MarvinB Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 I got a bucket of these recently I'm guessing there case hardened there used to keep fly ash stirred up and moving I figured they will make some good blades what you guys think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frozenforge Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 They look like mill balls. Hard tough stuff, I think its a high molybdenum alloy but Im not sure so research would be prudent if you going to try making a blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvinB Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 They could be they came from a coal burning power plant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Spark test. Forge one out and heat treat to see if it hardens. Temper it and snap it in a vise. Let us know how it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarvinB Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 3 hours ago, JHCC said: Spark test. Forge one out and heat treat to see if it hardens. Temper it and snap it in a vise. Let us know how it works out. Will do soon as I get a chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 There was another thread about these a few years ago. The pictures got lost in a forum software update a while back, but the text is still revealing: http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/19122-steel-balls-pulverizing-mill/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Work hardened not case hardened. SCA armour makers like them to make planishing stakes and selling such stakes to SCA armourers can be a profit center... In coal fired power plants they are usually used in a ball mill to pulverize coal to be shot into the boiler to burn efficiently. Sometimes they start as large as 2' in diameter and get scrapped when they wear down past usability. You often find them sold at fleamarkets as "cannon balls" which is fraud as measuring them generally shows that they do not match *any* of the standardized cannon sizes pretty much since Napoleonic times. Spark test would show they are not an alloy used as well. Last time I bought some I bought them for US$1 a piece from a fellow selling ball mill balls, next aisle over a fellow wanted $12 apiece for the US Civil War Cannon Balls... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 Mill balls would probably be manganese steel for it's hard and abrasion resistant nature. Not always but it's common. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmweld Posted November 4, 2016 Share Posted November 4, 2016 My Brother works in a mine crushing plant where they use a ball mill and I got some similar ones except about 6" dia. He did warn me that in the crusher if they ran it too dry and the balls got hot they were liable to fracture/explode. Might be worht checking out before you put them in your forge. Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted November 9, 2016 Share Posted November 9, 2016 Their alloy varies from make to make. There is a wide range available. People tend to buy the cheap ones not realizing that the more expensive last so much longer that they are cheaper in the long run. I have only seen a fractured one once but since they stay in the mill until so small that they get out through the exit grid I assume most fractured ones just disappear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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