How To Use A Rolling Mill for Jewellery Making?

Jewellery is worn on the human body or attached to the clothes. Decorative jewellery pieces are designed for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. These are made by using the tools such as jewellery stamping dies moulds, jewellery cutting tools, etc.

One such tool is rolling mill, which is used to transform the metal you’re using in your jewellery making. This tool can be normally seen in small and medium sized workshops. Jewellery rolling mills are generally used for making a fine piece of gold jewellery.

Here are some tips for using a rolling mill:

• Metal sheet can be rolled into a thinner sheet with the use of rolling mills. It should be a gradual process, which will make the metal work harder. The metal needs to be annealed, in between each stage of rolling. By using the rolling mill, one can reduce the heavier gauge sheet to a perfect size fit.
• The rollers should be tight enough but not so over-tightened to have enough resistance while rolling. Always use the totally dry metal, which will not put them at any risk and also keep your rolling mill well maintained from the very beginning.
• For creating an oval shape, one needs to set the rollers as you would for rolling sheet and feed the silver disc through. Thickness and length of the piece should be checked using a vernier or a calliper once it comes out of the mills. This process needs to repeated if necessary. Same direction needs to be followed when feeding the oval through the rolling mill again to ensure it is in proper shape as required.
• Jewellers can shape wires into a square using a rolling mill with square grooves. This wire must be annealed, pickled and cleaned and dried completely before putting through the rolling mill. To get a square shape, the wire is pushed between the square grooves with the turned handle, so the wire draws into the grooved section of the rollers and then the wire turns into a square shape. Each time, wire needs to be turned by 90 degrees to get a proper square shape.
• Wires can be shaped using a rolling mill with D shape channels. To get a D shape, the wire is put through the D shape section rollers. Once it is out from the rolling machine, thickness can be checked. If it is not meeting the required thickness, same process can be repeated until it meets the requirement.

• Best Practices for using a rolling mill:
  • Rolling machine should be bolt down to a heavy bench or table top for stability.
  • Don’t exert too much pressure on the rollers, which may lead to piece cracking when next annealing.
  • Always apply a thin coating of oil to your rolling mill, when its not in use.
  • Clean the rolling machine with a damp cloth and acetone to remove dirt.
  • Rolling mill should be covered when not in use, which will protect it from any workshop debris.

Rolling mills are very expensive as it has many uses. Buying rolling mills with heavier and stronger rollers is a best bet for any jewellery maker.