5 replies to this topic

[c.brad]

hi
i was makinf my first stars and my ball mill broke i was wondering if a pestle and morter would do the same job but alot more effort

would there be any problem with the chemicals and would the effect be less dromatic

cheers

[digger]

You were making stars in a ball mill?

How is that possible?

If you are talking about milling star composition anything other than kno3, s and c, then you have a death wish.

[dr thrust]

hi
i was making my first stars and my ball mill broke i was wondering if a pestle and mortar would do the same job but alot more effort

would there be any problem with the chemicals and would the effect be less dromatic

cheers

hi, i see you've started four threads now, more than ive started in a year!, try and tag your questions on existing threads, like the "star making thread".
i don't know if you have a mill or not? and your simply "hunting for answerers" we cant teach you every step of the way, get a few books on the matter, start with something simple like a fountain,
as for your question , mill chemicals separately, a mortar, pestle would take to long, its all to do with particle mesh size which effects burn rate, the chems usually have to be as fine as talc powder

Edited by chris m, 09 October 2010 - 07:59 PM.

[darkfang77]

Question:
I want to start investing in a ball mill, specifically making from scratch, but atm, the parts I am looking for are unavailable so I need a short term solution,
I have seen some really small NatGeo rock tumblers on the internet, will this be OK for a short term solution? And has anyone had any experience with one of these?

"hi
i was makinf my first stars and my ball mill broke i was wondering if a pestle and morter would do the same job but alot more effort

would there be any problem with the chemicals and would the effect be less dromatic

cheers"

I always thought stars were a composition that you had to dissolve w/ solvent then knead, before cutting/pumping. How do you make milled stars??

[Arthur Brown]

Using a mill is a reasonable method for preparing the ingredients for star making, almost every pyro has started with a rock tumbler rated as 700g or 1200g approximately.

Read and understand all of this thread;
http://www.pyrosocie...l-mill-designs/

[knackers]

hi
i was makinf my first stars and my ball mill broke i was wondering if a pestle and morter would do the same job but alot more effort

would there be any problem with the chemicals and would the effect be less dromatic

cheers

Hi c.brad, sounds like you were in the middle of milling a star comp, whether it be individual chems or a complete composition and your mill crapped itself..... firstly , if it were individual chems then you will have bigger arms than arnie shwartznegger but it will be possible to grind your chems up there with, separately from any oxidizers ( huge job and not as good ) and then screen them together... secondly, its not a great idea to mill them altogether, concidering we want our stars to take fire very easily on ignition, therefore banging around a loaded comp in a ball mill isn't the smartest idea.. Mill all your stuff up together except the oxidizer, mill that sepparately in a drum that is only used for your oxidizers, then screen them altogether...

Edit :- Ho yea i forgot to say... fix your mill it can;t be that hard

Edited by phill 63, 11 October 2010 - 11:47 AM.