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building a ball mill

updated fri 11 dec 98

 

Helen Stone on tue 8 dec 98

Could you help with a plan for building a ball mill, or failing that,
how to find a used one? My budget doesn't allow for buying it new.
Any info is appreciated.

Reid Harvey on wed 9 dec 98

Dear Helen and Clayartists,

The Potters Shop, Needham, Mass., should have copies of Clay Materials
for the Self Reliant Potter. Along with the other three books in the
series, there is no better information available on ceramics and
appropriate technology. This book has a small section on ball mills in
the back.

Without a porcelain jar, it's possible to use a steel one, lined with
rubber, glued in place to cut the noise. And it's possible to use hard,
round stones, preferably quartz, found in a riverbead. This is some of
what you would see in the book, which really ought to be available from
any good library, in a school where ceramics is taught.

Bye for now,
Reid Harvey
Abidjan, la Cote d'Ivoire

Bill Amsterlaw on thu 10 dec 98

Hi Helen Stone:

There are plans for a do-it-yourself ballmill on John Harlow's website:
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~ccsjrh/ballmill.htm
Harlow 's design uses a 5-gallon bucket as a jar. The bucket is placed
within a wooden box via a hinged door. The box is fitted with a shaft at
opposite ends which allows the box (and the jar within) to be rotated via
pulley driven by an electric motor.

- Bill Amsterlaw (wamster@slic.com)
Plattsburgh, NY

<< Could you help with a plan for building a ball mill, or failing that, how
to find a used one? My budget doesn't allow for buying it new. Any info is
appreciated. >>