While this is a bit subjective, some rocks and minerals are more visibly appealing than others. Aesthetic, identifiable minerals – For most people, the whole point of tumbling rocks is to reveal the beauty within.When judging the overall rock quality of each batch I was looking for the following characteristics: No matter how skilled you are with your rock tumbling process the end results are still predominantly dependent upon the material you start with. In my opinion, this is by far the most important piece of criteria for this comparison. In order to prevent any possible bias, when reviewing the quality of the rocks I had my wife open the bags for me and lay the rocks out so that I wouldn’t know where each batch came from. The online shops that I ordered from are some of the most popular in the industry. The ideal batch of rocks would be ready to throw into the tumbler with little to no changes to the mixture and the expectation of achieving great results. The overall rock quality, the diversity of rocks and minerals in the batch, the size distribution of the rocks, and the relative hardness of the rocks to one another. When comparing the batches of rocks I received from each company there were four key attributes that I was looking for. I’ll dive deeper into the pros and cons of each online retailer and the rocks I received from them so that you know what to expect. Depending on exactly what is most important to you you may find that you’d prefer to order from one of these other shops.

The process I went through to make this determination was fairly involved, and several other shops also performed very well. They are also the least expensive and have reasonable shipping options. They sell a variety of rock types, grit, and accessories. Their batch of mixed tumbling rough stands out for its rock quality, mineral variety, and rock size distribution. The best place to buy tumbling rocks is The Rock Shed. Using a set of criteria including everything from rock quality to customer service I was able to determine the very best place from which to order tumbling rocks online.

I have purchased rocks from several places in the past but in order to give a thorough recommendation I decided to order a batch of mixed rough from the most popular online shops and directly compare them side by side. My daughter thoroughly enjoys the wide variety of colorful minerals that come in a bag of mixed tumbling rough and for most people this is the easiest way to get into the hobby and experiment with different rocks. While I think the most rewarding place to get my rocks is out in nature, it is certainly easier and less time consuming to order them online. One of the most common questions I’m asked about rock tumbling is about where I get my rocks.

3 phase industrial rock tubbler