Ball Mill Media Source

[z33k]

...

Anyone know of a reliable source for 1/2" Hardened Lead/Antimony Grinding Media (Lead Balls For Ball Milling)? This media had been on back order for weeks at Skylighter. I see that United Nuclear has them but I have seen bad reviews saying the UN media is just soft lead balls.

Anything better for ball milling BP instead of 1/2" Hardened Lead/Antimony balls?

...

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Although they are not hardened lead you can go to a local gun shop and get .50 cal lead balls. They do wear down after time, but are an inexpensive alternative if you need something right away. They do last a LONG time before showing wear, and considering what you would save in shipping weight/cost for hardened lead media you might want to go that route until you get the hardened media.
A friend of mine uses marbles--he said that you have to check them by throwing one on the concrete--if it sparks, don't use it. Something to do with the glass content I guess. I never heard that one before, but I'm passing it along to see if anyone else has had any experience using them?

[z33k]

...

Thank you for the info. There are many posts on other forums that say non-hardened .50 Cal lead balls will contaminate your composition. Is seems to me that there would be a very small amount of lead that would wear off into the mixture each time. That amount, however, would probably be almost undetectable.

Pyro Creations advertises the Alumina "ceramic" cylinders as being the "best" for Ball Milling.

http://www.pyrocreations.com/inc/sdetail/11955/49189

Should I just stop worrying about it and go buy some .50 Cal Balls?

On the glass marble issue - when I was a kid we used to throw them down on the floor in a dark garage. The marbles with the swirls inside would sometimes spark a little. Must be something they used to create the design in the marble. I bet pure, clear glass would not do this. I do not know.

...

[JmFnG]

Interested to read some more feedback on this topic. I just grabbed a box of .50cal lead balls y'day for $13. Gonna make a diy mill for fun today....

[PyroJoeNEPA]

...

Thank you for the info. There are many posts on other forums that say non-hardened .50 Cal lead balls will contaminate your composition. Is seems to me that there would be a very small amount of lead that would wear off into the mixture each time. That amount, however, would probably be almost undetectable.

Pyro Creations advertises the Alumina "ceramic" cylinders as being the "best" for Ball Milling.

http://www.pyrocreations.com/inc/sdetail/11955/49189

Should I just stop worrying about it and go buy some .50 Cal Balls?

On the glass marble issue - when I was a kid we used to throw them down on the floor in a dark garage. The marbles with the swirls inside would sometimes spark a little. Must be something they used to create the design in the marble. I bet pure, clear glass would not do this. I do not know.

...

I have been using the .50 cal lead balls for years & never had an issue with contamination in my BP. In a small drum ball mill [like the Harbor Freight 1 & 2 drum models] you really aren't doing a lot of damage in the tumbling process since it is such a small drum and doesn't require a very long run time per batch of BP.
I do have a drum of the "alumina" ceramic balls but I only use them for oxidizers--primarily if I want to convert prilled Ammonium Nitrate to a fine powder.
Going to keep an eye out for marbles at the local flea markets--got my curiosity peaked now.
I was at a club shoot last weekend & was talking to another pyro that builds some beautiful multi break Italian style cylinder shells. He is using a converted Harbor Freight cement mixer both for milling his BP & rolling his stars. He uses billiard balls for the media in the cement mixer to mill his BP. New tricks to be learned every day no matter how old you are! :-)

[JmFnG]

Going to keep an eye out for marbles at the local flea markets--got my curiosity peaked now.


Danger! There is a detailed account at the APC forums about an accident using a HF mill and marbles for media. He's lucky he only lost a pinky in the explosion. Glass can spark, particularly marbles with swirls in them...apparently there is a small amount of metal used to make them.

Lead is the safest media from what I have gathered.

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Danger! There is a detailed account at the APC forums about an accident using a HF mill and marbles for media. He's lucky he only lost a pinky in the explosion. Glass can spark, particularly marbles with swirls in them...apparently there is a small amount of metal used to make them.

Lead is the safest media from what I have gathered.

Thanks for that information. I'll leave the marbles to the kids to play with and use the media that I know works. Also-- whenever I do run my mill it is outside away from my work shed and is turned on and off remotely. But that still allows for the media to tumble and spark in the drum in the emptying process.
Can't ever be too safe in this hobby!!!

[JmFnG]

Thanks for that information. I'll leave the marbles to the kids to play with and use the media that I know works. Also-- whenever I do run my mill it is outside away from my work shed and is turned on and off remotely. But that still allows for the media to tumble and spark in the drum in the emptying process.
Can't ever be too safe in this hobby!!!


Glad to share the info, Joe. BTW, if you haven't already checked it out, APC has a ton of excellent info. Thinking about joining Fireworking, but I'm hesitant to spend $40 for a sub. Maybe when I get a bit more active with building...

[PyroJoeNEPA]

Glad to share the info, Joe. BTW, if you haven't already checked it out, APC has a ton of excellent info. Thinking about joining Fireworking, but I'm hesitant to spend $40 for a sub. Maybe when I get a bit more active with building...
I've been on Ned's site fireworking.com for a couple years now and my only regret is that I didn't join sooner! It is a great site with an enormous amount of information and some of the nicest people you will meet in the pyro community.

[deepdixie1979]

Old thread I know, but hardened lead milling media can readily be purchased on ebay. Please stay away from ceramics, steel or any other potentially sparking milling media.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lead-Ball-Mill-Balls-575-8-lb-Antimony-Hardened-/282262537402?hash=item41b82884ba:g:4rcAAOSwj85YL2U L

Another source is Woody's.

http://www.woodysrocks.com/store/p79/5lb_Lead_Ball_Mill_Media_.html

[chris v]

Marbles are completely different than billiards marbles are glass with various minerals in them to create the swirls

[Kenny East]

Ive got drums of marbles, lead round balls and one thats filled with brass/cotter nuts I've collected... The lead doesn't wear that bad unless your tumbling really hard metal...never had an issue with the marbles... The brass/copper nuts are great but it would cost quite a bit to buy them...