Experimental impact mill from Hades.

[Mad Machinist]

Awhile back some of the little guys in the area and I got together to drink some beer and shoot the chit. We got on the subject of impact mills and came up with an idea.Told them to find me the parts and we will roll them together and see what happens.

Here's the result of a night of drunken ideas.

20 inches in diameter.
9-9 1/2 inches wide.
2 1/4 inch main shaft
Double flywheels.
13 Hp Honda engine
Not sure on the hammer yet but I got a few ideas.

Good thing a lathe and a mill should be here the beginning of March.

 

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[Oregon Viking]

13HP Honda engine?
I like that, More Power!!
As says Tim the tool man Taylor.....

 

[Mad Machinist]

I forgot to take a picture of the engine before I took it apart for pressure washing. It is freaking filthy.

The Honda GX390 engines have an aluminum connecting rod with no bearing. The con rod is machined for a direct fit on the crank journal. If the oil isn't changed at the recommended intervals, the con rod gets scarred up. The shavings have no place to go so they bind up the rod on the crank journal. Many times the con rod and journal can be polished with some 1500-2000 grit sandpaper and they will run fine, like this one.

Paid $25 for the engine because the guy that had it thought it would cost a fortune to rebuild it. A long block kit for these motors is $200. It includes a new block, crank, con rod, cylinder, piston, and rings. Ya can't go wrong with a Honda engine.

 

[Mad Machinist]

13HP Honda engine?
I like that, More Power!!
As says Tim the tool man Taylor.....

If this one doesn't work, I got a 550 Hp 383 small block Chevy I'll hook to it.

Most likely going to do some AR500 Hammered since I have a plasma cutter along with a clam shell.

Eventually I want to do something along this line. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4TlA51PnqYo

 

[kcm]

Heck, if you're looking for cheap gas engines, all you have to do is buy a used riding mower. A guy locally will get them running, then sell them for usually about $350. Most riding mowers have well over 13hp. Plus you have the extra parts (like the transaxle and wheels/tires) to keep on hand for other projects.

 

[Mad Machinist]

Heck, if you're looking for cheap gas engines, all you have to do is buy a used riding mower. A guy locally will get them running, then sell them for usually about $350. Most riding mowers have well over 13hp. Plus you have the extra parts (like the transaxle and wheels/tires) to keep on hand for other projects.

Riding mowers here are not that common anymore. When scrap was high, the tweakers here went haywire scrapping everything they could get their hands on for their next fix. There really isn't much laying around in the desert anymore and a lot of the old mine sites where stripped too. I've been looking as the hydrostatically transaxle would work perfect for something I have in mind.

 

[kcm]

Man, that's really sad! That goes in this area for older pickups. Yeah, I've got an older Monkey Wards mower that I bought used.....VERY used!! But ran it until the rough ground actually split the transaxle housing. Went back to the guy I bought it from and paid $100 for a replacement transaxle but he got the wrong one. Was several months before I knew it, as winter and a death in the family had postponed repairs. Anyway, looking inside the older transaxle, it has the beefiest gears I've EVER seen in anything for a mower! Looks more like it was made for a 30hp tractor or something, only using all steel. ...In other words, they're made to last! Too bad things aren't made that well anymore.

 

[Oddjob]

How much are looking to chew up per hour?

 

[SaltwaterServr]

Riding mowers here are not that common anymore. When scrap was high, the tweakers here went haywire scrapping everything they could get their hands on for their next fix. There really isn't much laying around in the desert anymore and a lot of the old mine sites where stripped too. I've been looking as the hydrostatically transaxle would work perfect for something I have in mind.

Same thing just about everywhere I've gone. The only places with anything remaining are HIGH clearance 4wd accessible only or ATV. There is one refining operation that was abandoned back in the 60's that you cannot find a single piece of copper anything. They stripped every starter, motor, radiator, you name it. Left the carcasses behind.

 

[Mad Machinist]

How much are looking to chew up per hour?

Minimum of 1 ton. Need do do some math on tip speed and impact force versus wear rates to find a happy medium.

 

[kcm]

Minimum of 1 ton. Need do do some math on tip speed and impact force versus wear rates to find a happy medium.

If you were to go with hammers but want maximum wear, you might look into using steel hammers with a plate of Titanium, or even carbide, for wear. Small flat pieces shouldn't cost that much compared to how long they'll last. Carbide is hard enough that you'll have to get something thick enough to absorb the impacts without cracking/breaking.

 

[desert-rat]

I used pillar block bearings on mine for a while and finally figured out flange bearings work better. Just a thought

 

[releventchair]

Oh ,what the heck...here's a p.t.o. driven feed mill. (Hammer mill.)

 

[bobw53]

Heck, if you're looking for cheap gas engines, all you have to do is buy a used riding mower. A guy locally will get them running, then sell them for usually about $350. Most riding mowers have well over 13hp. Plus you have the extra parts (like the transaxle and wheels/tires) to keep on hand for other projects.

I'm sitting here thinking.. Yeah.. Those transaxles are handy, I've got one as a gear box on the sand muller over here....
Haven't used it in years (casting sucks)..

Then *DOH*..

If that had rocks in it, it wouldn't be a muller anymore.. It'd be an Arastra. (sp?).... What an idiot. I've got 3/4 yard of cemented caliche sitting out
here, and its got good gold in it, it just takes FOREVER to break apart in my little half assed home made cement mixer.. I'll be shoveling that
sucker out this week and putting her to good use.

Sorry for getting off topic... But I'm sitting here feeling like a dumb ass. I had the perfect tool all along.

If you were to go with hammers but want maximum wear, you might look into using steel hammers with a plate of Titanium, or even carbide, for wear. Small flat pieces shouldn't cost that much compared to how long they'll last. Carbide is hard enough that you'll have to get something thick enough to absorb the impacts without cracking/breaking.

I've thought a lot about this.. And it makes me wish I paid more attention in college... Looking for impact resistance and wear resistance.. 2 things that don't necessarily go hand in hand.

One thing I have found out.. Work hardening materials used for impacts can put a bunch of crap in your dirt... I've got a little hand banging rock crusher and I use a stainless (304) rod as my hammer.. It works
great, except that it work hardens, and flakes off, sometimes it turns to a straw color, sometimes not, but I end up with a decent bit of it in my pan..

Carbide can be had in quite a few different flavors, I'd wager a guess that the softer the better for the impact resistance.. I really don't know how "soft" (I put that in quotes since "soft" carbide
is still going to be really fricken hard compared to just about anything else on the planet) you can get carbide..

Ti.. EXPENSIVE, and it work hardens, which means it will probably flake...

Pretty much no matter what you use for a hammer, its going to be a compromise.. I'd think the best thing is to treat them as consumables and make them as cheap and easy to
replace as possible, while also trying to balance wear and impact resistance... Easy to say, not so easy to do.. I'd guess something in the tool steel family would be the best
all around compromise.. Common and relatively cheap... The armor plate/wear resistant oddball stuff probably would work well too (many flavors of that stuff out there) though
not as common or easy to find..

 

[Mad Machinist]

If you were to go with hammers but want maximum wear, you might look into using steel hammers with a plate of Titanium, or even carbide, for wear. Small flat pieces shouldn't cost that much compared to how long they'll last. Carbide is hard enough that you'll have to get something thick enough to absorb the impacts without cracking/breaking.

Carbide is hard enough but it have very little impact resistance. I think the best bet is going to be hammers made from AR500 plate. This is the same stuff the make ballistic plates from for bulletproof vests. Available on e bone relatively cheap for smaller pieces.

 

[Mad Machinist]

I used pillar block bearings on mine for a while and finally figured out flange bearings work better. Just a thought

Pillow blocks are a little more sensitive to alignment issues. Once those are solved, longevity isn't an issue.

Not much else to report other than the fact that it is freaking cold, down in the teens here tonight. Spent last two nights making sure the woodburner I have is up to snuff.

 

[Mad Machinist]

Some pics of the mill.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

Some pics of the mill.

 

[Sunset429]

Some pics of the mill.

Looking good. I'm milling with a similar unit. So far the 3/8th square security chain has proven worthy. They've eaten through about 2 ton without fail. I just rotate them like tires when they start to taper, and the 99.00 harbor freight 5hp predator engine was worth every penny.







Gold is where you find it.

 

[Mad Machinist]

Wait until they see what's next.