mp-1 tumbler
MP-1 Tumbler Q & A: Answers to common questions we have received about the MP-1.
Compare the MP-1 to the A-R1
Comparing the MP-1 and A-R1: Barrel capacity, motor quality, frame, life expectancy.
Rotary tumblers for sale
Rotary Tumblers For Sale: We sell several different models of rotary tumblers.
MP-1 Tumbler Review
MP-1 Tumbler Review: Written by an expert with decades of rock tumbling experience.
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Vibratory Rock Tumbler Information
Thumler's UV tumbler guide
Guide for Thumler's Vibratory Tumblers: How to run and maintain Ultra-Vibe tumblers.
save time and money
Save Time and Money With a Vibratory Tumbler: Why lots of people buy vibratory.
Rotary and Vibratory Rock Tumblers
Rotary vs. Vibratory: Which of these rock tumbler types is right for you?
Using Thumler's UV-10
How We Use the Thumler's UV-10 Tumbler: Video tips on how we use this tumbler.
Vibratory Rock Tumblers For Sale
Vibratory Tumblers For Sale: We sell four vibratory tumblers. One might be right for you!
How We Use the Lot-o-Tumbler
How We Use the Lot-o-Tumbler: Video and photo tips to help you get great results!
Comparing vibratory tumblers
Compare Vibratory Rock Tumblers: Barrel size and available rough are important.
Vibratory rock tumbler bowl life
Vibratory Rock Tumbler Bowl Life: How to get maximum life out of your vibratory bowl.
UV-10 industrial and standard versions compared
Learn how to tell the industrial version from the standard version for UV-10 and UV-18.
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Maintenance and Parts
Thumler's Rock Tumbler Parts
Thumler's Tumbler Parts: Parts for current model tumblers from Tru-Square Metal Products.
How Long Do Tumbler Belts Last?
How Long Do Tumbler Belts Last? If your tumbler eats belts, read this article.
Oiling a Thumler's Tumbler
Oiling a Thumler's Tumbler: Where to oil your A-R1, A-R2, A-R12, & Model B tumblers.
Parts for Vintage Rock Tumblers
Parts for Vintage Rock Tumblers: Parts for most older brands are no longer available.
Replacing a Lortone belt video
Replacing a Lortone Belt: It's a very easy job if you have a screwdriver.
Lot-o-Tumbler Parts
Lot-o-Tumbler Parts: Barrels, lids, springs, and fans for the Lot-o Single and Twin.
Model B barrel dimensions
Model B Barrel Dimensions: Many people ask about the liner and lid gasket dimensions.
Leaking tumbler barrel
Leaking Tumbler Barrel? Most rock tumbler barrel leaks are easy to fix.
Replacing a UV-10 motor
Replacing a UV-10 Motor: It takes time but can be done with just a few tools.
Rock tumbler manufacturers
Rock Tumbler Manufacturers: A list of tumbler brands and how to contact them if you need help.
Rock tumbler motors run hot
Rock Tumbler Motors Run Hot: Don't panic if your motor is very warm to the touch.
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RockHounding
Fee mining and digging sites
Fee Mining and Digging Sites: Where you can hunt rocks and keep what you find.
Jasper, Agate, Chalcedony?
What are Jasper, Agate, and Chalcedony? How to identify these favorite materials.
Rock and mineral clubs across the U.S.
Rock and Mineral Clubs Across the U.S. Over 450 clubs are listed with their city location.
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Tumbled Stones
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Tumbled Stone Crafts
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