For all those who are wondering...

[hmpf]

what that thing I asked you guys about yesterday was, and why I wanted to buy it (I've decided to wait, for the moment, as I've discovered the guy has an online shop elsewhere where the thing seems to be on permanent offer): it's a jeweller's rolling mill. It's an essential tool in jewellery making, used for reducing sheets of metal in thickness. You see, it's not really practical for a small-time jeweller like myself to have precious metals in all the different thicknesses you may need laying around at home. Usually you just get a fairly thick sheet of metal, then saw off a small piece and use the mill to make it the thickness you need.

You can also use the rolling mill to make neat structures and patterns on sheets of metal by using it to press, say, a piece of kitchen sieve, pieces of wire, some grains of rice, or whatever you feel like, between two sheets of metal. That's an effect I'd like to experiment with some more.

Comments

[jazzymegster.livejournal.com]

Wow...most impressive.

I did take a look at it, but as my german sucks, I couldn't leave a comment, because I couldn't understand enough to know what it was.

However, it sounds like a really cool thing to have (and, as you say, it's essential to what you do), and I like the idea of pressing stuff between sheets of metal. I dunno why, but it appeals to the child in me. LOL.

:)

From Scapekid

[(Anonymous)]

My great uncle got a huge milling machine down into his basement with a system of pulleys just because he'd always wanted one when he was a kid.

Never underestimate the attraction of cutting up and grinding down large sheets of metal.