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Hi All,
A friend and I are looking to buy a rolling mill - maybe second hand. We want firstly your recommendations and second, second hand sources if you can suggest any.
Friend wants to part roll coins as in the photo Attachment 13523 and I want to recycle scrap into wire and sheet and change wire shapes and sizes , stuff like that. He's not a jewellery btw.
Any help appreciated.
I had a Pepe rolling mill for several years, it performed faultlessly, I gave it it to young lass who was just stating out when I built my electric mill. They are less expensive than the "D" brand but in my opinion just as good, personally I would be very wary of the Chinese and Indian varieties, my friend in QLD purchased one of these and it lasted three weeks as for second hand I can't comment re the UK, down here they are like trying to by Hens Teeth.
P.S. Is it legal to roll coins over there.
Mine's a Durston C100 and I use it a lot.
It will make and resize square wire and half round but not round wire. As far as rolling coins, it is great for silver/copper sheet but if the coins have steel in them then you'd probably damage the mill. It's not designed for that.
Bumping the thread - hoping for more advice please
The best rolling mills in UK are Durstons, but bought second hand they could be in really poor condition, particularly rust, and pits in the rollers.
If Durstons are willing to re-furbish one it could be costly and defeat the point of the exercise.
If on a budget, I would probably just buy a cheaper new one from a trusted dealer.
That said, mills are not very good with producing clean and even wires. for that you need draw plates and tongs.
Then for thicker wires (over 1.0 or 1.5mm), you have to have a way of drawing with the strength of your legs, or use a draw bench.
Dennis.
I've got one of those cheap Indian geared ones that has served me well, but have to change the rollers to wire if I've set the rollers. I also have a Tungsten drawplate, which I couldn't live without. If I had to buy a mill again, I'd get a Pepe, so you can use the wire and rollers without having to change them, as I do now. I wouldn't buy second hand, unless you know the person you have bought it from has properly cared for it! Good luck with your search.
Durston D4. Spendy, very heavy and very, very effective. Although I'd like an even wider one :)
Mine gets used for working down billets (mokume gane, for example) to sheet, square ingots prior to drawing them down as wire, with a decent selection of half-round rollers on the extension. Comfort fit extension might be a nice addition, but not essential.
I've seen their ilk 2nd hand, but only rarely and usually from workshops shutting down.
As far as the wire goes, get, make or have made a drawbench. Life's too short to make large quantities of wire by hand.