Tru-square Metal Products Model A-R2 Kit Rock Tumbler

First, I don't consider this a toy, but rather a tool for a hobby. A toy you play with. This, you put rocks in a barrel and leave it alone to do it's job.But, it is a great tool. I got it for my girlfriend for Christmas. It caught me off guard when she said she wanted one, but I figured what the heck, why not. Now, almost 3 months after Christmas I'm finally writing a review. Why the delay? Because it takes a long time to finish the job.Her first batch was with a bunch of various rocks we bought from another vendor. They looked just like a bunch of rocks, nothing fancy at all. Well, after about a week in the course grit, you could see these rock were going to look really nice. In time. All in all, the rocks went through various levels of grit, and finally polish, and came out with some very nice looking polished stones. The next step is to make some jewelry with some of the nicer ones. It's hard to believe the difference in what a plain looking rock looks like after several weeks of being ground down, smoothed and then polished.Before her first batch was done, I decided I wanted to try some, too (a good reason to buy the two barrel model). I bought a couple pounds of Apache Tears. Well, after almost seven weeks, I took them out this past weekend. I found out after I started them, that Apache Tears are not easy to smooth and polish, but I'd already started them by then, so I was going to see it through. Wow, did they turn out great!I do wish some of the instructions had been a bit clearer though. You need to oil the unit, but the instructions left me, at least, not sure exactly where and how to do so. Be careful when you oil it not to get any oil on the drums or rollers. The lids are a bit of a bear to get on and off until you figure it out, and perhaps there could have been better directions on those as well.If you are going to get one of these, and you plan on doing two batches of rocks at a time, I would suggest you buy another drum, so you have at least three. Keep one for nothing but the polish stage, so you don't run the risk of contamination of the polish with some of the grit. A very thorough cleaning may alleviate that problem, but with the time it takes to complete a batch, the cost of a new barrel is negligible to ensure no problems. I actually bought two more barrels and use a different barrel for each stage. Mark them with a silver permanent marker (lids too) and you're good to go.(Remember, too, this set is not a kit. You will need to buy the grit and polish separate.)Although young kids will enjoy this, I still don't consider it a toy.

I am deployed to Afghanistan and I ordered this in order to polish some of the beautiful rocks they have as gravel. The tumbler arrived much sooner than I expected. Setting it up was incredibly easy (two pieces to snap into place and it was ready to go).Since the only place I can keep this is my room I only run it for about 14 hours a day but it has ran for about six months with absolutely no issues. The barrels are quiet enough I can have it on while I'm watching a movie in my room (I was even able to sleep with it on but it wasn't restful so I only did that for two nights before I realized it wasn't going to work). It was on for nearly a week straight when I'd gone to another location and still no issues. I had a friend who checked it for me daily but there were no problems. I did once have one of the barrels flip off (I hadn't balanced it well) and was getting rubbed where it was still resting on the bar but the barrels were heavy-duty enough they only had a few minor scrapes and I have no idea how long it was like that. Now I try to be in my room for 5-10 minutes after I start it to make sure the rocks are properly balanced but this hasn't happened again.Taking the lids on and off the barrels takes a little work and it can be a pain to clean the grit out of the track but with minor maintenance between changing loads of rock I've gotten some absolutely beautiful souvenirs from my deployment from just the gravel. I am very happy with this tumbler and look forward to many years of use here and back home.

Receiving my Thumler tumbler, I was excited to get started right away but could not find the manual which was said to be in the box. Getting some instructions online, I proceeded to set the tumbler up on Saturday evening. It's very quiet in the kitchen. Upon rising this morning (3 days later) I found the lid across the counter and everything spilled out. What a mess! I have tried to contact Thumler, but I can get no one to reply. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have had more fun with this rock tumbler and I haven't even made anything yet. The rocks are free as I pick them up while walking; anything white, pink or sparkly catches my eye. Right now, I am just experimenting to see how the rocks turn out. I was surprised at how much the stones are reduced in size so now I know to find larger pieces. The little barrels are easy to open and close. So far, there have been no leaks. Noise is a bit of an issue so the tumbler resides in the garage. The ultimate goal is to make pendants to sell at a church Christmas bazaar and also to give as gifts. I am definitely a rock amateur but I am very happy with my purchase. A bonus; the tumbler is made in the USA.Now that I have had the rock tumbler for a couple months I am revising my review. As other people have stated, the machine works quite well at first. Now that I am on only my third batch of rocks, the lids do not remain on the barrels and the rocks, water and polishing grit empty out and make a huge mess (see photo). I find myself going out to the garage constantly to see if the barrels are leaking. Since I have missed the return by date I'm not sure what I am going to do with the tumbler. It is a huge disappointment and at $141 it wasn't inexpensive. Definitely not happy with this purchase.