Susan P on sun 9 apr 06
Searched past messages in log and did not see a discussion. Have read many
articles suggesting the use of a ball mill for best results. Would love to
hear a discussion of this - pros and cons. How decisions are made to use or
not use. Which kinds are favored. Best places to obtain.
Thank you.
Susan near Seattle
Marcia Selsor on mon 10 apr 06
Susan,
I se a ball mill. I have used several in my experience. One was a
home made antique where I taught for 25 years. The only maitenance I
did on it over the years was to replace the rubber on the rollers. It
was a simple design using the weight of the motor for tension on the
belt and drive wheel. It could roll a large ball mill jar and a small
one simultaneously.
I have a similar one at home. It is also old and about the same size.
Another home made one was at the Archie Bray Foundation. Others I
have used include a commercial one at Banff, maybe it was a Shimpo.
Another I used at UH Manoa, also commercial. All work about the same
as far as I can tell. I use them for an old method of making terra sig.
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
On Apr 9, 2006, at 10:39 PM, Susan P wrote:
> Searched past messages in log and did not see a discussion. Have
> read many
> articles suggesting the use of a ball mill for best results. Would
> love to
> hear a discussion of this - pros and cons. How decisions are made
> to use or
> not use. Which kinds are favored. Best places to obtain.
>
> Thank you.
>
>
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
Hank Murrow on mon 10 apr 06
On Apr 9, 2006, at 9:39 PM, Susan P wrote:
> Searched past messages in log and did not see a discussion. Have read
> many
> articles suggesting the use of a ball mill for best results. Would
> love to
> hear a discussion of this - pros and cons. How decisions are made to
> use or
> not use. Which kinds are favored. Best places to obtain.
Dear Susan;
I bought a three gallon Porcelain Jar from Seattle Pottery Supply,
built a roller drive for it, and loaded it with Alumina cylinders from
another supplier to grind the 'wild' glaze materials I collect. I find
the milling to be extremely useful in this context. I like to use it
for grinding pigments and some other materials that don't like to pass
through the sieves easily, like bone ash and barium. Scroll halfway
down this page to see it:
http://www.murrow.biz/hank/kiln-and-tools.htm
Cheers, Hank
www.murrow.biz/hank
John Baymore on tue 11 apr 06
I also have been using one for years. Like Hank, I use to to grind local
materails for glazes....... mainly granite and the sand that is on the
banks of the river that runs through my property.
6 hours and the granite (gotten as "dust" from the local quarry....chips
up to 1/4") will 100 percent go thru 100 mesh.
It is a home built unit with commercial jars and media from Laguna.
Drives two jars. Twin rubber coated rollers in sealed self aligning
bearings, V-groove pully/belt driven with a 1/4 horse constant speed
motor. Pully and jar diameter ratios for critical speed calculated from
Cardew's "Pioneer Pottery" if I remember correctly..... or maybe from
Davis's "The Potter's Alternative".... can't remember ...it was years ago
.
best,
.............john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
JBaymore@compuserve.com
http://www.JohnBaymore.com
Paul Herman on thu 13 apr 06
Hello Susan,
Sorry for the delayed reply, I've been distracted by an anagama.
I regularly use a ball mill in glaze making for dispersion of
pigments. An example is my celadon glaze, which has iron specks
unless it is ball milled for 20-30 minutes. I also use it for
grinding local minerals. Feldspar and granite take six hours in the
mill to produce material fine enough to use in glazes.
My mill is home made. The stoneware jar I made on my wheel about 25
years ago. The balls were made from porcelain, and later some were
bought from Laguna Clay Co.
It's a tool I couldn't do without.
Paul Herman
Recuperating from firing #13
Great Basin Pottery
Doyle, California US
http://greatbasinpottery.com
On Apr 9, 2006, at 9:39 PM, Susan P wrote:
> Searched past messages in log and did not see a discussion. Have
> read many
> articles suggesting the use of a ball mill for best results. Would
> love to
> hear a discussion of this - pros and cons. How decisions are made
> to use or
> not use. Which kinds are favored. Best places to obtain.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Susan near Seattle
Tim Sullivan on fri 14 apr 06
I've been using a ball mill that I made for the last few years. I ball mill
nearly every glaze that I use ( for a variety of reasons). If you would
like to see a jpg of the mill and a listing of parts that are used, just
send me an e-mail. IMHO the commercial models are great but I just couldn;t
justify the expense for such a simple machine.
Tim Sullivan
Creekside Pottery
Marietta, GA
www.creeksidepottery.net
tim@creeksidepottery.net
steve graber on fri 14 apr 06
i found a rock tumbler - for cleaning shot gun shells - at a thrift store for under $5. i use it for crushing small stuff, but only in hobby mode. it's about a half gallon in body size.
the rock dust i'm getting from tumbling rocks will become a glaze one day.
if you needed one, i would monitor shops like these for used tumblers.
see ya
steve
Tim Sullivan wrote:
I've been using a ball mill that I made for the last few years. I ball mill
nearly every glaze that I use ( for a variety of reasons). If you would
like to see a jpg of the mill and a listing of parts that are used, just
send me an e-mail. IMHO the commercial models are great but I just couldn;t
justify the expense for such a simple machine.
Tim Sullivan
Creekside Pottery
Marietta, GA
www.creeksidepottery.net
tim@creeksidepottery.net
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A Kettner on fri 14 apr 06
Hey Tim,
I would like to see a pic of your ball mill. I worked for a glass
enamels company and utilized the mill to achieve some pretty smooth
enamels. Starbucks released their whiskey Liquor in a tan bottle with
the enamel I formulated.
Please send pics
Arthur
On 4/14/06, Tim Sullivan wrote:
> I've been using a ball mill that I made for the last few years. I ball m=
ill
> nearly every glaze that I use ( for a variety of reasons). If you would
> like to see a jpg of the mill and a listing of parts that are used, just
> send me an e-mail. IMHO the commercial models are great but I just could=
n;t
> justify the expense for such a simple machine.
>
> Tim Sullivan
>
> Creekside Pottery
> Marietta, GA
> www.creeksidepottery.net
> tim@creeksidepottery.net
>
> _________________________________________________________________________=
_____
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclin=
k.com.
>
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