Eagle66 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) I thought I would share some pictures of my ball mill. Here it is, ready to run. The whole thing, jar, box, & all weighs about 100 lbs., so I needed the handle & wheels to get the rig from my van the couple of hundred feet to the woodpile I use for a bunker. The handle is designed to come off for stowing in the back of the van. The box isolates the jar from the motor. I can lift off the box for easier transport or service. I built it myself from pipe scraps, angle irons, bar stock, lumber, etc. I had lying around. I cast the bearing blocks from zinc.(I was going to use aluminum, but it wasn't heavy enough). The bearings & various nuts, bolts, etc. were from the hardware store. I got the wheels at Harbor Freight. The jar is made with 6” PVC pipe & fittings, as per Sponenburgh's design. This 1/3 h.p. motor has plenty of power. It was only a bit warm after 3 hours of turning the 40# jar. I got it new for $100 & free shipping from: http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Motors/AC_Motors_-_General_Purpose_and_Inverter_Duty_(0.25_-_300HP)/AC_Motors-General_Purpose,_Rolled_Steel,_IronHorse_(0.33_-_2HP)/1-Phase_Motors,_56C_(0.33_-_1.5HP)/MTR-P33-1AB18 Their service was great; it arrived 2 days after ordering. There are three shafts, one drive & 2 idlers. This is so I can run either a gallon or a quart size jar. The idler shaft on the left is the one for the Gallon size jar. The idler shaft on the right is the one for a Quart size jar( I haven’t used it yet ). The gallon jar runs at 68 rpm. Note that there is a caster that prevents the jar from rolling into the bearing mount. All up, the total cost, not counting the jar, was about $140. The jar was another $30. The 30 lbs. of .500 lead balls were essentially free, cast from my stock of wheel weight lead. Edited July 31, 2014 by Eagle66 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyroman2498 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 PVC Should Not be used, if that blows up (They can and they will if your not careful ) it will be like a big pipe bomb , and can injure you , I dont want to see a friend get injured, or killed, so just be careful please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pyrokid Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Isn't PVC a very common jar material? If it's in a bunker like it ought to be, the risk is minimal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 The jar design, and the material choice is very common. PVC isn't a perfect material for a jar, both as it will produce shrapnel if there is an accident, and since PVC parts can rub against stuff and build a static charge. It's still used, a lot, and i think the reason is simple. There isn't really other alternatives that are significantly better, available for the home builder.I would say the risks shouldn't be ignored, but they don't really need to take priority either. That type of jar is one of the recommended ones, and have been in use for.... Years.I don't really like the band clamps, but i also don't have a good alternative. So it stays. On the topic of the motor, and not getting very warm... Dude. Your motor is larger then your jar. Your far in to "overkill" territory ;- )B! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobosan Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Nice write up and mill, Eagle. As mentioned, PVC is most commonly used for mill jars but it does have hazards. You bunker it behind the wood pile, you're good to go. When I built mine, I opted to go with the Thumblers (Rebel 17) 15lb metal hex and rubber lined barrels. Sure runs a lot quieter with all that lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TYRONEEZEKIEL Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Don't fret about the PVC. It looks great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessoman Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Yeh I agree, looks great!I run dual 6" PVC and remote on and off. Just don't get in the habit of having lunch in front of it ... As all have said be careful and common sense tells you to limit your time near a loaded mill. Great work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkn Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Nice ! and you can run two size jars, great for large coal compositions. I am working on tweaking mine to run a larger jar for large batches of TT, C6, spider stars, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle66 Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Dude. Your motor is larger then your jar. Your far in to "overkill" territory ;- )B!Well, it looked a lot smaller in the picture on the supplier's web site. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldspark Posted August 7, 2014 Share Posted August 7, 2014 Nice design on the ball mill, as others have stated PVC is a well used choice for jars, if the ball mill is used in a remote location ( one of the important safety rules) an explosion will only ruin your ball mill not your life. Such unloading of jar should also be done in a safe careful manner with PPE being worn. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontypool Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 why would you want one so big? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobosan Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 why would you want one so big? A lot of BP is used in pyro for lift, burst and even some star comps. BP rockets can also use quite a bit of BP. It is the basic component of most fireworks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vizzer Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 (edited) Thanks for this. Your link to the motor is out, now it seems to be:http://www.automationdirect.com/adc/Shopping/Catalog/Motors/AC_Motors_-_General_Purpose_and_Inverter_Duty_(0.25_-_300HP)/AC_Motors-General_Purpose,_Rolled_Steel,_IronHorse_(0.33_-_2HP)/1-Phase_Motors,_56C_(0.33_-_2HP)/MTR-P33-1AB18 Edit: Given the potential for sparking, are there any thoughts on using a motor drivcen by compressed air? Edited January 5, 2015 by vizzer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mumbles Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 A TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled) motor is generally considered safe enough. You really should still be milling somewhat remotely anyway. TEFC isn't quite explosion-proof, but still quite safe. The enclosed motor will contain any sparks. AC motors really don't spark anyway, as opposed to DC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted January 5, 2015 Share Posted January 5, 2015 (edited) A TEFC (totally enclosed fan cooled) motor is generally considered safe enough. You really should still be milling somewhat remotely anyway. TEFC isn't quite explosion-proof, but still quite safe. The enclosed motor will contain any sparks. AC motors really don't spark anyway, as opposed to DC. Good bets for a ball mill motor:-Totally Enclosed Wash Down (TEWD) Expensive-Explosion-proof Enclosures (EXPL) Expensive-SOME Hazardous Location (HAZ) Expensive TEFC are very cheap: TEFC MOTOR 3/4 HP Edited January 5, 2015 by dagabu 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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