milling small pieces of metal for inlay

[duckkisser]

ok first off this has nothing to do with fireworks or making things go boom. but since many of you use ball mills i thought i would reach out to you folks who might be able to help me. I am a wood shop teachers aid by trade but i love to make bowl, boxes, jewlery ect..... and i like adding inlay to my projects. for those of you that dont know what inlay is its when you take a different medium then the board your working with and make it part of the board to create pictures or patterns. you can use crushed stone, glass, plastics, wood dust, wood veneer, sand, anything you want to. usualy you start with larger stone super glue it in and wait for it to dry. you then need to use fine powders of the same material to fill in the gaps that were left behind that are too small for your large stones. What i want to work with is metal inlay i can buy the metal i need in powder form easily the problem is i need small granular pieces in the range of 1/16-2/16. I have been trying to figure out how i can make this material without spending days and days cuting up metal. i made 6 oz in 6 hours at home with a coffee grinder that i usualy use for wood. i ended up burning up the motor and it still took me 6 hours. so after some research i found out aluminum and copper ore is often ground up in a ball mill. so now i have the thought to build a ball mill to process the metal. but i dont know how long that will take for example i have access to all the swarf i need but will it work to break up the metal into small pieces? if it does how long am i looking at? couple of the member said that a rock tumbler that i can buy like harbor freights rock tumbler wont work too small and rubber barrel wont break metal down well. i want to do large projects like tables and benches in the past i have always just done turnings or small boxes. but to do larger projects i need more materials. so i had thought to make a rock tumbler that could process 2LB in a run of metal chips. to buy it to get 6-8 oz it usualy will cost me 20$. and if i use a mason jar full of the stuff for a project im looking at 200$ in metal chips. the metal alone will eat up most of my profits.

 

so basicly

 

will a ball mill make me small chips of metal around 2/16 in size?

 

how long will it take me to make this stuff?

 

if the ball mill wont work what might?

 

To give you an idea of what im making here is some pictures of a few of my most recent projects.

http://i1101.photobu...zps6356aa14.jpg

http://i1101.photobu...zps0f18579a.jpg

http://i1101.photobu...zps89efbc59.jpg

[Bobosan]

One opinion here....

 

First off, nice work! Screwdrivers are so good looking I'd be afraid to use them.

 

I think a harbor freight ball mill would to what you want but in smaller quantities and longer mill time. Thumlers larger mills like a model B would increase capacity and should reduce mill time. http://www.thumlerstumbler.com/

 

Your milling media probably will be stainless steel or something comparable. It's the action of the milling media falling against other milling media which crushes the material in between. A rubber barrel will work.

 

The final particle size is large enough that pyrophoric reaction should not be a great danger but caution still advised since fines will more likely be created during mill process. Milling time will depend on the material start size.

 

If you don't already have the mill equipment and media, your initial outlay will eat up any potential savings so might be better off purchasing your metals in the size required.

 

One possible option would be to get a large piece of the metal you want to use and cut with saw to create chips. You could have a machine shop do this or they may have sweepings that are available.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Bobosan

[duckkisser]

One opinion here....

 

First off, nice work! Screwdrivers are so good looking I'd be afraid to use them.

 

I think a harbor freight ball mill would to what you want but in smaller quantities and longer mill time. Thumlers larger mills like a model B would increase capacity and should reduce mill time. http://www.thumlerstumbler.com/

 

Your milling media probably will be stainless steel or something comparable. It's the action of the milling media falling against other milling media which crushes the material in between. A rubber barrel will work.

 

The final particle size is large enough that pyrophoric reaction should not be a great danger but caution still advised since fines will more likely be created during mill process. Milling time will depend on the material start size.

 

If you don't already have the mill equipment and media, your initial outlay will eat up any potential savings so might be better off purchasing your metals in the size required.

 

One possible option would be to get a large piece of the metal you want to use and cut with saw to create chips. You could have a machine shop do this or they may have sweepings that are available.

 

thanks about the screwdrivers didnt realize i put that on as a photo thought i was showing off the inlay stuff. i made them to give as a gift figure we all have someone in our lives who has a million screwdrivers but none that are realy nice looking ones.

 

i have no way to cut metal especialy any of any size to salvage small stones out off. i talked to a machine shop today he is going to see if he can make me what i want when he does a job next week. said he can get the size i want or close to it by the way he cuts the metal. if i cant get it from him i think i might have to build a ball mill. im ok with the initial cost because i will eventuly make my money back or maybe ill produce my own pieces and sell it myself

 

i have a 4 inch bench grinder motor already, just need to get couple pipes 5$ couple pullies,5-15$ 4 bearings 40-50$ and some kind of belt 3$

[Arthur]

Usually a ball mill will take a half inch lump and wear fragments off it leaving a smaller lump and some dust which may not be what you want.

 

You MAY be able to get someone to mill a bar of brass or bronze or Ali to fine shavings and keep the shavings without grease.

Edited April 12, 2013 by Arthur

[Bobosan]

Duckkisser, I did see the inlay work you are doing and viewed the others for curiousity.

 

A shop with horizontal metal saw and coarse tooth band/blade could quickly make a pile of metal the particle size you need. The ball mill would be helpful with polishing or smoothing those metal cuttings.

[duckkisser]

i talked to a machinesest today to see see if he could make me something like that. he said he can get me closer to the size shaving i need after viewing what i use already. he said that he had a milling job the next week and he would give me a call after he made them. first ill see what he has that i can use for inlay if it does not work then ill think abou tthe ball mill. after i told him how much it cost for my stuff he just laughed and said he would not charge me. so this might be the easist way to go about it. maybe i can help him out with some project as well.

[Bobosan]

There ya go! A little bartering never hurts.