Since having returned the cheap Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric rock tumbler for a refund, I have been looking for a replacement. So I have been searching the web, and watching ebay. I had been looking at Lortone’s and Thumler’s both of which seem to be good quality from what I can tell.
I had been watching an ebay auction for an older vintage looking rock tumbler. It looks to be one of the commercial grade ones. I had searched for more info on this particular model, but couldn’t find anything. I know that newer similar models sell for hundreds of dollars.
I set up a snipe bid, and won the auction for about $75 plus $25 shipping.
I am not sure, but I think it is about a 12 pound or 15 pound tumbler. I emailed Lortone and includedsome pictures of it. They didn’t give me much information about it other than to say they thought it was from the late 60’s or early 70’s.
The tumbler came quickly. The motor was slow to start but seemed to go okay once it got going. I put a drop of oil in each side to lube the bearings. It helped a little. I decided to go further. I disassembled the the tumbler. I sprayed wd-40 into the oil holes of the motor to clean out the old gunk. I ran it a bit, dried it a bit, and then oiled it with 3-1 oil. I did the same thing with the roller shafts. I cleaned it up and put it back together. There is still a slight hesitation at start up, but the motor starts much quicker now.
