The NSI Rock Tumbler is designed for the introduction of children to the hobby. The kit is packaged with the following items which are included in the box in order to get you up and running without having to buy anything extra. Always supervise children when they are handling rocks and using a rock tumbler of any description.
Mains Electrically Powered Tumbler
1 x Barrel
Grit and Polish
Rough and “Ready to Tumble” Sized Stones
A Basic Jewelry Making Kit for Sticking Polished Rocks Onto.
Instruction Booklet
NSI Rock Tumbler Classic – Pros and Cons
Pros
- Rocks come out with a perfect shine as long as the instructions are followed to the letter T.
- Noise levels fairly low on this machine compared to some.
- Comes with the required samples ready packed so nothing extra needs buying.
- The chain and other jewelry fixings are ideal for those wanting to make a gift out of their creations and can really help in getting the interest going. Mums always love to receive a gift which has been handmade by their kids!
- Has an air of a “toy” about it whilst maintaining a level of quality which is high enough to produce great results.
- Extremely easy to use.
- No complaints about the quality of the build – seems solid enough for the price and the job it does.
- Good value for money.
Cons
- Realistically, the NSI Classic Tumbler is made for kids, so in terms of “cons” there are none really which would equate to making this a poor product. Naturally, compared to more expensive models it cannot hold as much rock, but when comparing “like for like” the NSI is a good all round introduction to the craft.
- Perhaps the barrel could hold a bit more rock, but again, for a starter kit this isn’t really an issue.
- Only one barrel can make the final polish phase a little bit tricky which will definitely worsen over time as more and more grit particles contaminate the barrel. So longevity could be an issue, but keeping it clean by painstakingly getting rid of all particles after each batch will make it last longer.
- The red barrel is a tad on the thin side, again this is more of a lifetime issue than a major problem as the rocks tumble fine.
- May need to give it a little push with your hands to get it rotating – but this is no problem as once it gets going it keeps rolling. We have seen this on a number of different rock tumblers and they are normally the ones built for kids, the NSI has this minor quirk, and with heavy loads – some of the more expensive units do as well. If it doesn’t keep rolling then it would be a faulty one – but this is probably a rarity.
- We have seen reports of barrel leaks – however again, this can be a common problem on the kids models. Keep your eye out as you don’t want the contents of a given tumble spilling out.