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Post by greig on Aug 14, 2018 17:37:34 GMT -5
I acquired a used Covington Engineering Bead Mill. I downloaded the manual but am confused by how much water to put into the mill to make a slurry. Any advice? I tried a little bit and it ran rough & loud. I added more and it splashed everywhere. I am thinking the water should be about half way up the lid, but could stand corrected. Thanks in advance.
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Post by greig on Aug 21, 2018 11:52:38 GMT -5
I have played with the machine some more. It seems to work best with just enough water (and grit) to cover the rocks. As the rocks round, a bit more water can be added without splashing the slurry everywhere and things run fairly smoothly. If you hate your neighbours, you need a bead mill. You sure know when it is on. LOL
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Post by greig on Aug 21, 2018 11:54:22 GMT -5
I will post a video later this week on my Youtube channel (meMiner), if anybody is interested in seeing a bead mill in action. I ran some banded iron (jasper/hematite). The beads are now in my small rock tumbler to polish.
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Post by fantastic5 on Aug 21, 2018 13:14:32 GMT -5
I will post a video later this week on my Youtube channel (meMiner), if anybody is interested in seeing a bead mill in action. I ran some banded iron (jasper/hematite). The beads are now in my small rock tumbler to polish. Looking forward to your video greig. I've really been enjoying all the ones you posted so far. Really looked like you had a good time with Aquachigger too  |
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Post by greig on Aug 24, 2018 7:31:04 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words fantastic5. Yes, I had a blast with Aquachigger. Beau is an excellent and fun fellow to be on an outdoor adventure with.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Aug 24, 2018 9:20:07 GMT -5
I would love to see it in action. I've always wondered how those contraptions worked.
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Post by greig on Aug 27, 2018 16:19:58 GMT -5
As promised, here is the video:
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Aug 27, 2018 22:44:05 GMT -5
Thanks for doing that video, greig. Very informative and now that I've seen it in action, I'm lusting after one! |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Aug 28, 2018 14:13:19 GMT -5
I’ve always been curious about those bead mills. That was a great video. I have found Jaspelite (BIFs) to be somewhat soft and hard to tumble. I thInk harder rocks like jasper or agate would be easier to work with. I look forward to future videos.
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Post by greig on Oct 13, 2018 9:47:17 GMT -5
Thanks for doing that video, greig . Very informative and now that I've seen it in action, I'm lusting after one! There are quite a few tools that I would suggest getting before a bead mill. I was lucky to get this one used. I will do some better projects with it soon. I don't like using the tile saw to cut and shape the rocks for it. I bought a little flat lap and trim saw and that should be more effective. |
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SirRoxalot
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2003
Posts: 790
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Post by SirRoxalot on Nov 27, 2018 12:33:21 GMT -5
BIF is a tough one to start, but you got results!
A cabbing machine with an 80 grit wheel will cut your preforming time down, but it's still a ton of labor, and if you think that's dull, wait till you try drilling them! Could always cut preforms with a core drill too.
Try some nice solid agate, let's see if they come out round, or if the previous owner smoked the thing by putting a boulder in it.
Nice to see more Ontario folks getting into lapidary, I'm near London.
Thanks for sharing, and keep us posted; I've long wanted one of these machines and I really appreciate seeing it in action.
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