[Jewelry making - Article 00781] - Re: [Orchid] Milling your own or buying stock

[andy cooperman]

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    As in most things, it seems to me, the "milling your own stock"
    conversation is not black and white. I routinely mill my own stock
    from shot or scrap--

    make my own tube, sheet and wire. 

    This is often motivated by expediency: I need a certain dimension in
    a certain material at a certain time. It also allows me to utilize
    scrap to a large degree. But, perhaps most important, it allows me to
    produce tapered or graduated forms, one sheet with varying
    thicknesses or oversized dimensional stock. In short, having the
    ability to produce my own stock most fully allows me to "smith". It
    also takes some of the fear away, since I know that, if the spit hits
    the fan, and I melt that last piece of 18k rod or sterling sheet on a
    Sunday morning, I can have it back in a matter of minutes. It really
    takes the pressure off for me. 

    However, if I need a large sweet piece of sterling for, say, raising
    I'll often order it. The gray area was brought to my mind by Bill's
    post. You don't always need to reinvent the wheel. Having some large
    sizes of stock wire/sheet/tube --or "blanks", if you will--puts you
    that much further ahead. You can then roll, draw, file or forge the
    dimension that you need. This definitely speeds things up. 

Andy
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