craig Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 well first of all im looking for a rock tumbler or a ball mill im not sure what to buy which is better i want something that will last any 1 shed any light on it and if u no any good sites to get them from in the uk please thanks
dagabu Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 THIS is my favorite ball mill by far, easy to make the jars from every day materials, easy to handle, quiet... -dag
Mortartube Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 He needs one from the UK or he will have to Faff with transformers to take down the mains voltage. Pity, looks at a nice mill.
VintageRacer Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 No idea what's available in the UK. Google it is probably your best bet, maybe check with TrueBluePyro or his forum? I'd say though with what I have experienced, you'll get your best "monies-worth" by fabricating your own. There are tons of examples out there, some a little more crude than the others.You have to decide what volumes you plan to deal with. Remember the proper charging rates are 50% volume of container for milling media, and 1/3 volume material to be milled. The small 3lb rock tumblers are fine for a start and milling 100 to 200g of anything, but you might possibly outgrow that soon enough. The double-unit tumblers here at the Harbor Freight stores seem to be popular mill, and a better choice (in terms of motors) over the single 3lb unit. If you can find an equivalent voltage unit to this you would be ok for a while. DanB
Arthur Posted October 26, 2011 Posted October 26, 2011 http://www.manchesterminerals.co.uk/acatalog/Tumbling_Machines.html If it says a plain rubber drum is available then buy that option, it's so much quieter. Buy a mill from Manchester Minerals, simply don't say that you need it to make BP -they don't want to know. Buy ceramic balls if you have the choice, they are lighter and don't overload a mill so much.
craig Posted October 26, 2011 Author Posted October 26, 2011 http://www.pyrocreations.com/inc/sdetail/11955/11960 thats the web site for it NEW 15 Lb capacity HIGH SPEED ball mill. larger size for the more serious hobbyist to mill black powder, rocket propellant and other in larger quantities. (18cups) Far more efficient than the 3 lb unit due to the flat, 6 sided interior surface of the barrel and even more efficient then the old style 15 mills we used to sell. This high-efficiency barrel design maximizes the milling action by forcing the grinding media to fall & impact on itself during rotation (barrel measures 9" high x 8.5" in diameter). Grind most materials into a fine powder in just a few hours. Includes a single 15 lb. Neoprene lined barrel with quick-seal, leak proof closures (spark resistant) Heavy duty construction and easy to use and built to last a lifetime. Liquid can be used in the barrel without any worry of leakage. Continuous-duty fan- cooled extra heavy duty motor that should never give problems. is this any good i no i will need balls for the inside and a plug to change to convert it over but it 153.00
Arthur Posted October 27, 2011 Posted October 27, 2011 Craig, Importing that mill will cost you big time. Purchase price,+ shipping cost + import duty + VAT + handling charges could well take that £155 up to £500. Then you need to buy media lead balls will cost £100 is to fill that drum ceramic media will cost much more. Please be moderate in your needs and start with a small mill. In the UK neighbours may well object to the noise of a mill running long and often. get a quiet mill. This precludes getting a hex drum.
dan999ification Posted October 27, 2011 Posted October 27, 2011 on the ceramic being expensive note has anyone considered using baking beans? is the material suitable? i have milled c + s together and they do the job nicely the trouble is i wonder if they can be used for live compositions such as bp, tigertail etc, they are cheap at about £4 a kilo. dan.
Peret Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 on the ceramic being expensive note has anyone considered using baking beans? is the material suitable?Media needs to be heavy and hard. If you can't have both, you get the job done quicker with hard than with heavy. Now I take it you're not talking about edible beans here, I presume they're some kind of ceramic, in which case they should do the job eventually as long as they don't chip.
Col Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 You can buy alumina ceramic media off ebay in the uk at £15 per litre (2.5kg) including the postage.
Pyro1 Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 Craig , have a word with Phill , he can make you a ball mill to your requirements , you can contact him through his site here , http://www.cooperman435.co.uk/ he is in the Uk and a nice guy. Paul.
Col Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 A 15lb mill is good for milling large batches of bp, (~1.5kg) but it`d be less useful for small batches or milling multiple comps at the same time. You could build a 1/2hp mill using all new parts for about £150.
Mumbles Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 You may be over estimating the ideal capacity. Volume of BP depends a lot of density of charcoal I've found, but 1kg with something relatively hot like willow or alder is pushing it as far as over filling goes. If you abide by the strict filling rules you're looking at more like 800g.
Algenco Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 I agree with MumblesWhen I use Paulownia charcoal 800gr is pushing it
dagabu Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 I make a kilo of BP using Service Chemical charcoal in the 15# mill and it is loaded to just above the media as Sponnenburgh recommends. -dag
Col Posted October 28, 2011 Posted October 28, 2011 I agree, the charcoal will make a big difference but it was only a rough guess based on the jar dimensions as 15lbs isnt a very useful unit of measurement I make the volume a tad over 9 litres and worked on the score of 50% media charge and bp occupying 25% of the volume after milling. In my case, 100g of willow bp occupies 150ml of volume after its been milled so i used that for the ballpark bp weight estimate
guntoteninfadel Posted October 29, 2011 Posted October 29, 2011 You could build a 1/2hp mill using all new parts for about £150.That would be one heck of a mill! I don't think OG has much more than that in his and we all agree that is one more beast of a ball mill.
Col Posted October 29, 2011 Posted October 29, 2011 I use a 3/4hp motor on mine because it was free, and its better to have too much ummph than not enough
Potassiumchlorate Posted October 29, 2011 Posted October 29, 2011 I use a 3/4hp motor on mine because it was free, and its better to have too much ummph than not enough Oh, that is a powerful one. I have a 250 W motor, i.e. less than half of that. I can mill up to 1.5 kilos, though 1 kilo is optimal.
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