Wiley Posted May 6, 2012 Posted May 6, 2012 Hey all, I asked a question early on in another thread about 4 mesh screens, and was told that standard 4 mesh hardware cloth is what most people use to granulate BP, cut stars, etc. A quick search on Google revealed that hardware cloth in general is galvanized. Could this coating of zinc pose any potential problems when using the screen for granulating BP, screen slicing stars, etc?
warthog Posted May 6, 2012 Posted May 6, 2012 (edited) never used it for stars but it never gave me any unexpected results granulating my BP.I made drying screens with it as well without any sort of reaction resulting from wet stars sitting on them. makes a nice fence against bunny rabbits eating my flowers too. If you must have it w/o the Zn or in Stainless, I am pretty sure McMaster-Carr has it this big.I get all of my mixing & sieving screens there then frame them myself. McMaster-Carr <---Look Here.... Edited May 6, 2012 by warthog
Arthur Posted May 6, 2012 Posted May 6, 2012 For grating cheese I use a cheese grater! For granulating BP use a cheese grater! Easy and stainless and cheap -just don't grate your fingers.
Mumbles Posted May 6, 2012 Posted May 6, 2012 I've tried using a cheese grater, but still prefer a screen. A cheese grater makes ribbons of BP that I don't really like. They're too fragile for some things, whereas granules produced from a screen are generally more robust. Whatever works and fits the bill though. The ribbons worked great for lift, but I didn't really like them for bulk filling among stars. I don't screen slice stars, but I've never had a problem when granulating anything through the screen. It's not unlikely that the wet nitrate could react with the zinc coating, or steel underneath, but I never really had a problem with that. Even leaving some excess BP stuck on to dry didn't seem to affect it much. I had probably 3 or 4 years in my screen before it had to be discarded due to damage unrelated to corrosion. Some people seem to prefer a 3 mesh screen which is harder to come by locally. A 3 mesh screen has approximately 0.25" openings, where as a 4 mesh screen is closer to 0.20". The larger hole size produces larger granules and larger stars if screen slicing. I've never had a problem with 4 mesh for granulating, but I've never tried screen slicing so I don't know if it makes a difference.
nater Posted May 6, 2012 Posted May 6, 2012 I have been using a 4-mesh stainless steel screen that I purchased from McMaster-Carr for screen-slicing stars. It works for small stars, but I have had a hard time getting uniform sizes. I like how fast and how easy the process is other than getting perfectly sized stars. G. Smith has developed a great process that is simple to pick up and get the desired results. I'm going to try other means of shaping his comps later this summer.
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