Coin tumblers?

[coolcash2004]

Does anyone know of a site i could order a coin tumbler from, (for mainly clad). I am looking for one for 60 dollars or less, preferably less. Thanks.

-CC

 

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[Blackjack77]

On the net- -Harbor freight tools. Should only be used for junk coins-- value drops for the valuable ones.

 

[Sandman]

I did a quick search and could find no tumblers that cheap. Perhaps on ebay.

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

I agree with Blackjack77. I got a two barrel tumbler from harbor freight, and they cost 39.99, well within your price range. I like them because you can tumble both clad and pennies at the same time in separate barrels.

 

[Diggincoinz]

I've been wanting to get one for quite some time now. Can you guys tell me if you have to put anything in with the coins? A liquid or powder solution to help clean or is it the natural tumbling affect that cleans them up? I've always wondered about that.

Thanks, Chris

 

[Blackjack77]

I personnally don't have a tumbler yet, but I understand different types of powder(grit) can be used.I believe the vendor can help when you buy.

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Cool,

http://da.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=rock+tumblers

I purchased the two drum, works fine.

have a good un..............

 

[Sandman]

Magic Tumble Clean by Finch Products works fine. Some people use chopped corn husks with water and a drop of Dawn liquid soap.

 

[coolcash2004]

Thank you.

-CC

 

[Diggincoinz]

Just a thought, what about sand from the beach?

 

[Emperor Findus Cladius]

All I use is aquarium gravel, water and a little dishwater soap. Works great for me.

 

[wmas1960]

The coins tumbling across each other will do some in itself. Sand would work but you run the risk of doing more harm to the coins as sand can be quite harsh. You don't really need to use something that abrasive. I have heard many suggestions from metal BB or tumbling shot to nut shells, corn husks and the aquarium gravel.... Dry items and wet. I have never tumbled coins myself but some points to consider is what you want from tumbling. Are the coins crusted over and really dirty or caked over with crud? Or, do you just need to buff off some surface corrosion and dirt etc. Or, are you taking some relic that you dug up and want to bring it to a polish. The steel shot is often used with jewelry to actually polish it up. The edges are smooth and it comes in various shapes and such with smooth rounded corners and harder edges to create a range of different actions. Also, with coins and items that might be valued depending on their surface condition, you don't want to use anything that is harder than the coins themselves. Otherwise it will leave scratches and all that will deminish the designs and lessen the value. Jewelry with intricate details would fall in this catagory. Ie., the metal shot that you can get for tumbling might be too harsh. Especially, as one reply already mentioned, if the coins have any value to them. Gravel might also fall into this catagory and might scratch up the coins or knock down some of the detail to the designs and sand would certainly not be a good choice with coins. But, if it is just clad that you are trying to clean up some to run through a sorter or feed into vending machines... than what the heck.

Some ideas that I have thought of are as follows. Based on how coins seem to look when they have gone through the wash, a little Tide, some water and some cloth scraps from old blue jeans might work good. Don't know a mix or anything but, just guessing, say half a dozen or so coins to about an equal amount of the scraps of cloth. Add about half a cup or a cup of water with about a shot of Tide. Nut Shells are commonly used in some situations to clean metal items without harming the surface. Walnut or pecan shells perhaps. I thought of using some peanut shells. I have bought some peanuts in the shells lately so they are easy enough to come by and perhaps worth a try. Get creative and try stuff like running coins through with some Rice (DRY) or some dry beans without any liquid. That might be useful. The hard grains would probably work to take off dirt and grime. Maybe buff up the coins a little without doing a lot of harm to the detail and all.

I was just going through some collectables that I have and found a bag of old Casino tokens that I picked up at some of the local riverboats before they went to the Tickets for paying out. I have a bunch of 10c tokens . They are clean and all but darkened and tarnished. I had a thought of running them through my tumbler with a few ideas to test some things. Will let you know if I do it and what works.

Don't let the tumbler go too long. I saw some pictures recently, posted somewhere here, where the person forgot and let the coins tumble for a few hours or maybe over night. Almost took everything off the surface. Including the date and designs. I think some people say about 20 minutes or so might be all you need.

Look around the forums and see what you can find. Check catagories about cleaning and preservation and you should find more info.

 

[goldinmypan]

Sorry if this seems dumb but whats the difference between a coin tumbler and a rock tumbler?

 

[wmas1960]

They are the same thing. Some people use them to polish metals, like in the creation of jewelry or cleaning of coins. Objects are put in for short periods of time to tumble off the dirt and grime etc. They can be filled with rocks and similar but harsher grits and such and tumbled for much longer to put a high polish to some rocks which can then be used, also, in the creation of jewelry etc.

 

[Mighty AP]

I tumble my nasty clad in straight vinegar for a couple hours & it works great! Comes out shiny & ready to spend!

 

[coolcash2004]

hummm....

Instead of buying a tumbler do you think i could just put my coins in a large bucket, poor in vinegar and shake it around for a while? I dont know it seems like it might work... Thanks everyone.

-CC

 

[wmas1960]

First, as I read my previous post, I would say again that a coin tumbler and a rock tumbler are the same. Only difference is the contents and how long you run the machine. Put some nice rocks or some rough gemstones in, along with sand ond other grit etc., in and run it for a few days or, at least, several hours and you notice smoothing of edges of rocks and they come out shiny and polished. Put in some coins and some detergents and more mild abrasives along with some coins and run for 20 minutes or so and you clean coins.

Has a lot to do with how long you run the machine, and if you just want to clean your items or if you want to polish and more agressively shape and alter their surfaces.


That said, if you look at how a rock tumbler works... It either rolls a canister back and forth at a slow speed, or rolls the container around and around slowly, tumbling the aggregates and coins, etc., across and over each other taking off grit and grime and cleaning the coins. Or, if done for a longer period of time, the aggregate will begin to remove parts of the surface, round over and smooth edges etc.

Being that it works so slowly, you could, concievably, take any small jar or a Tupperware or Rubbermaid type container that closes tite, fill it with some cleaning medium dry like rice or beans, corn or nut shells... Or, add some water and detergent and another suitable suitable cleaning medium and just roll it all back and forth across a table, swirl it around or shake it and so on. Do this for about 20 minutes or so and you would probably do as well as if you had used a tumbler. You DO NOT need to shake vigerously or anything. Jus keep everything moving.

The main issues is if it closes titely, and won't spill all over, and what you put in there with your coins and that you need to keep the cointents moving for upward of a half hour without any interruption.

 

[coolcash2004]

I think il try this. Thanks

-CC

 

[Peg Leg]

If you are going to tumble I suggest that you add a 1/2 table spoon of baking soda. This will preven GASES from building up and blowing the end off the tumbler. The you will have a real mess to clean up.
I once built a very BIG COMMERCIAL tumbler by using a 8 gallon drum.
Itg worked just fine for years. I was tumbling Gem Stones.
Peg Leg

 

[xupz]

If anyone is still looking to buy a tumbler, Harbor Freight will have them on sale for 29.99 on Black Friday marked down from 49.99.

Chicago Electric Power Tools Rotary Tumbler $29.99

http://bfads.net/pop/2490