Source for steel grinding balls in sub-ton quantities?

G

gomipile

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Apr 17, 2010
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I've been looking around for a source for several sizes of steel grinding balls (the type used in ball mills,) but so far I have only found suppliers with a minimum order of one ton per size. Does anyone here know of a supplier which sells smaller quantities of steel grinding balls (not ball bearings,) preferably shipped from inside the U.S.? The prices I have seen for quantities of one or more tons are about $800 per ton before overseas freight. So, given that, I'd prefer to see prices between $1 and $3 per pound, depending.
 
I already did, and did not find what I was looking for. $30 for half a pound of stainless balls is not a good deal for my purposes.

Besides, I'm looking specifically for rough texture carbon steel balls, not polished stainless balls.
 
Hankins said:
Are you making Canister Damascus?
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That is one of the reasons I want to have some on hand, but I don't have any immediate plans for that.

Right now, I want them for my ball mill, and I want to order extra for me and some friends to use as slingshot ammunition.

Mostly what I'd like is some of the large (20mm, 25mm, and 30mm) rough steel balls used industrially in ball mills for grinding cement.
 
I know this sound dumb, but if you put the polished balls in the ball mill with a bunch of rough rock, they should become rough pretty quickly.
 
The shiny stainless tumbling media are known as burnishing balls. They come in many shapes and sizes, and they are used to make parts shiny. They are usually made of a hardenable stainless steel like 430. They are not too good for deburring.
If you want to remove part of the surface of your parts (like mill scale), you may be better off with ceramic media.
 
bladsmth said:
I know this sound dumb, but if you put the polished balls in the ball mill with a bunch of rough rock, they should become rough pretty quickly.
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Ha. I also don't want to pay extra for the precision ones if I don't need that precision.

tiguy7 said:
The shiny stainless tumbling media are known as burnishing balls. They come in many shapes and sizes, and they are used to make parts shiny. They are usually made of a hardenable stainless steel like 430. They are not too good for deburring.
If you want to remove part of the surface of your parts (like mill scale), you may be better off with ceramic media.
Click to expand...

That's not what I'd be using them for. I'd be using them in a ball mill which would be used for pulverizing minerals for other uses in my shop.
 
How about picking up some free rebar and chop sawing it into bites.

It won't be cheap on saw blades, but it would let you try a small quantity .
 
I got hold of a bearing mfg and asked about their out of spec bearings. They were willing to sell me smaller quantities. Been so long ago can't remember who I contacted but worth a try.
 
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