rolling mills, custom patterns and making wire into strips

That's pretty much it, I have a rolling mill, I have a bunch of solid wire of various gauges. I have in the past converted copper tubing / pipe into strips which then got used for decorations or hinges / fittings. "It worked".

But I am now wanting to recreate a pattern on the metal accents on a box I got at a thrift store ("the hard ware is worth more than that!"). I know how to make punches so I could make a "die"on a flat piece of steel. But the question then comes: how do I make the steel "round" and attached to one of the rollers? Or just use it as a plate pushed through the rolling mill? Hmm, hadn't thought of that - might work,but depends on how much /long I want to make.

Reply to
pyotr filipivich
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I've seen flat plates with various patterns on them sold by jewellers suppliers, you just put the metal you want to emboss through the mill as a sandwich with the plates or plates.

Reply to
David Billington

Make a negative of your pattern, apply photoresist to a roller, and wrap the negative around it. Expose with UV light, remove negative and develop (dissolve away) the unexposed bits, then etch the roller surface.

OK, you can probably just etch a sheet and wrap it around the roller. This is how 'rotogravure' worked, putting those pictures into the paper of all the bonnets in the Easter parade. But if you want it to emboss metal, it has to be a sturdy sheet. Or, a steel roller.

Reply to
whit3rd

That's pretty much it, I have a rolling mill, I have a bunch of solid wire of various gauges. I have in the past converted copper tubing / pipe into strips which then got used for decorations or hinges / fittings. "It worked".

But I am now wanting to recreate a pattern on the metal accents on a box I got at a thrift store ("the hard ware is worth more than that!"). I know how to make punches so I could make a "die"on a flat piece of steel. But the question then comes: how do I make the steel "round" and attached to one of the rollers? Or just use it as a plate pushed through the rolling mill? Hmm, hadn't thought of that - might work,but depends on how much /long I want to make.

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Maybe they know:

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What do you think of this type?
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Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I know how to make punches so I could make a "die"on a flat piece of steel. But the question then comes: how do I make the steel "round" and attached to one of the rollers?

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Ask an Iraqi.

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Reply to
Jim Wilkins

After I posted the above, I went and searched on-line. Basically it looks to me that either I could get a "spare" roller" and make the pattern in that, _or_ make a pattern on a flat piece and roll it and wire through the mill. The one video was showing how you could put a subtle pattern on a plate using a paper towel for the "pattern".

I now have ideas.

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

"Jim Wilkins" snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com on Fri, 28 Jan 2022 07:16:36

-0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

More coolness. What inspired me is a box with brass strips, "circle, dot, triangle, dot, circle, square, circle, (, )" then reverse. "I can do this" says I.

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

"Jim Wilkins" snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com on Fri, 28 Jan 2022 07:11:11

-0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Oooh, neato. Will have to bookmark that one.

It looks better than the one I have. "Maybe."

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

Whoo-hoo! Chemistry!

Hmm, also an idea. Something for when I get old and have retired again.

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

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The solid-ink color printer I helped develop in the 1980's could make offset printing plates by depositing the ink on a thin sheet of aluminum. In experiments it could create 3D shapes such as Braille dots out of the ink, which inspired one of the engineers to create a 3D printer. Maybe for short production runs you could 3D print a lost-wax (or lost plastic) pattern to cast in bronze or Kirksite.

I'm too close to the monthly data cap to look for references for you.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I'd read the one-star reviews - 28% failure rate.

Joe Gwinn

Reply to
Joe Gwinn

Joe Gwinn snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net on Sun, 30 Jan 2022 14:49:44 -0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Think I'll stick with the one I have until I find a real reason to change.

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

"Jim Wilkins" snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com on Sun, 30 Jan 2022 07:03:41

-0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Thanks, but that's enough of a pointer to ideas, I can follow it up on my own from there.

Reply to
pyotr filipivich

I'd read the one-star reviews - 28% failure rate.

Joe Gwinn

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I use Amazon for reference when their URL is short, as an example of the type of item.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Joe Gwinn snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net on Sun, 30 Jan 2022 14:49:44 -0500 typed in rec.crafts.metalworking the following:

Think I'll stick with the one I have until I find a real reason to change.

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Is that similar to yours? I'm thinking about buying one, not suggesting that you change.

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

I read the Amazon reviews for fun and Harbor Freight was mentioned as selling those also, a quick search turned up this Ganoksin thread about them

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. The last posting confirmed my thoughts from when I looked at the broken part image posted in the Amazon review, likely hardened and not tempered, maybe an easy fix with an appropriate tempering. Maybe it's telling that Harbor Freight don't seem to sell rolling mills anymore.

Reply to
David Billington

A mate was telling me his ISP contacted him to say they were going to put up the charges due to increased usage in the UK due to lock down and working from home, he told them he was thinking of leaving and getting another ISP, they then bent over backwards to keep him and he ended up with faster speed, a higher download cap, and lower charges  so he stayed with them for the time being. IIRC you're in NH so maybe you don't have the option of going elsewhere currently. I'm waiting for full fibre, I could get it here now but apparently BT are planning to get fibre to every house in the country by 2025 and switch to VOIP for all so I can wait. Maybe a benefit of living in a small country.

I got contacted by my ISP to say they were removing the usage cap for the same reasons, it hasn't changed my usage habits. Not that many years ago I downgraded my package from IIRC 300Gb to 30Gb a month as my usage level was at about 0.5%, after the change I would occasionally get a usage warning of 50% or if I watched some catch-up programs 75% in the last day or so of the month so my usage matched what I was paying for pretty well.

Reply to
David Billington

A mate was telling me his ISP contacted him to say they were going to put up the charges due to increased usage in the UK due to lock down and working from home, he told them he was thinking of leaving and getting another ISP, they then bent over backwards to keep him and he ended up with faster speed, a higher download cap, and lower charges so he stayed with them for the time being. IIRC you're in NH so maybe you don't have the option of going elsewhere currently. I'm waiting for full fibre, I could get it here now but apparently BT are planning to get fibre to every house in the country by 2025 and switch to VOIP for all so I can wait. Maybe a benefit of living in a small country.

I got contacted by my ISP to say they were removing the usage cap for the same reasons, it hasn't changed my usage habits. Not that many years ago I downgraded my package from IIRC 300Gb to 30Gb a month as my usage level was at about 0.5%, after the change I would occasionally get a usage warning of 50% or if I watched some catch-up programs 75% in the last day or so of the month so my usage matched what I was paying for pretty well.

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I don't have cable TV and the lowest cost Internet options here are cellular, with data caps. On Feb 1 the one I'm using is supposed to switch from the old monthly cap of 3GB to 30GB of data plus unlimited calling and text, for $35 a month, due to the conversion of 2G and 3G frequency bands to

5G and improved 4G LTE, and the reallocation of the former UHF TV bands above 600MHz to expand cellular phone and Internet.

When I was on a $5/GB introductory plan I found that I could manage on 2GB and had no use for more than 4. The extra GB this month went to setting up and learning to use the iPhone 6s my sister gave me for Christmas, to replace my old cellular hotspot.

I wrote a spreadsheet that reports how far ahead or behind I am each day, so I know when to conserve.

Just heard on local TV: There are cheap people, there are cheapskate people, and then there are Yankees! (old New Englanders)

So I must be a Yankee. I recently rigged up my chest freezer to use all available solar energy before drawing from the power grid or backup battery. The Kill-A-Watt EZ meter on it estimates the operating cost at $1.34 per month. We are just reaching the season when a full day's sun can recharge the battery after running on it overnight. Although the sun is low the clearer sky and cold panel temperature keep output nearly as high as in summer. jsw

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

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An unexplained download of 55MB pushed me to 3GB, where the service reverts to "unlimited" 2G that's slower than dialup. AFAIK all program updating is set to manual.

I had Process Explorer's I/O monitor on to view a graph of net traffic but was too busy writing and editing to notice that the response window covered it. What has anyone used to log WiFi/WLAN traffic?

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

Think I'll stick with the one I have until I find a real reason to change.

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What do you have?

Reply to
Jim Wilkins

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