[Jewelry making - Article 00207] - Re: [Orchid] Buying My First Rolling Mill...

[Trevor F]

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Hello Marty,

>     any advice about relative ease of service, parts availability etc
>     from various suppliers might be helpful. 

    Well you've pretty much already seen responses covering the spectrum
    so I guess I'll just throw my hat into the "get a good one" ring. 

    I had used a friend's cheapo mill a bit before I decided to buy my
    own. It was ok, had a few problems, wasn't exactly a precision tool
    but it would squash metal and roll out wire acceptably. Poor gear
    reduction though, and the rollers weren't the highest quality steel
    in the world (tended to pit for no good reason) which was a bit of a
    pain. 

    When I decided to get my own mill I really sweated it. What brand?
    Model? How wide? Can I afford it? In the end I guess I followed the
    recent advice of one of the other members in that I bought a tool "I
    could grow into, not grow out of". 

    I bought a Durston C150. I won't pretend it was inexpensive because
    it wasn't but I wanted a good, solid, well made, reliable mill that
    wouldn't impose any significant limitations on what I could do or how
    I could do it. It a nutshell, it's been a real gem! It's been
    particularly invaluable to me since I got into Argentium Sterling
    because in the beginning sheet and wire stock were not available
    except as a special (read 'expensive') order so I had to do my own.
    That alone paid off a non-trivial part of the mill in terms of
    fabrication costs saved. 

    The real bonus though has been Durston's service. I'll spare you the
    details but those guys have held my hand, powdered my bum, and
    generally taken tender loving care of me since Day 1. The mill is
    superb, the service has been out of this world! Of course you have to
    decide what this means to you and your situation. In the end I guess
    I'd say that I've never doubted for a second that the money I spent on
    the Durston was very well spent indeed. 

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
Visit TouchMetal.com at http://www.touchmetal.com


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