jermain Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 Hi Guys, Very new to being a pyro, made some good BP over the weekend by hand (pestle and mortar). Of course now i have an aching arm so can anyone point me in the right direction of where to buy a decent ball mill from for an enthusiastic beginner? I live in the UK so any advice about where to get one from this side of the pond would be appreciated. I have seen a few rock tumbler's on the internet and I'm tempted to buy a 'national geographic' one from ebay as there cheap, i assume there pretty awful but you've got to start somewhere! Thanks in advance for any help. jer
Updup Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 (edited) Hi Guys, Very new to being a pyro, made some good BP over the weekend by hand (pestle and mortar). Of course now i have an aching arm so can anyone point me in the right direction of where to buy a decent ball mill from for an enthusiastic beginner? I live in the UK so any advice about where to get one from this side of the pond would be appreciated. I have seen a few rock tumbler's on the internet and I'm tempted to buy a 'national geographic' one from ebay as there cheap, i assume there pretty awful but you've got to start somewhere! Thanks in advance for any help. jer You got some replys here if you haven't seen them yet It seems like everyone starts out with this little mill, or its 6 lb counterpart. I made my first mill, v1.0 was pvc pipe bearings driving tin can drums, with a drill to run it... Needless to say that wasn't a great idea. I now have been making 200-300 grams of BP in 3 hours with this little homemade mill, works like a charm, and when I get media for the second drum, I'll be able to mill up to 600 grams every 3 hours. I'm not sure if they will ship to you, but a member here owns a pyro store in the netherlands http://www.pyro-stuf...stuff-c-35.html and they have a ball mill. Right off the top of my head I can't think of any UK pyro stores, but I know there are some out there, and chances are they are going to carry a ballmill. Edited March 28, 2011 by Updup
dan999ification Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 google manchester minerals they sell rock tumbler/polishers for £50 you just need media as they dont carry anything heavy enough to mill bp with. some people in the uk to use an old printer motor which is ideal for the jobive had my fair share of arm ache but overall it makes the bp that bit more special you use it sparingly and appreciate it more hope this helps dan [also uk]
Arthur Posted March 28, 2011 Posted March 28, 2011 http://www.manchesterminerals.co.uk/acatalog/Tumbling_Machines.html Read the whole page! The small mills will take a long time but cost less! Get a rubber drum they are so much quieter, lots of mills will take a rubber drum. The 2.25 kilo drum works nicely makes just short of a Kilo at a time, or 500g in 3 hours. Get lead media from Cooperman435.co.uk or get good ceramic media from Inoxia pyrotechnics http://www.inoxia.co.uk/ UKPS AGM very soon in Bradford
jermain Posted March 29, 2011 Author Posted March 29, 2011 Cheers guys, absolute brilliant help. I ordered one of the ball mills of manchester machines in the end. Turned out to be roughly £100 all included. Can't wait till it arrives, just praying that my media arrives before the weekend aswell.
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