Comments on: Harbor Freight/Chicago Electric Rock Tumbler

By: Ralph B.

Ralph B. — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 02:03:12 +0000

I too had the exact same belt problems. After the second belt in a week, I took off the top and not only found the pulleys misaligned, but the larger one wobbled. I adjusted them as best I could, used Singer sewing machine oil .

By: Stephani

Stephani — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 07:26:35 +0000

So have we concluded that the Chicago machine is ok if you oil it and use the Lortane belts? How much are these things?
Thanks

By: Stan

Stan — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:45:23 +0000

WOW! All my daughter wanted to do was break a rock found at beach with her other two Musketeers, smooth/polish the pieces, and make a treasured keepsake necklace as one is heading off to college, with the others following next year. I got stuck trying to figure out how…what a hassle, I’m blowing through belts on the Chicago machine as well. Chicago tumbler-Frustrating; shipping cost of replacement belts-insulting/irritating; 411 provided here-PRICELESS…thanks

By: Will

Will — Sun, 09 May 2010 04:27:48 +0000

Every thing I have read and all the folks that I have talked to say that the Lortone belts work very well on a Harbor Freight tumbler and last a long time.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:57:15 +0000

I have the HF dual drum tumbler and had problems with belts breaking too.

I returned the first one I bought after burning through both belts that came with the thing in a week. HF replaced the whole works for free, since it was still under factory warranty.

I found that if you lube the bearings with WD40 once a day and wobble the shafts back and forth to make sure the oil goes into the bearings, the belt will last months, not days. My tumbler has been going 24/7 for the last 2 months and I am still on the new one’s first belt.

Also, be careful you don’t overload the barrels with rocks. I put my barrels on a scale and weigh rocks, grit and water up to 3 Lbs in each one. Too much weight and the belt breaks.

Put the tumbler on a sacrificial piece of wood or something absorbent – you’ll have a big black puddle of oil under the tumbler in a few weeks, with this lubrication schedule!

By: kevin

kevin — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 22:00:02 +0000

if you open the Hb tumbler up, you can adjust how the wheels align and it helps the tumbler work much better.

By: M

Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:01:39 +0000

Thanks for posting this! I was looking on eBay for something affordable that wasn’t and NSI…you’ve saved me a lot grief.

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:47:30 +0000

I found this site looking for info on the HF tumbler, so for all you Googlers out there you can get belts of just about any size/diameter through McMaster Carr (mcmaster.com). I repair medical lab equipment and a lot of them use oddball belts, and I’ve yet to be stumped by one. All you need to do is measure the total belt length, diameter, then choose a material on their site. Their site even explains what each material is best suited for. Good luck!

By: Cassie

Cassie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:09:08 +0000

Sorry, I meant HF, not HB.

By: Cassie

Cassie — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:07:10 +0000

I’m glad I found this. My son has the HB tumbler and the belt broke on the third day running the machine. The belts are back ordered through January 2010 (no wonder), so I have been in search of an alternative. I wonder, has anybody tried using the replacement belt for the Lortane 1.5 or 3a for the HB tumbler? They would certainly be a better quality and I think they would fit with a 9″ circumference and 1/4″ thickness.

By: Rhonda

Rhonda — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 02:06:58 +0000

Thanks so much for the info. I was thinking about buying the Chicago Tumbler from Harbor Freight and you have saved me a lot of trouble! I’ll just shop for a Lortone instead…

By: marc

marc — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:20:32 +0000

Order the belts for the 3 pound thumblers tumbler. They fit the Harbor Freight one great and so far its lasted 6 months!

By: christine

christine — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 18:12:36 +0000

I also have had a problem with the belts breaking. I have been using a heavy duty hair tie in place of the original belt. It works for a couple of weeks, and then streatches out. I have been searching for a better solution.

By: Rob

Rob — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:22:29 +0000

I think you need a 4 inch O ring.

By: gary gratto

gary gratto — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:53:32 +0000

My belt broke within 12 hours. We are now trying 2 green rubber bands my daughter had bought for a rubber band shotgun.Does anyone know what size O ring we need?

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:31:13 +0000

We got a couple Lortones actually. We got a large vintage commercial tumbler and a new Lortone 33b. I’ll talk about the 33b since that is similar to th Harbor Frieght tumbler. The Lortone 33b is way better than the Harbor Freight tumbler. The Lortone has metal pulleys compared to the plastic pulleys of the HF. The Lortone has a heavier duty belt. The quality of the Lortone is just way better! I bought the Lortone for $80 which is a bargain compared o other places. I bought it here:
http://www.discountdetector.com/lordualbartu.html

When it came, one of the pulleys was bent a little, and wobbled when it turned. Maybe happened in shipping? I simply removed the motor cover, and pushed the pulley straight. It works great now. We have had the tumbler running now for a couple weeks without any issues at all.

By: Becky

Becky — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:10:52 +0000

Thank you so much for this “review”!!! I’ve been looking for info on this tumber before I buy one. Now I’ll save myself the trouble and just get a Lortone. Do you have your Lortone yet? If so, how does it compare?