John Connolly on wed 10 jan 07
Donna, I don't know about the use for a ball mill, but back in the 50s, in my first job out of the Air Force, I worked in a small manufacturing plant in Burbank. On of my tasks was to run parts through various abrasives in a stamdard cement mixer. Sometimes we used fine sand, sometimes small pebbles. The effect was to deburr or deluster the part. Worked fine and cheap.
Posted by: "Donna Nicholas" nicholas12@EARTHLINK.NET Wed Jan 10, 2007 3:18 pm (PST) I've heard that some people use a rock tumbler instead of a more
expensive ball mill. Has anyone done this and can advise as to type
of rock tumbler?
Thanks, Donna
John Connolly in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
---------------------------------
Have a burning question? Go to Yahoo! Answers and get answers from real people who know.
Donna Nicholas on wed 10 jan 07
I've heard that some people use a rock tumbler instead of a more
expensive ball mill. Has anyone done this and can advise as to type
of rock tumbler?
Thanks, Donna
Robert Edney on thu 11 jan 07
Yes, and yes. Rock tumblers are lots cheaper and work. If you are doing small batches (I use one for adding color to terra sig) you can get one really cheap at Harbor Freight -- see http://www.harborfreight.com and do a keyword search for rock tumbler. They have two -- a single drum and a double drum starting at $24.95. Use plain glass marbles -- two thirds full of marbles and fill to the top of the marbles with your glaze leaving 1/3 empty. If you've got a dollar store anywhere nearby you'll find marbles cheap.
Robert
Donna Nicholas wrote: I've heard that some people use a rock tumbler instead of a more
expensive ball mill. Has anyone done this and can advise as to type
of rock tumbler?
Thanks, Donna
______________________________________________________________________________
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@pclink.com.
Michael McDowell on thu 11 jan 07
Donna,
You asked if anyone was using a rock tumbler as a ball mill. I am about to
be. I purchased a unit on Ebay that looks like it may suffice for my
purposes. According to the seller, there are several potters using these
units to grind glazes. He says that they were originally designed for
fireworks manufacture, to grind black powder (gunpowder) with lead balls as
the grinding medium. They will turn up in a search for rock tumblers on
Ebay. "35lb cap. Rock Tumbler Polisher Lapidary Ceramic Glaze" was the
listing title for the one I got. These are not cheap, but they are much less
than what is typically offered through ceramic supply houses. "Buy it Now"
price for the powered rollers is $350, though they seem to go at auction for
around a hundred less. Then you need to purchase a milling jar and grinding
media separately. I bought the 2 3/4 gallon jar for $73. This is made out of
very heavy plastic, and I'm not really certain of how it will hold up to
continued glaze milling use. I'm not even sure that I want to do any ball
milling on a regular basis. I expect this unit will hold up long enough for
me to at least answer that question.
I can't tell you more at this point. I haven't even got them out of the
shipping boxes yet. I plan to start experimenting next week.
Michael McDowell
Whatcom County, WA, USA
michael@mcdowellpottery.com
http://www.McDowellPottery.com
Vince Pitelka on thu 11 jan 07
Donna Nicholas wrote:
"I've heard that some people use a rock tumbler instead of a more expensive
ball mill. Has anyone done this and can advise as to type of rock tumbler?"
Donna -
While a rock tumbler will not have the longevity of the commercially-made
ball mills like the Amaco, they are basically the same thing mechanically,
and will work fine for ball-milling tasks. Make sure you get a rotating
rock tumbler and not a vibrating rock polisher. The latter will not work as
a ball mill. The good rock tumblers feature either a metal container with a
rubber liner, or a solid rubber container. Either one will work. Two of
the common brands lower-priced brands are Thumler's and Lortone. Covington
tumblers are a little higher-priced, but they are sturdier, with a larger
motor, and are built more like a commercial ball mill. A Covington mill
with twin one-gallon containers will cost you a little under $300, which is
half the cost of a comparable ball mill.
All of the different makers produce tumblers in various sizes, so you should
select one appropriate to the amount of material you want to grind. When
you get into the larger Covington tumblers, you are paying as much as you
would for a commercial Amaco ball mill.
For grinding media, you can purchase flint pebbles or other manufactured
grinding media or you can use ordinary glass marbles. Remember to mix the
material to be ground with water to form a loose, flowing slurry. The
combination of grinding media, material to be ground, and water should never
fill the tumbler more than two thirds full. That's critical for proper
tumbling while the container is rotating.
Good luck -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Paul G. Brinkmann on thu 11 jan 07
I bought a rock tumbler at the Discovery Store, and then I went to a kitchen
gadget store, and bought some porcelain balls, that are used to keep a pie
crust from bubbling up when you bake the crust by itself.. This works well
for small batches of glaze. I holds about 2 cups of liquid. You can use small
amounts of CMC or epson salts for smoother brush brushing.
Paul, in the city of St. Anthony.
| |
|
