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thoughts on ballmill upgrade


dlking59

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A lot of people use the rebel 17. There is an article over on fireworking that explains how to modify the rollers and upgrade the motor to make it more efficient. You run it with 35lb of 1/2 lead media for two hours and you get yourself 1000g of good bp.

Alternatively you could order an already modified unit with 35lb of hardened lead from woodysrocks.com but it starts to become pricey

I just finished building one and absolutely love it. I had previously been running a pair of harbor freight mills. They worked great but I would have to run one for 4 hours to get 200g of good bp

Edited by spectra1
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If you have the facility to use a 2 - 4 hour mill time then use one of these, if not then stick with what you have.

 

I switch a mill on for BP then come back to it after 12 hours because that's when I come in from work.

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I'd worry that those units are under-powered for milling powder. The media still needs to be purchased. Media to fill a 7 litre jar wouldn't be cheap, unless it's ceramic. The Rebel jar is good for about 750 grams per load, or 1000 grams if slower powder is 'good enough', or mill time is of no concern. I have brand new .780" ceramic 'marshmallows' that I would sell cheaply IF you are willing to use ceramic, and IF you were in Canada. Personally, I feel safer (pronounced less unsafe) using stainless steel than ceramic.

 

For the best milling value, you might look into the new Pyro-Gear 6" diameter mill. It's very small, portable, and can run on battery power. Woodysrocks.com might sell these new mills stateside.

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JustV mentioned this topic so I figured I’d add some experience. The Rebel will do fine as is by extending milling times. I own a stock unit and a modified as well. The stock unit may need a couple of minor upgrades to get lengthy service out of it. It seems like the black roller spacers wore on my stock unit.

I believe this is the new Pyro-Gear mill he is referring to

 

http://pyro-gear.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1470

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Thanks for your advice guys.

 

I'm using the HF 6# with the 2 jars. Skylighter has an article on how to improve the efficiency of this ball mill. I could do this and if it works to my satisfaction I could purchase a couple more of the HF 6# mills. This would give me extra jars for different uses ie one for oxidizers, one for fuel etc. Plus I could mill more than one batch of BP at a time. Any thoughts on this route.

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The HF will do fine starting out. If you stay with the art you’ll likely outgrow it fairly quickly. Stick with one of those and update the roller diameter if you want to tinker with it, but it will get the job done as is too if you aren’t in a hurry. Sacrificing efficiency comes at the cost of more time. The same can be said for diameter it seems from some mild adventuring of JustV’s.

I don’t do a lot of milling so the small Pyro-Gear mill is kind of my go to mill most of the time for tinkering around with my smaller quantities.

https://www.woodysrocks.com/store/p257/Complete_Hobby_Mill_.html#/

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