Abstract: The jackets of rod-shaped supports, particularly jackets of welding electrodes, are removed by placing the jacketed support rods in a ball mill and grinding the jacketed rods to break up the jackets with steel rods constituting grinding members. This grinding operation takes place in a chamber having a perforate wall portion by which the broken jacket material passes and is transported, via a tube, to a fine grinder. Advantageously, the length of the container constituting the grinding chamber exceeds the length of the jacketed rods by only about 10% so that only a small axial shifting of the rods is possible and a transverse disposal of the rods is prevented. It is also expedient to fill the container to about 40% of its volume with the steel rod grinding members and to provide rapid closures for the containers for rapid charging of the jacketed rods and discharging of the dejacketed rods.