PyroNinjaah Posted September 24, 2015 Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) I've made some pretty good black powder using a coffee grinder and porter porter and pestle, but I was looking into getting a ball mill.I was going to get one of the cheap $70 6lb rock tumbler and modify it per skylighter's directions, but I would still need to get media to fill it half full, 200 1/2" balls. I know I could use either lead, ceramic, stainless steel, or brass, but where would I get the last 3? I know I can get lead shot for $13 for 100 1/2" balls, but I can't find brass, stainless steel, or ceramic online anywhere. I really wanted to get stainless steel because of it's long life and minimal contamination, but I can't find anywhere to get it, unless I want to pay $110, which I don't. I heard of people getting 1/2" stainless steel and brass rods and cutting them, but I can only find stainless steel rod for $13-18 a foot, which only gets me 24 pieces when I need 200. I hear people talking about it for milling media, but I must of clicked on at least 50 different websites, but I couldn't find it anywhere. Also, if I need to use lead then is hard cast lead or hard cast lead with 12% antimony in it better? I can get 300 1/2" hard cast lead balls for $30 on eBay or I can get 200 1/2" hard cast lead balls with 12% antimony in it for $32 on ebay. Which is better? Ebay had lots of lead, but no stainless steel or brass. Also, how long do lead balls last? (How many batches/hours do they last?) Final question, would anybody be willing to sell me any milling media for a bit cheaper? I would be willing to pay more if it's stainless steel or brass, but lead will work also. Sorry for all the questions and thank you in advance. Edited September 24, 2015 by PyroNinjaah
Carbon796 Posted September 24, 2015 Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) For lead, and stainless steel if he still has it. PM Caleb ( calebkessinger ) or visit his website https://squareup.com/market/WoodysCreations Edited September 24, 2015 by Carbon796
rogeryermaw Posted September 24, 2015 Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) If your milling black powder, DO NOT USE STEEL!!! Colliding steel balls can and will spark and there you have a bomb full of ballistic projectiles. Hardened lead is one of the more preferred grinding media and as Carbon says, calebkessinger is a great source for it. Shoot him a message. He's big on customer service and will make sure you get what you order. I've ordered from him a few times and couldn't be happier with his products. Edited September 24, 2015 by rogeryermaw
starxplor Posted September 24, 2015 Posted September 24, 2015 I believe these are both ceramic media... i havent gotten to the stage of using a ball mill though, so i cant make any specific claims or recommendations.http://www.grinding-media.com/zirconia.htmlhttp://www.grinding-media.com/alumina.html
MadMat Posted September 24, 2015 Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) As far as the life expectancy of lead balls, I have had the same media in my mill for six batches of BP. Some of them have gotten visibly smaller but are still useable. It's kind of funny that they don't all wear at the same rate, but that's what I have noticed. What I've been considering doing is buying a 50 caliper bullet mold and melting down the balls when they get too small and recasting them. I think bearing grade bronze would make great milling media, unfortunately it's very pricey. Edited September 24, 2015 by MadMat
rogeryermaw Posted September 24, 2015 Posted September 24, 2015 Since I got my lead from Caleb, I've made over 20 lbs of bp and the media shows no appreciable wear.
Col Posted September 24, 2015 Posted September 24, 2015 I use hardened lead for bp and ceramic for everything else. Lead will likely wear more rapidly in a small mill due to the higher rpm and longer milling time.
Nessalco Posted September 25, 2015 Posted September 25, 2015 Look for a local metals dealer. They often are buyers of scrap as well. I bought 1/2 and 3/4" brass rod and cut it into slugs using a sawzall and a jig I made to get a consistent length. Thirty pounds of media cost about $150. I got a little of that back by catching all the brass 'dust' from sawing and selling it back to the dealer. I've used the same media for five years, and made about 170 pounds of BP. The media shows some rounding but will clearly be serviceable for years to come. Kevin
PyroNinjaah Posted September 25, 2015 Author Posted September 25, 2015 Thanks to all of you for all the replies so fast. I think before I buy any media I'll see if I can find a metal dealer like your talking about Nessalco. I emailed Rosanna DeLuca asking about the prices of the ceramic media and am waiting for a reply too. It's actually sort of funny. When I clicked on the link to calebkessingger's online store you provided me Carbon796 I realized the picture of the hardened lead balls were the same as the 12% antimony hardened ones that I was looking at on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lead-Balls-Milling-Media-5-lbs-12-antimony-hardened-/161828927401?hash=item25adc177a9and they both say the seller is located in Highlandville, MO so I'm guessing they're the same. The ones on ebay are actually cheaper by $2 though, I messed up, they weren't $32 like I said above, they were $34.
PyroNinjaah Posted September 27, 2015 Author Posted September 27, 2015 After searching online for a while I found a place e that sells stainless steel rod for a decent price and i'm getting $5 off too. https://www.zoro.com/value-brand-rod-316-ss-12-in-dia-x-6-ft-l-3gtd5/i/G0501891/?whence= I'll probably probably use a cut off wheel to cut it into pieces. I'll probably buy the 12% antimony hardened lead and use that for my black powder, but use the stainless steel for almost everything else.
LiamPyro Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 I see that they have stainless steel balls in various sizes in kg quantities for cheap on "Alibaba.com". Would these make suitable media for milling BP? http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Best-quality-1-2-inch-aisi_60263230337.html?spm=a2700.7724838.30.63.dJQhmF
calebkessinger Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 (edited) Stupid ebay! I sell them on there just to advertise for my store. They take 10.5 % arrrrrrrr..... If I raised the price to what they should be no one would buy them. I have to check but might have one rebel jar load of stainless left. When I get fired up I make 12 lbs of bp every day in a 35lb jar. The lead I'm making doesn't even notice. Edited October 3, 2015 by calebkessinger
dusty56 Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 I run 2 pounds of BP and/or KNO3 star comps with hardened lead. I think the greater mass of the lead versus stainless steel or ceramic should cut run times. I've noticed no size problems. I would be interested if anyone has used lead and ceramic in ball mills for the same purpose and what differences they observed.
Peret Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 As starxplor suggests above - zirconia. Pricey though. It's 3/5 the weight of lead but hard as diamond, and it really speeds up the milling. I was lucky enough to pick some up second hand on Ebay.
starxplor Posted October 6, 2015 Posted October 6, 2015 My understanding of zirconia, again from not having used any media (yet!), is that the weight and hardness form a trade off that is a slight improvement in timing, but more important could be easier on motors for longer lasting mills. Whether this mill motor life increase is worth the cost of zirconia media, I have no idea.
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