My letter to a major chemical supplier
Entry posted by Swede
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He MUST be a druggie...
I think we've all become a bit frustrated trying to acquire legal chemicals and supplies both for Pyrotechnics, and for legitimate research at home. There is a powerful prejudice against ANYTHING smacking of home chemistry. We are forced to tip-toe, speak quietly, and behave ourselves lest we be accused of being a druggie or a k3wl bomber.
The scenario: I have a legitimate, Texas-based corporation. I work out of a detached metal building. I don't have a giant research lab. I don't have a "World Headquarters" on a 200-acre lush campus. I have no employees. Does this make my research any less valid?
I placed my order for two benign indicator chemicals. Neither of them is a precursor, an oxidizer, a bomb, a drug... I also ordered some other, non-chemical lab supplies. This is what I received in an email...
To Whom It May Concern:
After doing research on your order it has come to our attention that the address you are requesting us to send/bill certain chemicals to is a residential area. Under Mega Chemical Supply's "Good Neighbor Policy", we can not ship certain items (Chemicals, Needles, Etc.) this to that address at all.
Please contact me within 24 hours with any questions, otherwise I will consider this matter closed and cancel your order.
Your order reference number is XXXXX-XX.
"Good Neighbor" Policy
For your safety, Mega Chemical Supply has a "Good Neighbor" policy for items that may have hazardous characteristics, or be used for illicit drug use, such as chemicals. To help keep chemicals from getting out in the open, we do not ship packages to residential areas. We would rather lose some business than be an unwilling partner to an accident or malicious act.
So now instead of a potential client, a fellow human being, I am a "To Whom It May Concern."
Thanks a lot.
Here is my reply:
Dear James,
My name is Swede from Sweden; I am the owner (and sole proprieter) of Texas Research, LLC. I do prototyping work, metallurgy, electrochemical research include anodizing and electroplating, a number of chemical and industrial tasks on a very small scale. This has cause me much difficulty in obtaining reagents, as there is a presupposition of evil intent when dealing with individuals or very small companies.
I have a B.S. in Chemistry from (named top university); I am a 1984 graduate of that institution. I simply seek to continue my research and obtain the reagents I need. I cannot BEGIN to describe the frustration I feel when it is assumed I am a druggie or bomber.
Quote: "or be used for illicit drug use..."
This order consisted of two reagents in small quantities: Indigo Carmine, Reagent, ACS, and N-Phenylanthranilic acid, a redox indicator, both in sub 100g. quantities. Neither is hazardous nor particularly noxious.
I understand your desire to cater to known businesses and institutions, but it is unfortunate for us entrepreneurs, as we are slowly being strangled due to unavailability of reagents and supplies. May I suggest an individualized approach rather than a blanket "no residences" policy? If I was ordering Potassium Cyanide, trinitrophenol, or some other dangerous, poisonous, or explosive compound, then I would absolutely not have a problem, but these reagents I attempted to order are several magnitudes less dangerous than the oxidizers and acids I could buy at a local pool store.
I appreciate your time, and I would very much liked to have established a working relationship with a supplier of your size and caliber; I do understand the problems you face. I am simply frustrated and stymied.
Thank you,
Swede
Mega Chemical Supply never bothered to reply. I sent that letter as well to two other reputable suppliers of chemicals to industry and education, and I now have a good, working relationship with one of them.
The "Basic" Ball Mill Kit
A few days back, I made a post showing some of the high-end hardware that came in for the ball mill "kit" concept. I put a lot of thought into the design, and wanted to come up with a stout, yet very simple ball mill. The principle was kept simple... if you can cut three squares of 3/4" plywood, and drill a few holes, then you can bolt together a ball mill that would put many very expensive commercial or ebay models to shame, and would absolutely grind (pardon the pun) any of the toy rock tumblers to dust.
Yeah, it's another sale's pitch, but I promise this is the last one. I have registered a domain (www.pyromill.com) and hope to do some business from there. I am definitely going to have a reduced price for APC members. I hope also to have a larger "Professional" model with a three-phase, controllable motor, a star-roller attachment, and features not found on this mill. I want to put my machine tools to work on custom rocket tooling, star pumps, plates, stuff like that. We'll see how it goes. The price will be right. If you can cut and drill plywood, you can have a real ball mill instead of a rock tumbler.
I spent a lot of the time on the geometry of the roller bars and their spacing. Sometimes, all I want to mill is a single small "lortone" style jar, of the sort you'd see on the small Harbor Freight mill. Other times, I want to mill a kilo or more of BP in a much larger jar. The optimum spacing for the bars will vary. In the end, I engineered a system that allows the spacing of the rollers to be changed in about two minutes, between three separate spacing choices, so you can mill just about anything.
I took some pics along the way. The first step was to cut out three plywood squares, 2 each 1' X 1', for the sideplates, and 1 each 8" X 8" for the motor mount. I dusted off my CAD program, and used it to print a transfer sheet. The sheet was taped to the two sideplates, and the holes to be drilled were marked with an awl:
http://www.5bears.com/firew/tbmblg01.jpg http://www.5bears.com/firew/tbmblg03.jpg
The sideplates were drilled and sanded, and before the hardware was installed, I gave the sideplates each about three heavy coats of (what else) nitrocellulose lacquer.
The hardware was installed next. The plates are supported (VERY firmly I might add) with two sections of 5/8" stainless threaded rod. Between those two rods, and the rollers themselves, which are fixed relative to the bearings, the mill is more than strong enough. The hardware installation took no more than a couple hours, and that was with many stops for photos, and just to ponder the best way to put it together.
http://www.5bears.com/firew/tbmblg04.jpg http://www.5bears.com/firew/tbmblg05.jpg
The motor was the big part, and along with the bearings, forms the heart of the mill. The motor was installed on an adjustable, pivoting plate, and it uses its own weight to provide tension to the belt. The motor can be shifted right or left, and this allows one to have two or three sheaves (pullies) of different diameters, mounted on the driven roller bar... thus, speeds can be changed in moments by just shifting the belt.
http://www.5bears.com/firew/tbmblg06.jpg
When it was completed, I could not resist comparing it to my eBay mill, the yellow job in the pictures. I spent $180 on that thing. It works OK, but I was not impressed when I first got it, and I'm still not impressed. I had to add a cooling fan to the tiny little motor, as I'm guessing the case temp on that motor approached boiling water after an hour or two of work. The motor did not have enough torque to start a heavy load by itself, and I find this to be dangerous, as a stalled motor can quickly burn up, and be quite a hazard. The motor alone on this new mill weighs about as much as the eBay mill.
http://www.5bears.com/firew/tbmblg07.jpg http://www.5bears.com/firew/tbmblg08.jpg
It's not pretty. It doesn't need to be. It's a tool. But if desired, if you enjoy working with wood, you can jazz it up significantly with longitudinal beams of oak or poplar, and the motor could be enclosed.
Hopefully, this thing will fill a niche between a Harbor Freight rock tumbler, and some of the astonishingly expensive ball mills offered by some of the big pyro suppliers. I think most guys don't mind a little woodwork, and if it keeps the cost down, so much the better.
I am leaving for a week of Scuba diving in Cozumel tomorrow, so if you PM me, I won't be back unti about the 15th. Stay safe everyone! I'll have some cool scuba pics with our new dive camera, for anyone interested.
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