DustinR Posted September 19 Share Posted September 19 Hi not sure if this is the right place to ask but my big brother is really into forging and he has a big birthday coming up. I know he really wants a hot roller mill to lengthen and thin steel but I'm having a hard time finding one. We've watched some knife making and blacksmithing shows so I know he likes the mills without the foot pedal that does the actual squishing. More the machines we've seen that can be set to a thickness you gradually change to thin it out. Sorry I know my lingo is all wrong and I might be searching for all the wrong things. Can someone help me make my brother have an awesome birthday? TLDR: Looking for a lead on a hot roller mill for steel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 Hopefully you have deep pockets. There are relatively few smiths with these, so the resale market is virtually non-existent, and none currently in regular production sized and priced appropriately for a hobby blacksmith that I am aware of. There was a guy a few years back in Texas that was making a McDonald Rolling mill clone for around $4.5K plus shipping, but I'm not sure if he is still in business and have never seen one of his in person. Also as a McDonald mill it does have the foot pedal that you don't want. I see that there is a new one being produced in Austria that is closer to a industrial grade machine, but I expect that would be much more costly. I know a few smiths who have repurposed industrial rolling mills, and I suspect they were required fairly cheaply from liquidators, but these have a large footprint, usually need 3 phase power, and are hardly a common item. I think you may have been mislead by looking at jewelers rolling mills. I don't believe that these are an acceptable alternative for hot work. Try using "blacksmith rolling mill" as your search term and beware of any that aren't specifically designed for hot steel. One of the potential issues with a powered jeweler's rolling mill is that the ability for the non-ferrous stock to compress stays the same throughout a single rolling pass (due to proper annealing). While rolling hot steel, the reaction to compression by the rollers can change as the steel cools. If that happens partially through the rolling pass, the billet can get stuck and the equipment catastrophically fail if there isn't some method of quickly relieving the pressure. A typical jeweler's rolling mill where the rollers are cranked down by a screw with a fine lead thread don't have this capability. Note that this is just my opinion from the research I've done on the subject and I would be happy to be corrected by someone who has actually used a jeweler's mill for hot steel work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 I just ran a couple searches with different terms and the only one I found being made and sold of a scale useful for a hobby shop is in Australia. Other than that I believe Randy MacDaniels plans are what's available in the USA. If you decide to have one built for your Broth I strongly suggest you have all the welding and heck fab work done by a professional who is certified, licensed and bonded. I used to work with hydraulics and powerful mechanical equipment and things can go wrong catastrophically as in metal stuck in walls, ceiling, etc. There was an entire section about blacksmith's roll mills on Anvilfire but when (DANG I know his name, was saying it to myself until I started to type it! <grrr>) Anyway, Anvil Fire's owner (Jock?) passed away and last time I checked it was strictly archived material. You still may find what you need there, I don't know. A few years ago there were a number of people making them, some selling finished and kits. There was quite a bit of talk about roll mills on all the fora. Then the subject just faded away. Personally I think they're just too much machine for a hobby or small shop, maybe if I made lots of blades or similar but. . . Wish I could be more help. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. In my opinion for blade work a press is a better option and a lot less expense. It would probably help to know your or your brothers general location. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s.~ Semper Paratus Just found this, may help. https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/3914-hugh-mcdonald-steel-rolling-mill/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted September 20 Share Posted September 20 I have a MacDonald mill, and I cant imagine not having the control of the foot pedal. plus it releases if it binds. A locked in roller is asking for trouble. Just my 2 cents worth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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