Blackthumb Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 (edited) Been using this one for thirty years....think I'll make a few and offer them up...I insert smaller containers inside for BP and lighter loads. I use the large one as pictured for charcoal... Edited March 27, 2011 by Blackthumb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no6 Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 We're using 2 now. This 15 lb capacity mill - 15 lb capacity for the 2 HF jars can mill 200 grams in 3+ hours quietly. And this 35 lb capacity mill - 35 lb capacity can make 20 ounces of meal in 3+ hours in the 1 gallon barrel. This shit can get expensive. But I've had more expensive hobbies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrophury Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 (edited) Hi, fed up with my little rock tumbler I finally decided to make my own purpose built mill...http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/1275/bm2y.th.jpghttp://img546.imageshack.us/img546/9259/bm1v.th.jpghttp://img12.imageshack.us/img12/7762/bm3v.th.jpgThe motor, pulleys, belt cover and switch all came from a second hand pillar drill I found for £15 http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/6646/bm4g.th.jpghttp://img593.imageshack.us/img593/36/bm6c.th.jpghttp://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2474/bm5h.th.jpgThe 5 litre capacity jars came with my rock tumbler, they are made of rubber and are vaned. http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/3504/bm8p.th.jpghttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7296/bm7o.th.jpghttp://img41.imageshack.us/img41/6589/bm9d.th.jpg The jars and lead media combined weigh about 15Kg, but that's no problem for the 1/4 HP motor. I've not actually used it to mill anything yet, I wanted to take some pictures while it's still clean and shiny. Edited May 22, 2011 by Pyrophury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted May 22, 2011 Share Posted May 22, 2011 Good job, that is a sweet looking mill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan999ification Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hi, fed up with my little rock tumbler I finally decided to make my own purpose built mill...nice mill, looks strong and cleanly built, good to see you over here now tubes has gone.dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Very nice Pyrophury. Would you mind taking a photo of the inside of the drive train? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrophury Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 (edited) Very nice Pyrophury. Would you mind taking a photo of the inside of the drive train? Thanks, here's a peek under the belt cover... http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/272/driveb.th.jpgYou can see the step pulleys and belt which originally came from a 5 speed bench drill. I milled the first batch of 250g of BP in one of the jars yesterday, after 2 hours it started to cake up and stick to the milling media. After 3 hours it was caked up completely, I could break it up but after 10 minutes it would be caked up again... so I guess it was done. http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4739/cakeze.th.jpg Here's a burn test of a teaspoon of the 3hr BP(Vine charcoal) Video of the mill running Edited May 25, 2011 by Pyrophury Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Yup, sure looks done to me too! Nice burn on that vine charcoal Pyro. -dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntoteninfadel Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Thats a couple degrees of magnitude i would think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SjeefOne Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 How does it feel to be able to ballmill your balmill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankRizzo Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 http://pyrobin.com/files/7978316.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cplmac Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 You guys have some sharp looking home made mills, nicely done. I ran my big mill today for about an hour and realized that the worm gear isn't gonna cut it. The thing filled my shop with smoke as it cooked all the gear oil in it. I think the problem is that it's designed to run at about 200-300 rpm and I'm running it at 3400 rpm. So, I did some research today and I'm going to have to reduce speed through chains and sprockets. I looked up all the sprockets and found local vendors, it's going to take four separate reductions to get it to the 180-200 rpm range output speed I need. Also I will need to do an oil bath system to give the system some longevity, turns out the small gears are not recommended by the factory for speeds as high as my motor is running so instead of running a couple of big reductions I have to run a couple of small reductions first. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel though, this should be the final rebuild on the mill god willing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeepOvertone Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I've been using the small Harbor Freight mill for all of my milling and I'm ready to graduate. I'm not really interested in building my own mill so I'm going to have to buy one. Which would be the better choice? http://pyrocreations.com/inc/sdetail/11955/11960orhttp://cgi.ebay.com/15-lb-cap-1-gallon-Rock-Tumbler-Polisher-/350464990361?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5199575c99#ht_1639wt_814 Or if there are any others around the same capacity that would work better I'd like to know. Also, I've been using regular old 50cal lead balls as media. I'm going to have to buy a bunch more to fill my new mill so if thats not the best media I'd also like a point in the right direction. Ceramic balls? Ceramic marshmallows? What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 PVC jars do a better & quicker job milling, than a rubber lined one.Just my 0.02 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 It really shouldn't matter. Nearly all of the grinding takes place between the media, not between the media and walls. The rubber may have a bit more give, but I've never seen any side by side evidence to show having any advantage over another. Typically when one upgrades from a rubber jar to a PVC jar, they are upgrading from a $30 rock tumbler to a dedicated and engineered ball mill. More than just the jar changes in that transition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 (edited) In my humble experience PVC jars with a hard ceramic media (Zirc "M" for instance) complete milling in about 30 to 40% less time than a rubber or rubber lined jar with straight lead or antimony hardened lead. There is no color change either, as lead or A/lead will turn white chemicals gray. Zirc M media will not. I have milled with 50 Cal lead balls, A/hardened lead balls & Zirconia M ½ inch cylindrical media in both rubber or rubber lined jars & straight PVC jars. There is a very noticeable increase in the volume of milled chemicals. When milled in a PVC jar with Zirc M over the results from lead or A/lead balls in a rubber or rubber lined jar. I believe the noticeable increase in volume with PVC jars & Zirc M is attributable to both the jar & media being harder than the more malleable lead or A/lead in rubber or rubber lined jars. Resulting in a noticeably finer grinding effect, resulting in more chemical volume surface area in a shorter milling time. But, take that with a grain of salt, as it is only based on my limited experience. Peret bought some Zirc M media & had outstanding results with it in a rubber jar.I had even better results in a PVC jar. SEE LINK:http://www.amateurpyro.com/forums/topic/6012-best-and-most-economical-ball-mill-jars-diy/page__view__findpost__p__77721 Edited May 31, 2011 by oldguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntoteninfadel Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Does anyone have a preference between round and the marshmellow shaped media in the ceramic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Best results I ever had was with this type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I believe the noticeable increase in volume with PVC jars & Zirc M is attributable to both the jar & media being harder than the more malleable lead or A/lead in rubber or rubber lined jars. Resulting in a noticeably finer grinding effect, resulting in more chemical volume surface area in a shorter milling time. Plus, don't forget the zirconia is not only harder than the other materials but has nearly twice the density as the alumina milling media I use. Unfortunately, if you buy it new, it costs five times what the alumina media costs . The good thing is that the hard ceramic type milling media is practically a lifetime investment ! WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldguy Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 Yup, the Zirconia M type is spendy.But, if you keep your eyes open.Sometimes you can get bargains.I bought 100 lbs at a BARGAIN price.But, it was not cheap either & shipping was not either.The media cost more than my big new mill to build.But, like you said, it should last a decade or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peret Posted June 1, 2011 Share Posted June 1, 2011 I get really good results with that type ^^^ of Zirc M media in a Harbor Freight mill. It takes 5 pounds of lead to half fill a rubber jar and only 3 pounds of Z, but it mills better in less time and there's a large increase in volume, with no caking. I believe the tubular media will perform better than balls for the kind of use we put it to - balls may work better for powdering quartz, but the kind of brittle material we use benefits from more contact between the parallel sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntoteninfadel Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 (edited) I bought 100 lbs at a BARGAIN price.But, it was not cheap either & shipping was not either. Um, a hundred pounds huh........ hmmmmmmm sounds like a lot...... wanna sell any? Just bought a powered conveyor roller on ebay. Guy I got it from of course has no idea of rpm but states it works. Anyone have any idea the rpm? He says its 24v but that is all the specifics he has. Edited June 2, 2011 by guntoteninfadel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Um, a hundred pounds huh........ hmmmmmmm sounds like a lot...... wanna sell any? Just bought a powered conveyor roller on ebay. Guy I got it from of course has no idea of rpm but states it works. Anyone have any idea the rpm? He says its 24v but that is all the specifics he has. DC, all you need is a speed control and you are set! Depending on the size of the jar, I bet it would be darn close right off the bat. Good find gun! -dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts