Experimenting with Textures on a Rolling Mill: A Silversmithing Tutorial

[@johnaustin5320]

Thanks! You are great at this and have helped my confidence a lot.

[@chadssilversmithing]

Thank you so much John! That’s very generous, and I’m glad I could help:)

[@betojdesigns]

So happy for your new sponsorship. Well deserved Chad 👏😁.

[@chadssilversmithing]

Thanks Van:)

[@flyingcheff]

I am not an expert, but there are 3 tips I can contribute to this discussion from my own experiences that lead to mill texture success. 1) Anneal metal first. Anneal WELL, not just up to dull red, get there and hold for 5 seconds, backing off as it heats to maintain annealing temperature and not exceed to melting. The metal needs time for all the layers of molecules to realign. 2) Copper is soft. Use brass sheet on both sides of whatever you are trying to imprint into your chosen fully annealed metal. Then, wrap that "sandwich" between a section of folded manila folder (covering both sides) to protect mill rollers. Use manila folder for one roll through, only. Do not reuse! 3) When initially setting the opening for the "sandwich", close rollers onto it for a snug fit; the piece to be textured in-between the rollers in the center of the mill. Tighten down SNUG. Set index to zero then reopen rollers, and take the "sandwich" out. Reset rollers past zero (tighter) to about a quarter turn (or less if you find that the piece will not roll through). Feed manila covered "sandwich" into mill and draw it through in one strong confident, and continuous roll . If it's not slightly difficult, it's not tight enough to make a crisp, deep impression. Plan an uninterrupted roll straight through; halting, stopping, and starting, will create unwanted marks and lines (holidays) in the finished impression. Hope that's helpful. 🌺 🌺 🌺

[@chadssilversmithing]

Good advice Flying Chef! Thank you for sharing your knowledge:)

[@ceciliam7144]

Good advice❤

[@eb1138]

Very cool. Gave me a new appreciation for the mill

[@chadssilversmithing]

Rolling mills are super useful:). Thanks EB!

[@annjessup1670]

Thanks!

[@chadssilversmithing]

Thank you Ann! I appreciate the kind donation!

[@ElinHaugan]

First time at your channel 🙂 Just bought a rolling mill and been curious about how much fun I can get out of it 😊

[@chadssilversmithing]

Welcome Elin! They are fun and handy in many ways:)

[@ceciliam7144]

Nice Pepe Tools sent you a rolling mill❤. The texture I liked the most was the brushes bristle. The washers were interesting too. And perhaps could improve foil paper texture. I get some great textures from different kind of cloths, laces and embroidery.

[@chadssilversmithing]

Thanks Cecilia! I agree on the bristles:)

[@ericericson4]

I have a Pepe rolling mill also. I highly recommend their tools, and their customer service. They are a good company to work with.

[@chadssilversmithing]

I agree! They've been super friendly and professional!

[@stormieseajewelrypauletto]

I used decorative cupcake holders that you can find at a craft store, made of paper. They make amazing patterns on silver.

[@chadssilversmithing]

What a great idea!

[@gisella1350]

Thank you for doing this.

[@chadssilversmithing]

I'm glad you found it useful Gisella! Thanks for the nice comment:)

[@gemnosity]

I also have the Pepe 130 mill. Absolutely love it! Thanks for your vid’s. So enjoyable to watch!

[@chadssilversmithing]

Thanks Gemnosity! It's so much nicer than my previous one:)

[@susanharrington3136]

I have a Pepe 130 rolling mill, too! And I love it. My wire is ½ round, and the other side is square.

[@chadssilversmithing]

I’m really liking mine too:)

[@flyingcheff]

Love the coin imprint! Congratulations on the mill. It's the identical one in my studio - love it (except when I'm alloying and creating sterling sheet for hours (ouch)! That's some manual labor! I do wish Pepe had an option for a longer handle for big mill jobs. Great video!

[@chadssilversmithing]

Thanks Flying Chef!

[@annjessup1670]

I have the 160 version of this mill! Love it!

[@chadssilversmithing]

They make really nice rolling mills!

[@juliel6254]

Thank you for demonstrating your new rolling mill! It's beautiful! Most of the texturing videos i have seen, the person placed the metal to be textured and the item making the texture in between TWO pieces of brass or copper. I am wondering if you tried the tin foil again, but instead of just placing copper sheet on one side and tape on the other, try sandwiching the silver and foil in between two pieces of brass or copper. It will create a harder pressure point against the foil and silver. Just a thought. I don't have a rolling mill myself, so I am just speculating! I look forward to many more texture / rolling mill videos! Also maybe anneal your silver first so it is super soft might help increase the depth of texture.

[@chadssilversmithing]

Thank you Julie!

[@betojdesigns]

Just thinking that you may have gotten a better defined imprint if you layer with copper-foil-silver. No need for tape. That’s how I do it. The way you did the coin. Also, a cool texture I like to use is the soft green mesh you get bags of veggies and fruits in. Have fun! BTW, I love the washer/circle strip.

[@chadssilversmithing]

I will try that with the tinfoil and the veggie bag:)

[@betojdesigns]

@@chadssilversmithing Also, the cheapest way to create patterns is cutting out curvy shapes in cardboard or thick cardstock, or use a hole puncher to pop out little circles, lay it down in the middle of your sandwich. So many possibilities. My favorite are brass texture plates that I think are used with polymer clay.

[@charlesjones2099]

Hey Chad, I have a question. I have some experience with soldering as my father and I used to own a machine shop years ago. I have several old heating blocks we used to use to heat up certain items. My experience is mostly with copper,brass, and cast iron. The blocks are solid carbon. Would them being solid carbon when using them with silver cause any discoloration or problems working on the carbon surface. Love the videos. Have a couple of projects I have done that I am going to revamp after watching your videos. I appreciate any info you may be able to give me.

[@chadssilversmithing]

Hello Charles! I don’t have any experience with the type of blocks you mention unfortunately. Many metalsmiths use exclusively charcoal blocks as their soldering surface. I would guess that your carbon blocks would behave like a charcoal block because those are pretty much all carbon. Sorry I don’t have a more definitive answer for you:)

[@toniyagoodwine7488]

What kind of butane or setaline do I use? Also I dont understand the pickling or how long. And flux is better in what form?

[@chadssilversmithing]

Hello Toniya! I use an acetylene/air torch. Pickling removes flux and oxides from the surface of the metal. Heated pickle works pretty quickly. I use cold pickle which takes an hour or two to get it cleaned up pretty well. I like a liquid flux, but try some different kinds to see what works best for you:)

[@susanvisser616]

Hi Chad, I'm curious to know why you didn't sandwich the foil and watch band between the silver and copper/brass like the others?

[@chadssilversmithing]

Hehe. I think I just messed up:)

[@annjessup1670]

It’s a Loon 😊

[@chadssilversmithing]

I'll have to try to see if I can get a good impression of one of those:)