ivan
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 165
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Post by ivan on Jul 2, 2014 1:11:49 GMT -5
Just a thought! After the rolling mill thread was started thought I would ask the board if anybody has been able to locate an economy rolling mill capable of rolling out round wire? Unless I'm mistaken, most if not all, of the econo mills are manufactured to produce different sizes of square wire. The term wire sort of implies rd wire. When in reality it is actually square wire that it produces. In order to get round wire You need a draw plate to make the various gauges of Round wire.
I put on hold the rd wire rolling mill idea some years ago when I was in the market for an Econo rolling mill. I found that the costs, if you can find one, of a rd. wire rolling mill is substantially higher than the eco mills that come with a number of patterns & rollers. For example, Ottofrei had one capable of rolling 1 - 10 gauge Rd. wire for around 1700 dollars.
Would like to hear from others that may have a similar interest and been able to pursue this further. Your thoughts, suggestions, & ideas would be appreciated. Thank you very much! IV
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RickN
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since November 2011
Posts: 85
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Post by RickN on Jul 2, 2014 11:11:16 GMT -5
Most of the mills don't produce a real round wire, usually they are more oblong with flanges from between the rollers. If you want really round wire the a draw plate is used.
RickN
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ivan
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 165
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Post by ivan on Jul 2, 2014 22:13:42 GMT -5
Thanks for taking the time to reply. That would explain much of the story. I would dread the thought of an artistic do it yourself enterprising individual wanting to make a large or not so large quantity of round wire to experiment. So, for now, I guess it would come down to saving time by purchasing wire to be cost effective. ..... IV
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rocpup
spending too much on rocks
Pink Limb Iris
Member since March 2011
Posts: 465
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Post by rocpup on Jul 4, 2014 8:30:16 GMT -5
There are infinite approaches to creating a jewelry piece but if you are only working in silver I have to wonder what would justify $1700 for a rolling mill just to produce wire. $1700 would get you a lot of silver wire but on the other hand if you are recycling gold the machine becomes very practical. Don
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ivan
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since March 2014
Posts: 165
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Post by ivan on Jul 5, 2014 23:52:38 GMT -5
There are infinite approaches to creating a jewelry piece but if you are only working in silver I have to wonder what would justify $1700 for a rolling mill just to produce wire. $1700 would get you a lot of silver wire but on the other hand if you are recycling gold the machine becomes very practical. Don Appreciate your perspective, thoughts, and suggestions. Thank you very much! IV
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bentiron
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since September 2011
Posts: 85
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Post by bentiron on Jul 8, 2014 18:01:27 GMT -5
I would have to say for a hobby jeweler going the rolling mill, draw plates, draw bench, ingot mold, etc,route is a waste of financial resources but if you are making silver jewelry as a full time job and you have lots of scrap then it is a practical way to save money. You get to draw out not only round wire but any other profile that there is a draw plate for, square, half round, rectangle, triangle, lots more too, plus you can make sheet, buy texture sheet from the various suppliers of those or make your own. With draw plates you can also make your own tube, handy and easy to do. As stated though it is not really practical for silver, much better suited to gold. One thing you really need to watch is your alloy, no dirty silver, that is no silver covered with solder, if you put that in all you are doing is making a big lump of really "hard" solder that you will then turn in "hard" solder wire and sheet, not good at all. I hope my rambling has helped out some here. These days I use my mill mostly for making textures.
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