Your Guide to Choosing a Beginners Rock Tumbler (UK & US)
- Katriona MacMillan
- Aug 11
- 7 min read
Rock polishing is an enriching hobby that can leave you with beautiful rewards. If you are thinking of giving it a try, then this guide to choosing the best beginners rock tumbler is a must.
Beginners rock tumblers are a more popular product than the industrial strength or commercial vibratory tumblers and flat laps. This is because polishing rocks has been a favourite hobby for mankind since before we knew how to shape them into wheels.
This article will explain what to look for when you are new to the hobby and are buying your very first rock tumbler. This article is aimed at UK audiences but there are a few products in there that will help our US customers, too.
<This article contains links to Amazon products which might be of use to you if you are shopping for a beginner’s rock tumbler. I may be paid a commission if you use them.>
What to Look for When choosing a Rock Tumbler for the First Time
If you are brand new to rock tumbling and you don’t know what to look for, then welcome to the wonderful world of rocks. It is a long, constantly evolving journey. Polishing them starts with a simple machine called a rock tumbler.
A rock tumbling machine works very simply. It features two turning bars powered by a motor, which turns a belt and turns the bars. The rocks go inside a barrel which sits on top of the spinning bars and therefore turns.
When choosing your first ever rock tumbler, that is all you really need to know. The hard part is getting that mirror shine.
Things to look for when choosing your first ever rock tumbler include:
· Durability and longevity
· Good reviews
· Known brands
· Affordability
· Compatibility
Make sure you buy a rock tumbler which is compatible with the electrical output in your region. Otherwise, here are the things you should look out for when buying a beginner’s rock tumbler in greater detail.
Volume – Is the Rock Tumbler Loud?
Rock tumblers are turning a batch of stones around and around. They clatter. Noise is unavoidable. The question isn’t “is this rock tumbler quiet”, but “if I put it in the spare room in a cupboard and shut the door, can I still here it?”
If the answer is yes, it is going to annoy you. The rubber barrels are best for noise reduction. We quite like the idea of this rock tumbler with an added layer encasing the barrel to eliminate some of the noise. However, we have not tried this one ourselves yet.
Speed – Does it Have Variable Speed Settings?
Variable speed settings are not necessary for a beginner in rock tumbling. That being said, the Nat Geo beginner hobby rock tumbler kit (which we reviewed here) is notorious for spinning slightly faster than the optimal settings.
The optimum turning speed for your rock polishing machine is between 30 and 60 revolutions per minute. The National Geographic spins at around 80. There are options for rock tumblers with multiple speed settings but be careful. In terms of rock tumblers: you get what you pay for.
Barrel Capacity
Your barrels can range in size from 1lbs up to a typical 3lbs. The Evans plastic barrels we have for sale on our website are 1.5lbs. The machine can take three pounds, so they give you two barrels. We use a 2.5lb rubber barrel instead. You can buy replacement barrels for your rock tumbler but to begin with just use the one that comes with your kit.
The capacity is a lot more important than you think it is. If you regularly run the barrel at a higher weight than it should be, you will wear out the motor on your rock tumbler.
We just tried the Stem Rock Tumbler and we are kind of impressed. It’s a cheap option for a beginner rock tumbler. It has a 2.5lbs barrel but if you put more than that weight on the motor, it will simply not turn. This prevents the wear out. On the other hand though, the barrel is massive and we can’t really use normal barrels with the machine, so you take the good with the bad.
Number of Barrels
A good beginner rock tumbler just needs one barrel all alone, flying solo. Get used to how they work before you go and spend on a dual rock tumbler system. These can hold twice the weight of the beginner models and have the capacity to run night and day. They are a great tool to progress on to once you get the hang of polishing your own gemstones.
For the moment, though, stick to one barrel.
Are Plastic or Rubber Rock Tumbler Barrels Better?
This is up to personal preference. Arguably plastic barrels toss things around with more friction. However, rubber rock tumbler barrels are quieter. Plastic barrels can also take some work in terms of opening them up from sealed shut while rubber barrels work with a screw to secure the lid.
We actually have a couple of cheap plastic barrels for sale on the website at the time of writing. You can find them here. We used them once and returned to rubber.
Aesthetics – How Does Your New Rock Tumbler Look?
Now obviously you are not choosing a rock tumbler to fit in with your living room décor but the way your new rock polishing machine looks can have advantages and disadvantages. These will depend on what you want to do with it.
Do you want a tough, reliable, extra-armoured rock tumbler that looks like it can handle a ton of rocks? Someone who is using their rock tumbler to process vast numbers of minerals will want one that looks – and acts – tough.
On the other hand, the average lapidary artist who regularly makes online content might want a tumbler to fit in with the others. A new content creator might choose a cool looking rock tumbler based on visuals alone.
And let’s face it, none of us want to be stuck with a rock tumbler that looks like a kid’s toy if we are featuring it in TikTok videos.
Plugs and Voltage
Avoid the mistake we made in the beginning by not buying a rock tumbler made for American audiences. The plug won’t be right and, even with an adapter, the machine still fried and blew within minutes of starting it up.
Specifically, this was the Leegol machine which (if you are joining us from the US) is an ideal machine equivalent in quality to the Evans dual. It just doesn’t run in the UK.
We couldn’t find the Leegol anymore, but we did find a similar one called the Tumble Bee with similar electricity supply issues. For our American readers – this is the one you want. Everyone else ignore this section and make sure you buy a tumbler compatible with UK plug sockets and energy outage.
Checking Amazon Reviews for Intel
Checking the reviews of any rock tumbler on Amazon before you buy it is not just a good idea, but it is the online equivalent of opening the egg carton to make sure none of your eggs are broken before you buy them.
Always check the eggs.
Recommendations for a Beginners Rock Tumbler in the UK
TSC has more experience in buying rock tumblers in the UK and for obvious reasons.
Any of the hobby tumblers by National Geographic are excellent – just be careful not to overload the barrel or you will burn out the motor eventually. You can read about the full hobby kit in our review. It is reasonably priced, reliable, and you will be abl to begin tumbling immediately.
We like the Stemrock range on Amazon for the big barrel and programmable controls. They have a few for fair prices. The professional one gets 4.5 stars and is totally affordable for a beginner to rock polishing.
The kid’s rock tumbler by Stemrock only has a 1lb barrel but that is big enough for little hands. It also makes it easier for them to use. Again, the National Geographic starter kit is great for children who want to polish rocks.
Recommendations for a Beginners Rock Tumbler in the US
That Tumble Bee rock tumbler looks amazing but as mentioned it does not work in the UK. It is listed as a toy but it has a 4lb barrel capacity, which makes it as big as a pro tumbler.
The favourite beginner rock tumbler for people in the USA/Canada is the Blue Marble National Geographic.
Buy Scottish Rough Rocks for Tumbling Here at the Stone Circle
And finally, we have pretty strong feelings about where you should buy rough material from to put into your rock tumbler.
Ideal for your new rock polishing machine, The Stone Circle sells all-natural, self-collected Scottish stones for home polishing. Check out our Lapidary Materials section for rocks which are suitable to either cut and facet or stick in the tumbler.
Our selection of rocks to tumble includes:
Our Scottish Mineral Rock Tumbling Mix has a mixture of jaspers, quartzes, chalcedonies, and a few other bits and bobs which are softer and you probably want to put in a separate barrel.
Buy 100g of Rough Scottish agate in our online crystal shop.
Buy 500g of rough Scottish Flint which you can either tumble or knap.
Get a great price on rough Scottish jasper – the stone which Scotland is most famed for in the UK.
Of course, if you want international rocks then we send you back to Nat Geo again. They offer a 1.36kg rough rock refill of international crystals to tumble at home, or a larger 2.26kg bag of rough rocks.
£4
1 pc Scottish Galaxy Stones medium/large
Scottish Galaxy Stones
These gorgeous galaxy stones were formed millions of years ago, when the volcanic lands below Scotland shot out lava. The lava cooled slowly and, as it did, bubbles of gasses rose up through it. Some of those bubbles were trapped and solidified over time… this is how we get pretty agates in Scotland.
The Galaxy Stones for sale in our online crystals shop are fragments of the cooled lava, with the bubbles evident inside. They are tiny bubbles, too small to have made agates. Some of our stones have visible tiny agate pebbles trapped inside.
These galaxy stones were collected from Ayrshire. They are very decorative and, since they contain the multiple properties of agate, can be used for any number of things. You can read more about agates in our dedicated blog.
These galaxy stones weigh between 10 and 50 grams each and are sold individually.
£0.49
1 piece Banded Calcite with Host Rock, Possibly Jasper
These two pieces were found in the same area of Ayrshire and look like they were once part of the same rock. This material is a lot like banded calcite but with shiny jasper or chalcedony lines through them.
These pieces have been in the rock tumbler. Since they are a mixed material the hardest parts took a shine while the calcite did not.
Looking to be removed asap. From a smoke free home with only two rockhounds.
£2
1 piece Milky Quartz from the Scottish Hills
These pieces of milky quartz are the first of their type which we have polished in ages. They are fresh out of the tumbler after four stages and lots of soap. They have come out looking lovely. They are satisfyingly smooth and shiny.
These two pieces came from the hills near Lanark, where William Wallace lived. We find this material all over the place, so the locations will change as we add more.
Scottish white quartz, milky quartz, or snow quartz, has a gentle but pressing energy. This is a good stone to carry when you can't focus on the tasks ahead.
Collected in 2024, first batch out of the rock polisher in 2025.
Comments