Re: Is 1/4 inch diameter SS media too small for efficient ball milling?

On Nov 24, 9:18 pm, jpsmith...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone is successfully using 1/4" diameter steel
media in a ball mill? The info at the following site seems to indicate
that 1/4" media will work, but it's good to hear from someone that's
tried it before investing any money.

http://www.pauloabbe.com/productLines/millingEquipment/principlesofgr...

Regards,
jpsmith123

To the point, 1/4" stainless would work - but it might not work across
the broader range of applications you would need it for. Be careful
of the type of stainless because some types spark - search on it in
this newsgroup. There are more efficient options than 1/4" media.

Generally, a 4" rock tumbler drum would use 1/2" media and a 6" drum
uses 3/4" media. Other sizes can be used but I would go for the sizes
that have proven themselves.

You want larger media to break things up and smaller media to grind
finer. As with any of these spectrums, the edges of the curve get
silly. Taken to extreme, one 30 lb ball in the mill would seem to be
what you need for tough stuff, and 30 lbs of #12 lead shot should work
to mill charcoal to airfloat. Of course, neither would be terribly
useful for most of our needs. Lloyd's book goes into this a bit -
and, thankfully, without my example.

You can buy 1/2" lead rifle/pistol balls in a sporting store for less
cost. They will also work much faster and more efficiently and are
much less prone to sparking. You can pour your own 3/4" media for
about the cost of heating it up (get the lead from a tire shop) and
have a great outcome. You can buy ceramic media for about the same
price and get very efficient milling - see eBay. Not everyone
endorses ceramic media for milling BP - I use it to mill single
chemicals and very rarely will mill some BP with it (outside, on an
extension, etc).

For an extreme - I know a guy, who is still alive, who made a mill out
of a chunk of PVC and BBs for media. His motor was an orbital sander
base. The contraption was absolutely the most lethal looking
deathtrap I've ever seen in pyro. However, it worked for him and he
never had an accident (which is a dangerous thing to say -- just
pointing out he didn't die). So there are always exceptions to what
can be done - it is just that the milling thingy has been worked out
by others so I would go with the mainstream and save my luck for
things not in my control.




.

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