I am converting one of our MaltMills into a roller mill for wire and
bezel stuff. Unfortunately, all I have to go on is a few pictures of
Durston Mills but not sure what some of the features are.
I see grooves on the basic rollers and special grooves for making
wire and separate rollers for something else.
My problem is that no matter what shape (square or round) I start
with, I end up with a rhombic cross section and a dead end. All it
does from there is get flatter.
Someone on another list said he just runs his ingot through the
groves but would not ellaborate on just what that meant. Do the
grooves have something to do with my not being able to maintain a
square?
I just read your Orchid posting and thought I’d pitch in. When you’re
using a rolling mill, you need to remember to continually rotate your
workpiece, either clockwise or counterclockwise, such that no facet
of the compression groove lands on the same side of the ingot
consecutive times. For example, let’s say you’re using a set of
square grooves to reduce an ingot’s diameter… first, run the ingot
through under slight pressure, and make note of which sides face up.
As soon as the ingot comes out of the rollers, take a permanent
marker and color the top left side of the ingot. Next, rotate the
ingot 25%, so that the just-colored side is now at top right, and run
it through again. When it comes out, rotate it again so the darkened
side faces bottom right (etc., etc.), until you’ve reduced the size
by about 20-30%; when you have, stop and anneal the piece completely,
then resume your rolling once it’s cooled and been pickled and
neutralized. By following these steps, you’ll minimize both the
elongation of the cross section and the likelihood of cracking, as a
result of over stressing the material.
All the best,
Doug
Douglas Turet, G.J.
Lapidary Artist & Designer
Turet Design
P.O. Box 242
Avon, MA 02322-0242
Tel. (508) 586-5690 @doug