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Thanks! I got the bearings from Princess Auto in Canada (C$14.99 each) www.princessauto.com/en/2-bolt-standard-duty-flange-mount-bearing-assemblies/product/PA1000001323?skuId=3870177 You can get them on Amazon for a similar price, sold as a pair. www.amazon.ca/PGN-UCFL202-10-Pillow-Mounted-Bearing/dp/B07W7LHWTM/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1 The Princess Auto ones have a bit of a void space behind the bearing that I don't like. I can't tell from the images of the PNG bearings if they have the same space or not.

If you are in Canada and looking to buy a steel plate, I found this one at Princess Auto that was the cheapest option: www.princessauto.com/en/12-x-12-x-3-16-in-44w-plain-steel-plate/product/PA0009055120

@@LetsCrushRocks Thanks so much!

make small rocks into even smaller rocks I guess. The loss and tiny holes mean it isn't that applicable to many products. Maybe he only has rock, needs to make sandy soil?

I've seen others where they have an outlet port that drops into a bucket with a sealed lid. The lid then has another outlet tube leading to a vacuum so the material drops in the bucket but the dust is drawn out of the top. I think I might give something like that a try! Thanks for you thoughts on the wobble. I might look at chopping some of that extra bolt off! Cheers.

@@LetsCrushRocks I like that bucket idea for it. I've been trying to figure something out for mine and was coming up empty. So thank you too.

Good idea! I later thought of putting plastic wrap around it too.

Just sent you a LinkedIn message.

Thanks! No visible gold in this one. I'll have to smelt this sample to see if its got any gold hidden in the sulfides. But I have boxes of rocks from all sorts of mines that I have been meaning to crush up and process. Should be a fun season now that the weather is good for working outside up in Canada.

Thanks! I'm just finishing a few modifications to it now and should have an updated video out in a week or two. And I promise the next video won't be so long-winded!

You could get the temp that high, but I dont know how even the heat would be. I haven't done anything with pottery before but I would guess it needs to be an even heat. You'd want to elevate the clay in the furnace to make sure the flame isn't hitting it directly at the very least. (I had to Google what "raku" was by the way).

@@LetsCrushRocks Thank you so much for the quick response! Oops, I guess should have said what raku was in my original question...lol. I know people raku fire pottery in a LOT of different home made kilns and heat them with propane, so this seems like it would work to me. I think my only concern is if the heat ramp up can be controlled? I would not want it to go from ambient temperature to 1950 F in 10 minutes 😅

You could adjust the gas flow with the valve and the pressure regulator to help with some temp control. You can also leave the lid off to start with as things are heating up and then put it on later, I do that when I first start up the kiln to drive out any moisture since it since sits in my shed often for months without use. I should probably get around to uploading an update video. I ended up changing my design a bit... stay tuned I guess! @@amyrp9115

I appreciate the help and just subscribed! I will stayed tuned 😉@@LetsCrushRocks

Thanks man, glad your build worked out! Great idea with the pressure cooker. Cheers.

Do you have a video of you making or using your crusher I would love to see it

@@caseybeckner2625 Working on that! I have a Short video up showing me use it to crush silver ore. But I need to post a longer form video of the crusher showing additional changes I have made to it recently. Hopefully I will have that soon!

me too,same country!

You mean have two chain links linked together on each side? I would have to make a much bigger crusher housing to accommodate the extra diameter. Might also be too much work for my little angle grinder to power something of that diameter as well, but perhaps not.

Yes@@LetsCrushRocks

I don't think I would bother with the outlet port and just load from the top, crush, and then turn it upside down to dump out. The large washer in the middle used to hook on the chains is weak and bends after a while, eventually breaking. I have doubled it up but it still bends. Would recommend replacing it with something thicker. I don't have a drill press so its hard for me to drill large holes through thicker steel. I saw a recent build video by Orophilia that was really good, he makes a nice crusher.

@@LetsCrushRocks thanks alot. i made a steel flailer to make solid steel stair ballisters look handforged, there was alot of trial with errors but i got it done and its useful for beating alot of otherstuff also!Pierre laboom, ""browns finally stair ballister basher"

It is a rock crusher, not a grinding mill. The samples I have tested result in approximately 50% of the rock passing 60 mesh. I dont think it would regrind sand very well at all. You would better be served by a ballmill for that.

Very cool! I melted a few grams of placer gold into a small button last year as well. Though I found if it is very clean placer gold, putting some borax in it, sitting it in a cupel and hitting it with a blow torch was much faster at melting it into a bead than in the kiln.

Don't have one.

Glad you found it helpful, Daschel. I finally got around to adding the rest of the steel liner plates this past weekend (almost 2 years later!). Just havent had much time to play with it. Maybe I will do a quick update video next week. If you're going to make one, do yourself a favour and use wider steel flat bar for the inner plates than I did. I think I used 3/4" width, but would recommend 1" or 1 1/4". Will save you time on drilling holes and money on nuts/bolts.

Would be nice to find some of that. Unfortunately I have had so little time this past year to use my crusher that I haven't worn out the plates yet!

Thanks, Chuck. I've got a ton of samples in my shed that need processing, its just hard to find the time to do it! It doesn't help that its winter here in Canada and I don't have an indoor work space.

@@LetsCrushRocks Time is the big problem for us all. Only so many days and so mant hours in them.

Metal projects always get a little more complicated when you can't weld anything! Though I recently bought a welder so I might make a new crusher in the future...

Good point! I will see if I have time in the next few weeks to post an update video with some more shots of it in use and lessons learned. In a nutshell: The burner works excellent and I have had no problems with it. I used the furnace perhaps a half dozen times and it worked well each time, getting to >1100C without turning the burner all the way up. However some of the plaster, particularly where the lid and bottom portion meet, did crumble a bit. I think it may be because I did a poor job mixing the material in small batches instead of one big consistent pour. Because the lid and bottom section did not match up smoothly, some heat and gas were escaping out the sides, which I believe also contributed to it wearing down at that spot. Unfortunately, it sat in my shed for about 8 months unused, including over winter, and seems to have absorbed some moisture. I am in the process of repairing it and will try to include that in an update video.

@@LetsCrushRocks You Sir are a good man!

It is not.

@@LetsCrushRocks ok my apologies you look like best friend from Canada. I havent seen him in 10 yrs. He moved to BC somewhere and we lost touch with each other.

@@mfddb3084 In that case, your friend must be a really handsome guy. BC is where I go to hike, camp and collect rock samples from old mine sites in the summer.

Genius. I'm not much of a car guy, never would have thought of that. Though now that I've googled some brake drum specs, they look like a great option. Even made of wear-resistant steel.

You're right, Ivan. The washer that holds the chains is definitely the weak point. I have since doubled the washers but need to find a stronger component to replace them as even the doubled washers are starting to bend out of shape a little.

I tried spacing the bolts to keep them away from the centre of the plates where the main impact zone is, but I have not had much free time recently to crush rock so not much has worn down yet. I will circle back later this summer once I crush some more up. I do expect the heads of the bolts to be softer than the plates.

@@LetsCrushRocks cool beans....I did a test on my prototype this am...lots of vibration. Wow really shook me good. Fender washer wearing quickly....angle grinder had more heat than usual. Tomorrow I am going to size down the chain to 1/4" and make a double fender washer. Hope to reduce heat and vibration. I drilled 1/16" holes x 25 where I chose to put the exit port located in the housing then straight piped it down 8". Worked nicely.

@@nompro7268 I found that the holes I drilled in the side plate to eject crushed material did not work that well and perhaps only half of the material came out. I got in the habit of just tipping the whole thing upside down after every few handfuls of rock and dumping the crushed stuff out the top. Even with two fender washers I can see they are still starting to bend a little, I might try to find a stronger alternative. I do get vibration as well, which I think is somewhat inevitable with the chain and bolt much heavier than a cutting or grinding disc and the uneven wear on the chain pieces leading to imbalances. What sort of rock are you crushing?

@@LetsCrushRocks quarts veins in iron..

Thanks Jensen. The grinder has proved to be a staple tool in my shed. I recently picked up a rock cutting disc for it that I plan on using to cut up some of my rock samples to give them a smooth face. I also just posted a video today of a kiln I made and the grinder was necessary for most of the work. Good luck on your projects!

Thanks!

Thanks man. I'm working on a video of how I built my smelting kiln too. Might have that up next weekend. I'll look out for your next video. Cheers.