Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this for my son for Christmas. He's really interested in geology, so I thought that this would be a great way to encourage that interest, add some excitement and show him just how beautiful rocks can really be. I'm very glad I chose this rock tumbler. There were others that were cheaper, but after careful consideration of several reviews and ratings, this one stood out. The machine is very easy to use. The instruction book that's included provides simple directions for use and everything seemed to be labeled so that it was all quite easy to put together and use within minutes. The only thing my son couldn't manage himself was getting the lid on and off because it's so tight (which is a good thing if you don't want leaks!). I was a bit skeptic, since it takes nature so many years to accomplish such beauty, but my son and I placed the rocks, grit and water into the container and set it for our first run. Surprisingly, after just using the first grit, the rocks look amazing! We had even added some that he'd found on our evening walks around the neighborhood and we couldn't believe how they turned out! Again, that was after just the one week's worth of time (168 hrs) with the first grit. The only downfall is that the machine really needs to run constantly for each of the polishing periods, which some might consider long. It can be difficult since it's pretty loud. His dad absolutely hates how loud it is and doesn't want it to be running at night, so we had to break up our run time. That resulted in it taking us two weeks to get our "7-day" results. We were satisfied with those results for now, so we haven't yet done the next round of grit and run time. So far, this machine does exactly what I expected of it. Yes, it's loud, but it's not nearly as loud as some of the other machines out there. I imagine that is due to the rubber container. In addition, the included rocks are a great way to get your kids excited about geology! We're now planning a summer rock-hunting adventure so that we can really utilize this rock tumbler and some of the other new tools we have at our disposal. For the record, the one and only reason I would give this rock tumbler less than 5 stars is because it's loud. But you know what? Rocks banging together are not quiet in nature, so I don't expect any different when they're in a man-made machine. You shouldn't either. Oh, and anyone thinking that rock tumblers take too long (or something you might tell your kids when they complain that it's taking too long)...patience is a virtue. Consider how long it took for that rock to form in the first place, and be thankful that you have a machine at your disposal to make your finds look amazing in a minute percentage of the time that it took nature to create them.