Rolling mill - flatten wire

[charley]

Hi!

I'm trying to flatten a round wire using a rolling mill (I use "Combination Rolling Mill With 5 Rollers, Value Range").

The resulting pieces are not uniformly flat but wavy.

Is it my technique or could it be the quality of the rolling mill? Should I put my hopes on a Durston instead?

Best regards,
Charley

[Dennis]

No, using a rolling mill like all processes in jewellery making requires practice and application. Provided the rollers are adjusted to be evenly spaced you would get the same result from a mill three times the price.

To flatten wire, it has to be annealed evenly every three or four passes and put through the very centre, reducing the gap slowly and almost imperceptably . You also need to use your spare hand to keep it centred.

Any deviation in shape to right or left is best dealt with as soon as it appears, by annealing and stretching, before you continue. Dennis.

[charley]

Thank you for a very informative reply!

I will practice with small reductions in gap, annealing and keeping the part centered as you suggested.