Mario1 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 (edited) Ok so I want to use my treadmill in the place of a ball mill. Will this work? And how exactly would I do this if it is possible. Im having a hard time figuring out ball mills... Thanks! <----I want to put the jar containing the chemicals right on the part where the the gap is. Edited July 30, 2009 by Mario1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Frankly, I can't imagine how that would work, even with the pics you provided, and I think you're over-complicating the task. There are a number of threads on this forum that give detailed instructions, some with pictures, on building your own Ball Mill from easily-available components. I suggest you read as many of them as you can, so you get an idea of what needs to be done, and how. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario1 Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 If I put the jar on the gap and turned it on...The jar would turning in circles thus grinding all of the chemicals up. Why wouldnt this work?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSidewinder Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 You would have to add rollers of some sort to prevent the turning jar from contacting the non-moving "edge" where the belt goes under it. If you don't, it will grind down the outside of the jar. Take my word for it, you're going down the wrong road with this idea. Look at the existing threads, as I mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optimus Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Do a search for 'treadmill' - I'm pretty sure this has been discussed before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 It has. They simply don't turn fast enough from what I remember. They're not meant to run for the many hours that would be required. You can use a rock tumbler in a pinch. They're not as fast or efficient, but they'll work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mario1 Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 Ok thanks...And also should I get Airfloat charcoal to use in my fountains and black powder?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyboy Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Ok thanks...And also should I get Airfloat charcoal to use in my fountains and black powder?? Best to go with a mix of airfloat and some larger mesh charcoal in fountains. The airfloat will speed up the burning and provide a bushy flamefront and the larger mesh will make sparks that reach higher before burning out, might I suggest you search for fountains in the search menu for more information? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justanotherpyro Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 It has. They simply don't turn fast enough from what I remember. They're not meant to run for the many hours that would be required. You can use a rock tumbler in a pinch. They're not as fast or efficient, but they'll work. I suppose that it depends on the treadmill. I found one years ago (even posted pics on the forum I think) that had a manual speed dial which works great. I have logged thousands of hours on that mill and it still runs just fine. Treadmills are pretty sturdy since they are designed to have 150+ pound people run on them. To make yours work mario1 you would have to put a roller bar on it like sidewinder said, or dismantle it and use the two existing rollers which is what I did. I would try to avoid using your nice treadmill and search for a P.O.S. that you can destroy and have no worries. Try to find an older one with as few digital parts on it as possible because they can make it difficult to separate the useful parts( motor, speed control etc..) from the frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I think a treadmill could be adapted, but it'd require some hardware mods. And if you are milling BP, for safety purposes it should be done outside, which would be a pain with a treadmill. But a scrapped treadmill, variable speed, would be a gold mine of good parts to make a killer ball mill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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