Alternate Frit Maker - any downsides?

[crocusmartis]

Garbage disposals work great. I have run hundreds of pounds through mine - Kitchenaid rescued from the trash. The secret is using lots of water - I simply connected a hose fitting on the dishwasher drain pipe port. I run the resulting ground glass through a screen with water to separate out the fines. I do this in my shop sink which I installed a plaster trap on. I then dry the frit on large metal trays. Air drying works best but is slow - sometimes I will place the trays in a conventional oven at around 250 degrees. I then run the dried frit through 3 different lab test sieves - 2mm, 1mm, and .5mm with a bottom pan and lid. Thinner glass processes better through the disposal in general. Tramp iron is a big concern and is easily removed with a high quality rare earth magnet.

[dawnsud]

I used one of the metal tube style crushers in class and found it to be lots of hard work but it worked. I tried the cement and hammer technique and it created sharp, jagged pieces. I tried the coffee grinder and wore the blades down to nubs. Finally I bought an old Waring blender at an antique shop for $25. It works great. I use a magnet to remove small metal particles. But these blades are holding up pretty well.