DJR Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 I'm a beginner, though with experience in silver and gold fabrication. I was wondering if anyone thought it would be worthwhile for me to dig out my old roller mill I used for silver smithing and try to use it to to forge weld some strips of 0-1 1/2" x 1/16" precision ground steel? My thought was to build up a small billet for knife making, but was kind of wondering if it is too slow and just a stupid idea. The mill isn't all that easy to get to at the moment, so I thought I'd ask before just trying it out. Thanks, dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagedude Posted January 18, 2010 Share Posted January 18, 2010 A rolling mill is great for drawing out steel but not so good for welding as the contact with the rollers will draw the heat from the billet too quickly. Welding is best performed with a hammer or a fast press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted January 18, 2010 Author Share Posted January 18, 2010 A rolling mill is great for drawing out steel but not so good for welding as the contact with the rollers will draw the heat from the billet too quickly. Welding is best performed with a hammer or a fast press. Many thanks. Figured as much, but sounds like it might be worth dragging out anyhow for drawing. I might be able to set the rollers so they are not parallel which might be helpful in beginning a blade. I'm looking forward to spending some time learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbearforge Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I forge weld all the time with my rolling mill. It's not a jeweler's rolling mill, though, and was built to withstand a bit more pressure. I'm not sure that a standard jeweler's mill would have the rigidity. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted January 19, 2010 Author Share Posted January 19, 2010 I forge weld all the time with my rolling mill. It's not a jeweler's rolling mill, though, and was built to withstand a bit more pressure. I'm not sure that a standard jeweler's mill would have the rigidity. Jamie Jamie, Is it hand cranked and geared? I think my mill would be stout enough, but the gear reduction is a lot, due to the pressure, so it is slow to hand crank. dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkunkler Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Many thanks. Figured as much, but sounds like it might be worth dragging out anyhow for drawing. I might be able to set the rollers so they are not parallel which might be helpful in beginning a blade. I'm looking forward to spending some time learning. If the rollers are set so they are not parallel, straight stock will curve towards the side with the larger gap. You can pre-curve the stock and roll with the curve towards the side with the smaller gap and straighten the stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarbearforge Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Jamie, Is it hand cranked and geared? I think my mill would be stout enough, but the gear reduction is a lot, due to the pressure, so it is slow to hand crank. dan It's geared down, but it's motorized. If you do a search for Mcdonald rolling mill you'll find other examples similar to mine. I haven't added the pictures back to the website yet. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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