Milling Media

[DanishPyro]

Hello APC,

 

I'm about to get my first little ballmill running to mill some blackpowder. As of now i dont have any specific media, but i wondered if i could use coins as i have seen coins been mentioned as a poor media, but better than nothing. I have three different coins/composite coins available, and they are as following:

 

Coin 1: The coin is composed of a bronze of 97% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin.

Coin 2: Cu 75%, Ni 25%

Coin 3: 96% Cu, 6% Al, 2% Ni

 

Are any of these coins suitable for milling, or is there a risk of them sparking?

I am thinking about using them in a 1.25l HDPE jar, until i get some better media.

 

Will these be usable for milling media too, if made of stainless steel: http://tinyurl.com/kgo7vbr

 

Thanks,

 

DanishPyro

[mabuse00]

I don't think your coins will spark without any iron in there.

What's the weight of one?

 

Don't know about the nuts...Also their price advantage wont be so great if they are stainless.

 

I don't have a ballmill for long but in my experience small mills need especially dense/heavy media for good performance.

The idea is to shatter the charge rather than grind it, this won't work if your media is to light, or the speed they hit each other with is to small (what is the case in a very small drum).

 

I compared ceramic Al₂O₃ based balls and lead balls and the lead balls where really much more effective. Some people report heavy wear rates, my balls have lost really only about 1% in 70h runtime. They contain 1% antimony. Since my situation with the hobby does not allow me to persue it very excessive the balls will last me a long time.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2013 by mabuse00

[schroedinger]

Go for proper media,don`t use anything that contain`s iron, like that nuts.

 

Easy way would be to get some brass rod and cut it down to cylinders, but it would be much easier to just get proper media. Look out for a shop witch is doing jewellery tumbling, they will sell Al2O4 media. Looking at you`re name, i would assume that you`re from Denmark so look on the Internet there are heaps of stores witch sell media (even non pyro shops)and they will ship over to you. Have a look at Inoxia. Also maybe think about just casting your own media. Get some Mould for casting ball fishing leads and cast em without swivel and hole, there you go