46 replies to this topic

[RegimentalPyro]

Depends on the diameter of the balls.

Basically you should aim for the milling jar to be half full of milling media.

[chemicalwazi]

Depends on the diameter of the balls.

Basically you should aim for the milling jar to be half full of milling media.

I have one of those mills, they are a little slow but do a good job. I have 100 x 11mm lead balls for milling. Maybe i need a few more.

Here we go Regimental, talking about "balls" again

[Creepin_pyro]

I find that the 500ml jars from inoxia do a nice job, and fill to about half way with 100 50cal lead balls.

[Pretty green flames]

I have one of those mills, they are a little slow but do a good job. I have 100 x 11mm lead balls for milling. Maybe i need a few more.

Here we go Regimental, talking about "balls" again

Before i buy that mill.
Please answer this.

Does it strugle a bit when it is full of lead balls and BP.

LP

[chemicalwazi]

Before i buy that mill.
Please answer this.

Does it strugle a bit when it is full of lead balls and BP.

LP

No. It is just a little slow. However mine is 20years old and my brother in law used to own it and regularily fill it FULL of stones for polishing and leave it for days. It hasnt done bad.

Just a point. Dont fill it right up, leave at least a quarter of air so things can mix nicely.

I usually mix 100-200g at a time wich is ablolutley fine. Mill what you need at the time.

Hope this helps

Cheers

[parabolic]

Hi,

Ive just managed to get my friend to lend me his Ball mould, so I can make my self some media, Ill be using a type of printers lead" Linotype Printers Metal", that aparently has a lot of antimony in it, the printers lead it self is VERY hard and people add it to pure lead to make bullets., Iam gona try just using the printers lead first to see if i get a good casting and if there hard enough so that i cant push a dent with my finger nail, if it doenst dent easly then i will make up a good few to try out. the mould is for a 8 bore cal BP rifle, the balls measure .850" there big but i have a big jar!.

any thoughts from anyone here about what ill be doing,, is the size of the ball going to be too big to be usefull? the only other size of mould i have is .440" 44 cal, which i think is too small for my jar, id have to make hundreds.

should i use pure antimony and mix it with lead to make the media instead of the hard printers lead?, i dont have any antimony on hand but i can get it easily if i need it.

here is a list of some types of casting material and its suitabilty for casting
http://www.princeaugust.ie/alloys/

i plan on making enough to fill half my jar,-- is that the right way to do it?.

any help would be great,,

cheers

Lee

Edited by parabolic, 26 October 2004 - 06:46 PM.

[RegimentalPyro]

The printers lead [linotype] is perfect, and should produce nice hard media. Plus - you'll have trouble melting pure antimony down to add to the alloy - It's got a much higher melting point than the lead / linotype

I'd go for the 0.44 cal instead of the 0.85 though. It's about 3 times as many balls, but you get lots more surfaces for the media to grind with.

Safety tip - Melt that lead and cast outdoors. [Time to break out the primus / camp stove] The fumes are highly toxic!

[BigG]

The printers lead [linotype] is perfect, and should produce nice hard media. Plus - you'll have trouble melting pure antimony down to add to the alloy - It's got a much higher melting point than the lead / linotype

I'd go for the 0.44 cal instead of the 0.85 though. It's about 3 times as many balls, but you get lots more surfaces for the media to grind with.

Safety tip - Melt that lead and cast outdoors. [Time to break out the primus / camp stove] The fumes are highly toxic!

Regimental - 0.44 might be too light. 0.5 seem to be a good effective minimum. 0.44 might work, but I think you will not get much from the extra surface.

[RegimentalPyro]

BigG has a point. The lighter you make the media, the less grinding power it has. Once you get below a certain limit then the grinding that takes place will not be as effective. 0.5 is generally accepted as that limit when making BP and anything below that will reduce efficiency

However....

you should bear in mind the grinding surfaces don't just use the weight of the two balls involved. The balls around/above also contribute [ie balls at the bottom of the drum grind more than those at the top]

Also....

As regards the extra surfaces they decrease at a ratio of the cube of the calibre. ie: if you half the calibre, you get eight times (!) the grinding surfaces

[parabolic]

well... Ive been casting this afternoon, with the .850 size mould, the jar i have is 140mm in diameter and about 200mm long, so i think in comparison to the size of the jar and the .850 round balls, it looks like a good match, unless you all think .850 is far to big? I just didnt want to make hundreds of balls to half fill it, and its the only smallest mould i could get my hands on, unless a buy one. I did think that 44cal balls were to small, I would of prefered to have got a .690 ball mould but my friend didnt have one ., Ill give these ago when i get the mill up and running and let you know if it works out.

[broadsword]

Does the media have to be rounded like a cut piece of rod or balls? I have madesome small dense lumps of lead out of roof lead would thse work or not? And is it possible to make a mould and what sort of material should I use to mold the molten lead? Thank, Ian

[RegimentalPyro]

Any shape should do, but rounded media will tumble easier and reduce the load on your motor [Caveat! - This is supposition, not fact]

As for moulds, you can go into any good gunshop and get yourself a bullet mould for about a fiver.

A cheap/easy/fast alternative that I have heard works, is to make one-use-only moulds by drilling holes into a potato.

Safety tip. Perform all molton lead operations outside, and ensure your are wearing the proper protective gear. Lead splashes are bad, bad, bad, and lead vapour poisoning is worse!


PS: Anybody know if it is 'mold' or 'mould'?
I am having a c.r.a.f.t moment [aka 'a senior moment']

Edited by RegimentalPyro, 17 November 2004 - 12:30 PM.

[Phoenix]

I drilled holes through a wooden board, then clamped another piece to one side. The lead could be poured in, then the cylinders poked out once cool. The lead melts at a low enought temperature that the wood lasts long enough to make it worthwhile.

I would advise against using a potato, as when the lead hits the wet surface it will boil the water vigourously, and this will spray lead everywhere. It will also mean that the finished cylinders have a lot of bubbles and dents in their surface. You should try to keep the mould (with a U ) as dry as possible.

BTW, I'm all Brassed Up now - looks so much nicer apart from anything else...

Edited by Phoenix, 17 November 2004 - 08:29 PM.

[Kembang Api]

Hi Guys,

I had been using ceramic ball in my 12 inches drum. I had ball mill BP safely. I am attaching a photo and the size of the ceramic ball. I hope it is usefull information. Sorry is kind of dirty, it should be white in colour.

[Pretty green flames]

0.44 calibre 0.451 dia, 137 grain, swaged lead balls.

0.45 calibre 0.440 dia, 128 grain, swaged lead balls.


Which would be better

I'm no gun specialist so i have NO IDEA what those numbers mean.
Someone please recalcute this into inches or even better.....centimeters

sorry i have no idea bout this