Rotary Rock Tumblers Or Vibratory Rock Tumblers - Which Is Best For Rounded Rock Shapes?

Initially, tumbling rocks was an art form only a few understood; today, rock tumblers are readily available for adult hobbyists and rock tumbling toys for kids. However, the first rock tumbler wasn't manufactured; rivers and oceans have been tumbling rocks since the beginning.

Using the right type of rock tumbler could give you similar results as those beautiful smooth river stones, jewelry quality polished stones. Kids can build unique rock collections and make jewelry and crafts from quality polished stones.

What Are Rock Tumblers, And Who Uses Them?

A mechanical rock tumbler is a machine that smooths and polishes rocks. The most rewarding experience for any beginner or professional craft, jewelry, or lapidary hobbyist is to tumble rocks into beautiful smooth stones.

Tumbled stones are a popular and efficient way to display the essence and beauty of minerals or rocks at their best. It brings out the inner colors of the stone or mineral and reflects light optimally.

Instead of rough gems that are uncomfortable to handle and may irritate your skin, tumbled stones are perfect for rock collections, jewelry, souvenirs, and art displays.

According to history, an early rock tumbler in the 1950s consisted of paint can barrels (half full with stones, abrasives, water, and other filler ingredients), a pulley, and two lengths of pipe.

Rock tumbling became a popular hobby when companies began manufacturing tumbling grit instead of using homemade grit. For over 50 years, professional lapidaries and hobbyists considered Lortone rock tumblers the best rock tumblers of 2022 - the standard model for all rock rumbling models. Today, high-quality rock tumblers are easily accessible for local and international use. In addition, rock tumblers are excellent gifts for kids and adult hobbyists.

Two Types Of Rock Tumblers - Rotary Rock Tumblers Vs. Vibratory Rock Tumblers

Rotary and vibratory tumblers are the two types of rock tumblers. Which one you use and when during the rock tumbling process will give you a different result. The main tumbler parts for both ruck tumbler machines are a barrel container to hold the rocks and a motor to run the rock tumbler.

What Are Rotary Rock Tumblers?

Professionals and hobbyists like to use a rotary rock tumbler, also known as a standard rocket tumbler. As the name indicates, the rotary tumbler works with rotation. So a batch of rocks rotates, rolling and tumbling for days inside the barrel.

Rotary rock tumblers mimic nature scientifically, similarly to crashing waves with continuous grit and water flow between the rocks, causing the coarse rocks to crash and smash against each other, smoothing and polishing rough edges.

Because it's such a natural process, rotary rock tumblers take longer than the faster vibratory tumbler process. As a result, vibratory tumblers can work twice as fast as rotary rock tumblers.

What Are Vibratory Rock Tumblers?

Unlike a rotary rock tumbler, the vibratory rock tumbler barrels vibrate at a high frequency, causing friction. A pile of sand-like grit surrounds coarse rocks, and each grit particle rubs back and forth against a piece of the stones or metals.

Coin collectors will use vibratory rock tumblers to polish their coins.

Rock Tumblers Shape Stones Differently During Rock Tumbling Processing

Some Rock Tumblers Grind Rough Rocks To Desired Smooth-Rounded Gemstones

A rotary rock tumbler is perfect if you want smooth, round gemstones. The rotation of rotary rock tumblers is great for smoothing surfaces and polishing sharp angles and rough, irregularly shaped stones into rocks that are beautifully rounded and spherical shapes. With the rotary rock tumbler kit, the most significant change happens during the initial tumbling processing using the coarsest grit.

The prominent, coarsest parts of these rough rocks stick out and are hit so many times more than other parts of the stones that they change shape. If tumbled enough times, this frequent crushing, grinding, and bashing wears the irregular shapes down to smooth, rounded, polished gemstones for making jewelry.

A vibratory rock tumbler is a great option to produce more natural-looking gemstones. With vibratory rock tumblers, rough rocks keep their original shapes; the vibration process smooths and polishes the contours of the stones.

Which Rock Tumblers Are Key To Making Beautiful Gemstones?

The best rock tumbling choice depends on your personal preference, whether you prefer round gemstones or natural-looking stones. With both types of rock tumblers, vibratory and rotary tumblers, the rock tumbling process results in smooth, polished stones for jewelry making, crafts, or display.

However, rotary tumblers will give you rounded-shaped stones, whereas vibratory tumblers grind rough rocks into smooth polished stones that keep their original shapes. 

How To Save Time When Tumbling Rocks Into Rounded Shapes

It would help if you had a rotary rock tumbler to create smooth, rounded, and oval-shaped gemstones, but rotary rock tumblers take twice as long as vibratory rock tumblers. So, as much as you want to save time, you cannot skip the first starting step of the rotary rock tumbler.

To save time and have those beautifully spheric-shaped gemstones, you can opt to use both types of rock tumblers instead of using a single rotary rock tumbler. By starting the rock tumbling process with the rotary rock tumbler, you won't skip the vital step when rocks with rough edges are crushed and ground into spheric shapes. Since vibratory and rotary rock tumbler tools are used for smoothing and polishing stones, you can switch to the vibratory rock tumbler to complete the process.

By using both types of rock tumblers, you not only save time, but it's possible to get the results needed for making jewelry and crafts.

What About Rock Tumblers' Noise Levels?

Rock tumblers aren't the quietest tools for hobbyists to use. Rotary rock tumblers are quieter than vibratory rock tumblers; the rubber barrels are quieter than rotary rock tumblers with steel barrels.

You should consider the noise levels depending on where you are using the rock tumblers; if it's in the basement, it won't matter, but it could if it is in your child's bedroom.

However, there are ways to mitigate noise levels. For example, rock tumblers adequately filled to appropriate levels with stones, abrasives, and filler materials like ceramic media or plastic balls will help.

If you prefer a tumbler that isn't so noisy and you don't mind the slower rock tumbling process, then the rotary rock tumbler is perfect. However, if the natural look is what you need, and you want a faster rock tumbler, then vibratory rock tumblers are excellent tools.