|
|
Post by Pat on Dec 27, 2017 19:04:41 GMT -5
I gotta ask, cannot stifle my curiosity any longer:
Why WHY do you want to smash rocks to smithereens?
And why not just get sand or clay??
|
|
|
|
Post by toiv0 on Dec 27, 2017 19:26:32 GMT -5
I always thought I could grind turquoise in a meat grinder, I have never tried it. I have a couple old hand turned ones, if I get a chance before I leave I will drop some in. Don't see why it wouldn't work for the mohs 5.
|
|
|
|
Post by vegasjames on Dec 27, 2017 21:21:31 GMT -5
I have some stuff to grind but am just throwing it in to the tumbler with the largest steel nuts I could find to grind the material down like a ball mill.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2017 21:49:15 GMT -5
I gotta ask, cannot stifle my curiosity any longer: Why WHY do you want to smash rocks to smithereens? And why not just get sand or clay?? Not answering for Phil. Gold prospectors will grind their ore, so they can seperate the rock from the values (gold, silver, rhodium...) |
|
|
|
Post by rmf on Dec 27, 2017 22:16:10 GMT -5
Nah, that's too easy. I crush rocks for furniture inlay, aboriginal paint pigment, and whatever. So a couple of questions if you don't mind. If you are going down to 3/32 I am assuming you use the dust as pigment so that is not waste in your situation. Correct? So do you take the 3/32 and pulverize that as well or do you use that as is? |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 27, 2017 22:31:49 GMT -5
Nah, that's too easy. I crush rocks for furniture inlay, aboriginal paint pigment, and whatever. So a couple of questions if you don't mind. If you are going down to 3/32 I am assuming you use the dust as pigment so that is not waste in your situation. Correct? So do you take the 3/32 and pulverize that as well or do you use that as is? Nothing gets wasted. Different sizes have different uses. |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 27, 2017 22:33:12 GMT -5
I have some stuff to grind but am just throwing it in to the tumbler with the largest steel nuts I could find to grind the material down like a ball mill. Thanks, I have to crush way too much to do it that way.... |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 27, 2017 22:35:53 GMT -5
I gotta ask, cannot stifle my curiosity any longer: Why WHY do you want to smash rocks to smithereens? And why not just get sand or clay?? As I said, I use the powder and small bits for things like inlay, aboriginal paint, textile staining, etc. I prefer to use the real thing rather than some modern day substitute. Only one way to get that old time authentic replication look. |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 27, 2017 22:44:15 GMT -5
I always thought I could grind turquoise in a meat grinder, I have never tried it. I have a couple old hand turned ones, if I get a chance before I leave I will drop some in. Don't see why it wouldn't work for the mohs 5. Mohs 5 isn't as soft as you'd think. Rocks will kill a meat grinder. That plus once you grind rocks, you can never use it for meat again. many rocks are actually poisonous, and once the micro-powder is in the metal, you'll never get it out. Mohs 5 is just an average. I occasionally get mohs 8 or 9 to crush. I've been doing it by hand for the past two years, but dang, that sure gets tiresome on the arm muscles after maybe 15 minutes. There are times I'll grind what I think is enough for a month only to need more a few days later. I'd like to grind up my whole years usage at the same time and just be able to use it as needed. The more I do it, the more uses I find for it. Plus, every time I find another different colored rock, I just HAVE to crush it and see what I get. Just because a rock is pink doesn't mean it's pink when crushed, dangit. Or green or black, or whatever. We have some very pretty pink granite here that actually cabs up very pretty. Crush it and it turns too greyish to use. lapis make a neat blue, but ooooooooo the cost. Labradorite loses all iridescence when crushed. I had hoped the little bits and powder would still have color. junk. Obsidian stays a nice black once washed. marble stay white. see what I mean? Can't afford to crush any opal to see what happens. So, that's why I don't need sand or clay. Just pretty colored scrap rock. Plus, it's something I can still do. Macular degeneration may make it dangerous for me to run power grinders and cabbers, but a rock crusher doesn't require that kind of close contact. I know a spot up in Utah where there is a mining company that is dumping tons of chrysocolla alongside the highway, they can't use it and they want it gone. Wish I could afford to go collect a few tons.. I aspire to be able to take an old cracked wooden bowl and turn it into this... Same with old cracked furniture, etc.  |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 27, 2017 23:07:32 GMT -5
or this....  |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 27, 2017 23:08:25 GMT -5
Now imagine the same principle but with all sorts of different colors!
|
|
|
|
Post by toiv0 on Dec 28, 2017 7:40:37 GMT -5
Have a friend who does the wood work. Pretty cool stuff, are these projects you have done your self?
On the grinders who would care if you ever used it for meat again. If for a few bucks they last for one run and throw away still money well spent and a cheap test. I see old electric ones in goodwill and thrift stores for a few bucks and the hand ones almost give away. The hand ones can be adapted to a pully and electric motor.
|
|
|
|
Post by rmf on Dec 28, 2017 9:19:09 GMT -5
Now imagine the same principle but with all sorts of different colors! Where were you when I needed to get rid of all sorts of fines? I like the pot (the "or this" pic). When I crush for tumbling the idea is to reduce the amount of fines. To increase the amount of fines the jaw should be closed and the hopper should be filled full. Depending on the material the jaw crusher creates 15 to 20% fines. by doing the above you may be able increase that to 30 - 50% fines. before I go the jaw crusher i used a guys happer mill which created 30% fines from the get go. for your application a hammermill might be better check out but keep in mind you need to crush a lot at their prices. this can point you as to what to look for. Let me know if you want to experiment. |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 28, 2017 13:06:30 GMT -5
Have a friend who does the wood work. Pretty cool stuff, are these projects you have done your self? No, I "borrowed" those pics from the net to answer you guys questions. Eventually I will get that good. On the grinders who would care if you ever used it for meat again. If for a few bucks they last for one run and throw away still money well spent and a cheap test. I see old electric ones in goodwill and thrift stores for a few bucks and the hand ones almost give away. The hand ones can be adapted to a pully and electric motor. Yeah, been trying that too. Bought a motor for a kids elec car (High torque, low rpm) and some pipe parts, couplers, unions etc to be able to connect them to my grinder. Now just gotta warm up the garage to "invent" my own light duty crusher. This iteration will be my 3rd attempt at motorizing my grinder so that it actually works on rocks. Saw a nice set up in a net search where they used a 1/4 inch drive socket, set screw and variable speed drill mounted in a stand and connected to a grinder. If my current idea doesn't work, this will be my next attempt. The grinder will handle up to a certain hardness or size before it locks up, so still gotta find a way to crush the larger, harder pieces down to manageable size. |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 28, 2017 13:09:31 GMT -5
Now imagine the same principle but with all sorts of different colors! Where were you when I needed to get rid of all sorts of fines? I like the pot (the "or this" pic). When I crush for tumbling the idea is to reduce the amount of fines. To increase the amount of fines the jaw should be closed and the hopper should be filled full. Depending on the material the jaw crusher creates 15 to 20% fines. by doing the above you may be able increase that to 30 - 50% fines. before I go the jaw crusher i used a guys happer mill which created 30% fines from the get go. for your application a hammermill might be better check out but keep in mind you need to crush a lot at their prices. this can point you as to what to look for. Let me know if you want to experiment. Thanks. I've got my current set up to yield 50/50. Takes some fine tuning at times, but I get there. Hammermill would be too much. I need the different sizes. |
|
|
|
Post by Lapidaryrough / Jack Cole on Dec 29, 2017 13:08:02 GMT -5
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2017 13:29:59 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 29, 2017 17:09:51 GMT -5
Oh Lordy. Can you imagine doing 80 pounds that way? I guess I have to invent my own motorized unit. I did 3 to 4 pounds by hand grinder today, and it took me an hour. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 29, 2017 19:29:07 GMT -5
Oh Lordy. Can you imagine doing 80 pounds that way? I guess I have to invent my own motorized unit. I did 3 to 4 pounds by hand grinder today, and it took me an hour. Seems to me that that type of volume warrants spending the $500 for that one. Bummer... 😞 |
|
|
|
Post by phil on Dec 30, 2017 15:42:37 GMT -5
Oh Lordy. Can you imagine doing 80 pounds that way? I guess I have to invent my own motorized unit. I did 3 to 4 pounds by hand grinder today, and it took me an hour. Seems to me that that type of volume warrants spending the $500 for that one. Bummer... 😞 It won't do the job. Take a pipe with end cap, put in a cup of flour and then pound it with your hammer handle...you'll see what I mean. Years ago, I had a chipmunk rock crusher. tougher than dirt, mean as a bear, and heavy as heck. But it crushed rock from powder up to 2 inches, depending on where you adjusted it. Wish I still had that little bugger today. Gotta go find a special 1/4 inch drive nut socket today, a set screw or two, then build a stand, attach an adjustable drill and I might be in business. Wish I could weld. |
|
