Hi,
What a great group! I’ve spent days reading as many of the posts over
the last 2 years. I appreciate how much respect members have for each
other…and the great advice that’s given.
…anyway, I’m just starting out with creating jewelry and am in need
of a used rolling mill. Does anyone have one?.., or knows where I
could go to get one?
Thanks,
Craig Kontny
Craig, I suggest you call A&A in Los Angeles 800 433-5544 or website
www.aajewelry.com. I suggest that you buy a new rolling mill simply
because I have seen very few used ones that have been well cared
for. get a Cavalin or Durston,the Cavalin is great for the money.
A&A has some of the best prices around in my area and the ship for a
reasonable fee. Good Luck Rich
Craig, You may be surprised to know you can get a new rolling mill
for under $300. Orchid has a wonderful supporter in 46th Street
Jewelry. Kenneth Singh can be contacted at karat46@aol.com I know
he can help you. Teresa
I would recommend you to be more descriptive of your needs.
1. Rolling mill with or without gear.
2. Desired Flat or wire sizes.
3. Location which part of the country.
This will help a lot to you and the person who is selling.
Regards Kenneth Singh.
karat46@aol.com
Hi Craig, Try E-bay, I buy so many things from the site for jewelry
work. I love used items and have saved hundreds of dollars buying
them here. I’ve only had one bad buying experience out of dozens,
which isn’t bad considering sellers are unknown people. If you give
yourself a few weeks of casual browsing time, a used rolling mill
will probably turn up. If you’ve never done an online auction
before, e-mail me, I’ve got some extra special tips that guarantee
you’ll win 9-10 times.
Augest Derenthal
Cry Baby Designs
...anyway, I'm just starting out with creating jewelry and am in need of a used rolling mill. Does anyone have one?...., or knows where I could go to get one?
Hi, I am just starting out also. I briefly looked into rolling
mills but thought it was out of reach. However a number of posters
here at Orchid spoke highly of the Karat rolling mill, and spoke
highly of Kenneth Singh. He has a website,
I called and ordered a 4525 mill as well as some stamps. I am not
sure who I spoke with but they were very helpfull. There are two
kinds of rolling mills at ringtools, or 46 Jewelry Supply. They have
a 4520 which has wire and flat on the same rollers, and the 4525
which seems far more versitile, although you have to change the
rollers to change from flat to wire. Mine came with a top and
bottom roller for flat as well as top and bottom for square and a top
half round roller. Also you can buy additional rollers for making
patterns, but they seem a bit expensive considering you can use
sheets of brass and do roller printing. I havn’t done that yet, but
there is good in the archives. At their website they
show a 4525, mine was a bit different, it is a metallic blue and has
a guard around the big orange wheel, which isn’t orange on mine. The
paint job wasn’t the best, there were some scratches, but the mill
works very well and has increased what I am able to do. I consider
it as important as my torch and hammer. At the moment the 4525 is
listed as $265, shipping was reasonable. Oh, I think my flat rollers
were polished. I don’t know, I had never seen a rolling mill till I
unpacked mine. Some of the posts in the past talk about using lots
of force to turn the handle. The karat mill has a reduction gear so I
don’t experience this. I anneal often and use one hand to turn the
handle and the other hand to guide the metal through.
Presuming you obtain a rolling mill somewhere, you will need a nice
place to mount it. I purchased a very nice chest of drawers at a
local thrift shop for $25. It was in fantastic condition, and it
felt like a crime to drill two holes in the top. I now have 5
additional drawers for my equipment. You may become somewhat
obsessive about your mill, others on the list seem to write as if
they are, and I have become a bit nutty about caring for my mill.
Orchid archives suggest a heavy automotive grease for the gears and
automotive engine oil for the rest of the machine. I am currently
using bar and chain lube which is for chainsaws, but will get some
high grade synthetic motor oil with corrosion inhibitors when I run
out of oil. You may want a nice collection of rags. I use cotton
rags from old cloths and my wife runs them through the wash when I
start to run out (I have the best wife). I store the dirty rags in a
pail full of water and detergent so they don’t spontaneously ignite.
Sorry to ramble on, but I like my mill and I enjoy talking about it.
I hope you get a rolling mill too.
...anyway, I'm just starting out with creating jewelry and am in need of a used rolling mill. Does anyone have one?...., or knows where I could go to get one?
Hey Craig,
I suspect that I’ll get more than a few colorful responses to this
suggestion when I post it to the list, but here goes, all the same:
If you’re looking for an outstanding rolling mill that’s just
slightly used, hang in there – I’m sure a good one’ll eventually
cross your path. In the interim, though, if you’d be willing to
settle for a good, reasonably useful one (that’ll probably only last
you the length of your initial learning period, after which time
hopefully you’ll probably in position to replace it with a fancier
one), you might try touching base with fellow Orchidian Kenneth
Singh at 46 Jewelry Supply in NY City (also @ www.ringtools.com). He
has a unit in his online catalog with five replaceable 3" rollers
(two smooth ones, one for rolling wire and two for rolling patterned
bands, etc.) for something like US$250 or $275. I haven’t seen this
mill “up close and personal”, but suspect that it’s of either Indian
or Chinese origin, and that it’ll do the trick, albeit less
glamorously than a Dunston mill might. As I recall, Kenneth offers
some sort of warrantee with his products, so this just might cover
what you need. All of the usual disclaimers apply, here; I’ve only
done business with Ken a few times, but all of my experiences have
been good ones. Good luck to ya!
All my best,
Douglas Turet
Turet Design
P.O. Box 162
Arlington, MA 02476
Tel. (617) 325-5328
eFax (928) 222-0815
doug@turetdesign.com