Rock Tumbling: Why My Daughter's Tumbler Drives Me Crazy

Who would have thought, according to the directions, that something that takes thousands of years in nature can be done in the comfort of your own home in about three weeks? Apparently, it's possible with the rock tumbler my daughter got for her birthday, from no one other than.......my mother. The wonderful woman that once said to me sometime during my teenage years, "I hope you have children someday that drive you as crazy as you've driven me!" As it turns out, this rock tumbler is probably going to make her wish come true.

My daughter's birthday was last month. Since opening that special gift from Grandma, she's been after me to help her set it up so she can make beautiful jewelry out of the smooth, shiny rocks that the tumbler produces. I'd been putting her off with one excuse or another until I ran out of excuses and helped her set it up this past weekend. We decided the basement would be a good place for the contraption. I knew before even plugging it in that it would be noisy, and not something to put in her bedroom, even though she insisted that she'd be able to sleep with the noise.

So, down in the basement, we gather the supplies we need. Rocks, of course. The gravely/sandy mix, water, and Vaseline to lubricate the spindles. As I was reading the directions, I started thinking that this might not be such a bad thing after all. We got the plastic tumbler filled with rocks, gravel, and water. Oh, she was so excited! On went the cover, and we were ready to plug it in.

I walked over to the outlet, plugged the blasted thing in, and oh my goodness! Have you ever heard the roaring of a jet engine up close? OK, maybe it isn't that bad, but it's not far off. That thing started spinning and the sound that came from that machine had the dog howling! The cats, who were leisurely sprawled on top of the pool table, jumped up immediately and headed for the stairs like their tails were on fire! I looked at my daughter and shook my head. She said to me, "It's not that bad, Mom." I rolled my eyes and started up the stairs to check on the cats. I was sure they'd never come down to the basement to use the litter box again.

At the top of the stairs, I could still hear the tumbler tumbling. The whirring of the motor and the clunking of the rocks on the sides of the plastic tumbler were very much audible even that far away. Walking into the kitchen, shutting the door leading to our basement, I could still hear it. The door and the distance did little to muffle the sound.

It's been two days, and it's run constantly. I hear it everywhere in the downstairs of our house....including our bedroom. In the stillness of the night, after everyone's gone to bed, you can hear it. Turning, and turning, and turning. Whirring and clunking in the basement. The only escape from the noise is upstairs, in the kids' bedrooms. They sleep peacefully, quietly. The directions say there are three steps for making smooth, shiny rocks. The coarse grit stage, the fine grit stage, and the polishing stage. Each stage has to run a week. By my calculations, that's three weeks. Three LONG weeks of tumbling, whirring, and clunking. I can't even hear my washer and dryer from the top of the stairs anymore to know when they are done. I have to actually walk downstairs to find out! Can you imagine?! The dogs are afraid of the noise. They have to go past the basement stairs to go outside. They creep past the stairs, all hunched down as if something is going to get them. I've seen the cats in the basement since we started that machine from hell, but they go no where near it. They make a wide circle around it, always keeping their eye on it as they pass in case it might jump out and get them.

My husband comes home from work today and asks, "How long does that damned thing have to run?" When I told him it had to run three weeks, he threw a fit. I just shrugged my shoulders. At least he got to get out of the house to go to work. He got away from that irritating noise, at least for a little while. And, as far as I'm concerned, the tumbling shouldn't bother him at night since he snores so loud you'd swear a freight train was coming through our bedroom!
Ah well. It's just the joys of being a parent. I have to remember to call my mother tomorrow and thank her for the wonderful gift. I'm sure she's looking forward to hearing how much my daughter loves it. I'll be sure to stand right next to the machine while I'm talking to her so she can get the full effect.
Two weeks, five days, and counting!