Hi,
And the sanding sticks can be refreshed by putting new sandpaper on them, scoring each edge fir a tighter fold
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I read this thing on Oregon Trail Silver that if you really want a beautiful deeply bubbled up impression from a texture plate, roll it with some craft foam. I intend to try it. If youāre interested Iāll give you the article on it.
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Looks like everyone has helped SueS11184 sort out the problem of aligning the Pepe rollers.
I actually own the Cavallin mill in the YouTube video. Itās an awesome mill! I got it in the 1980ās, but it weighs a ton!
I thought Iād add that some mills have a problem with steel texture plates because of thickness.
Every mill has a maximum width that it can open. If you go beyond that maximum opening width the mill doesnāt work as well or doesnāt work at all. Itās possible that is part of the problem here. I donāt know the maximum opening specs on the Pepe Ultra, but that info is in the ownerās manual. Something to check.
I like using laser cut card stock paper for making rolling mill patterns. The card stock isnāt thick, which makes it easy to make a good embossing on sheet metal.
If youāve got Vector art drawing skills you can make your own patterns, then find a laser cutter out there to cut them. There are zillions of laser cutting companies who will do custom cuts.
Another option is to buy pre-made laser cut card stock patterns for roller embossing.
Here is one company that I know about. Rolling Mill Resources has a lot of pattern choices and sample packs to try out and see if it works for you.
Rolling Mill Resources
https://www.rollingmillresources.com/
The negative is that the card stock gets destroyed when embossing the sheet metal, so itās one time use process. Still itās good to know about and to have in your library of options.
Cheers!
Jeff
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Cool, thanks, I will look into that.
Update: I get a ā403 forbiddenā when I try the Rolling Mill Resources linksā¦
So this thread has wandered a littleā¦thanks, JeffG for the tip on laser cut paper pattern plates. My first question would be about price comparison of steel, brass and paper pattern options. How long would steel and brass plates each last? The paper is single use and about $2.50 each.
Secondly, I wonder whether this is much difference in the rolled pattern of the different materials. I would suspect that etched or engraved steel is sharper than brass, but Iām not sure. Andy I have no idea how sharp the paper patterns are compared to the metal ones.
Any ideas out there?
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Iāve been using both brass and steel for the past few weeks. The seller of the brass says it lasts about 100 rolls for silver. Iām just using small pieces of silver so they should last me quite a while. The brass seems to be giving as good or better definition, though that may well be because the patterns are different. You have to be a bit careful with the brass because if the tension is too much it will distort, unlike the steel which of course retains its shape. (the brass were about $10 US, the steel from $30-60).
A little off subject. I have cut my own designs just to see how they work. I have also used paper tape, labels and other adhesives and rolled designs after cutting it out. Finally, I have engraved images in soft steel plates and then used the plate for roll printing. These were all just for fun. I am ready to buy some plates from Kevin and I am especially interested in the Rolling Mill Resources productsā¦Rob
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Iām planning to try to make one of my own using little coils & discs of various sizes in 24g bronze, on bronze.
Perhaps not what you are asking, but many / most steel plates have a large design motif that can only be fully represented on a large piece such as a cuff. There are some steel plates that have a smaller motif / design that can be fully shown on larger pendants down to medium earrings. Laser paper patterns can have a much smaller repeated motif that can work on smaller pieces.
I havenāt found any pattern plates of any material that give fine textures rather than shapes.
Paper plates can give perfectly useful impressions, but you get deeper ones with steel.
Some of the steel plates I have do have sharper edges, but probably the majority do not.
There is as much variability of results between specific designs as there is between plate material.
Neil A
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If you have a press, try this on a press with a urethane pad to do the pushing. I have made wide copper cuffs this wayā¦Rob
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Iām new to them but am really pleased with what Iām getting. Iām just interested in texture, I donāt want anything that looks like a leaf or a flower or some celtic thing. Sometimes Iāll run something through a couple of times at different angles. Itās a fun new thing for me. Cheerio
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Oh I wish. Definitely not in the budget, unless I can get another grant. Perhaps next year 
Hi Neil A,
I hadnāt thought to comment on the size of the patterns, but thatās a concern of mine, too, seeing as how the larger patterns just wouldnā't work on rings, earrings or small pendantsā¦the majority of my kind of jewelry. Itās the same issue with a lot of agatesā¦they are very pretty, but the pattern doesnāt show much on anything but a belt buckle, a humongous pendant or a display slab.
I just checked Etsy and found several brass plates in small to very small patterns, one in a linen texture, another in a small floral print and one in alligator skin. Do filter for price, because some of these were $9 for the 2.5"x6" size and $5 for the 2.5"x4", whereas there were others for $25 up to $65.
Another thing to consider might be flocked or textured fabrics like jute, linen and canvas, also tulleā¦
-royjohn
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I just posted this reply to NeilA, but it went only to him as a private message. Who knew there were two different reply buttons doing different things!
<<Hi Neil A,
I hadnāt thought to comment on the size of the patterns, but thatās a concern of mine, too, seeing as how the larger patterns just wouldnā't work on rings, earrings or small pendantsā¦the majority of my kind of jewelry. Itās the same issue with a lot of agatesā¦they are very pretty, but the pattern doesnāt show much on anything but a belt buckle, a humongous pendant or a display slab.
I just checked Etsy and found several brass plates in small to very small patterns, one in a linen texture, another in a small floral print and one in alligator skin. Do filter for price, because some of these were $9 for the 2.5"x6" size and $5 for the 2.5"x4", whereas there were others for $25 up to $65.
Another thing to consider might be flocked or textured fabrics like jute, linen and canvas, also tulleā¦
-royjohn>>
Hmmm? Iām not sure whatās up with the ā403 forbiddenā message? I donāt have that issue. I looked up Rolling Mill Resources through Google. Maybe your browser doesnāt like embedded links? Try Googling them.
As someone said this thread is evolving into being more about texturing metal. For decades, every jewelry class that I took or taught, taught students how to etch their own roller printing brass plates with Ferric Chloride. With any chemical like that though there are safety concerns and itās not something that Iād recommend someone to do at home.
I only used Ferric Chloride from Radio Shack (circuit board etchant). The Radio Shack Ferric Chloride came premixed and wasnāt too strong, just strong enough. When our local Radio Shack closed, I stopped etching my own roller printing brass plates and started exploring other options.
Thatās how I learned about Rolling Mill Resources. Thereās also a lot of full sheet texture papers out there in the PMC world that can work with roller printing.
Iām a big fan of texture and right now my favorite way to texture sheet metal is extremely low tech, but super effective. I use an inexpensive set of texture hammers. You can get them off of Amazon, Etsy and most any jewelry tool company. To show what Iām talking about hereās some from Otto Frei. Texturing Hammers ā Otto Frei
You can even make your own texture hammers with old garage sale hammers, files, drill bits, diamond grinders and cut off wheels.
The possibilities are endless. When you mix up different hammer textures over each other, you can make multiple texture variations.
I know this is off topic of the original question. But I thought Iād put out there that for decades everything that I made with sheet metal was roller textured with my own custom etched brass plates, but now I use texture hammers instead.
Jeff
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Thank you for that. I havenāt tried texture hammers, though I do have different hammers, which is what Iāve been using up until recently. But since I live in an apartment, I do my hammering on a bench by the seaside (luckily only a block away), and itās a bit cool out for that right now. The texture plates give me a more quiet option. Also, itās not all that off topic, since texture is what interests me. Cheerio
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Try contacting through Susan Broadway on Facebook.
I just recently found out about RMR and ordered $50 worth of various with foam and the water color paper (actually goes by another name Iām forgetting right now) that Gwen (owner) recommends. I havenāt done any texturing with the mill yet but plan on doing some soon and experimenting with copper first. The RMR order is in the mail and Iāve got one of Kevinās steel texture plates. Also, Gwen/RMR has a Facebook page that has a ton of āhow toā videos. Sheās a hoot, and itās more like visiting her at home for some instruction over a cup of coffee and some Texas hospitality.
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