Building a rolling mill, step by step. WIP

Thanks Del! I think your original design is great but I understand that it does have some limits. Once you finish your new one could you PM/post a few pictures? I'm very interested in seeing this new one.
 
I would very much appreciate it also. It would be great to compare the plans I have for a McDonald rolling mill. I want to buld / buy a rolling mill this year, so any information would be great.

Dan Kaschner - Eagan, MN
 
For anyone who is interested these are the pictures of del's rolling mill that I'm basing mine on. Thanks again Del!

rolling_mill1.jpg

rolling_mill2.jpg
 
I will be able to help boring the holes to size as well. You would not have been able to drill them to size, more accuracy is required. I have always bored holes for bushings for a .001 press fit
 
Hi Dan.
I just saw this today. I'm not going to get into forging but this is sure interesting ! Frank
 
Hi Frank,

Thanks, its a rather fun project. Once I have this running I should be able to roll steel to +/- .005. Even without the surface grinder running it will still be a great improvement.

I still need to do the math for the pulley ratios but that shouldn't take long.

Mark, thanks! I really appreciate the help. The local machine shop would have cost and arm and a leg to have them mill it.
 
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Dan Seaver said:
Hi Frank,

Thanks, its a rather fun project. Once I have this running I should be able to roll steel to +/- .005. Even without the surface grinder running it will still be a great improvement.

I still need to do the math for the pulley ratios but that shouldn't take long.

Mark, thanks! I really appreciate the help. The local machine shop would have cost and arm and a leg to have them mill it.
Click to expand...


Dan, when doing your calculations for the roller surface speed, keep it under one inch per second for the feed speed. Otherwise you are asking for trouble.
Del
 
Del, I had read 22 revolutions per minute for a McDonald rolling mill but I'll cut that down to 8 or 9 since that will give me a bit under 1" per second. Thanks!
 
Just as a side note:
I had a couple large rolling mills that I acquired from a very old ( pre-1900) jewelry shop. Both had been converted to electric motors and chain drive from the original hand cranks. One was a sheet mill (smooth rollers) ,and had been welded to a large steel table. The whole thing weighed maybe 500-600. I gave it to a friend who uses it to roll out his mokume' gane. It sure beats the heck out of hand hammering the stuff.

Stacy
 
Finished up the top roller yesterday. Its not perfectly clean but 90% of the shaft ends are polished to 600 grit and the other 10% is lower so at 9 RPM it should last for just about forever.

toproller001.jpg

toproller002.jpg

I left an arc rather than doing a 90 degree angle since this will increase the strength.

Its supposed to be in the 20's this week so I should be able to finish up the lower roller.
 
If you can figure out a way to mount a dremel in the toolpost holder of your lath, you can use it as a toolpost grinder and get a perfect ground finish on that roller.
 
I could but there's no need, cut marks .001 deep won't make a difference. Having the grinding tool wear down .004 over the length of the roller will. I used a file to remove any burrs from cutting but going farther than that on the roller isn't necessary since its for hot steel which will have some scale on it.
 
Looks like you are on your way! :thumbup: :)

Surface finish has a lot to do with feeds and speeds. Looking at that pic of the part still on the lathe, and the tiny chips around it. I'd hazard a guess you're taking too small of a cut. If you don't cut enough to create a decent chip, then the cutting element just rubs the part.

Your cutter may need to be sharpened too.

If you get all those elements working together, then your last cut will leave you with a very fine, smooth finish.

Keep up the good work Dan :) :cool:
 
Thanks Nick! Should I be getting chips or curls? For most of it I get curls but at the very end when I need to take off around .02 I get chips since I take small passes. Also when the cutter is sharp I get curls up to 4 feet long, should I go for shorter fatter curls?

I sharpen the cutter two or three times per each side of the roller. I imagine that the cutter is the original and isn't carbide. The layer of rust matched the other unpainted parts and the last patent date on the lathe is 1889.
 
I'm a toolmaker and from my point of view it will probably be easiest for you to get a good finish sanding the shafts with emery cloth. I would suggest 1" width 100, or so grit. I prefer the Norton brand. Tear off a long piece and use it to polish the shaft while it is spinning at a fairly high rate of speed in your lathe. Be careful though, do not let the abrasive paper be pulled out of your hand as it is strong and could wrap your fingers and body with it around the shaft you are trying to polish smoother. NickWheeler is right though, it all has to do with speeds, feeds, and depth of final cut, but just as important are carbide cutting tools. Get yourself some and you will be happier with the results obtained, and the time you'll save by being able to be more aggressive in your work.
 
OKC, thanks for the tips!

As for the rolling mill. I made a new cutter out of O1 and put a serpentine belt on the lathe. Its cutting much faster now. I have the bottom roller half turned and hope to finish it by tuesday.

I hit a snag involving the propane company and money, long story. :thumbdn:

The good news is I made two sales this week which will cover the rest of the rolling mill. I'm planning on ordering the metal tomorrow. :thumbup:
 
Well I have the bottom roller 75% turned, I will be finishing it over the next few days. I adjusted the height of my cutter and am using the other cutting end now, it cuts extremely smooth and very fast.

bottomroller001.jpg

bottomroller002.jpg


Money has been tight but I sorted everything out and transferred the money today for the steel and bronze. The sprockets and sprocket bearings will be another $75. So all together it looks like I will be paying about $250 for the rolling mil. :thumbup:

Del's roller runs at 6.28" of feed rate per second if anyone was wondering.
Actually Mike I was off by a bit.
It is 1425 rpm motor with a 2 1/2" sheave to a 9" sprocket on a jackshaft with a 1 1/2" chain sprocket to a 10" sprocket attatched to the bottom roller.
That puts our rpm count at 59.375
That gives a complete revolution just about every second, and at 6.28 inches in circumference that gives us about 6 inch feed rate per second.
I recommend 1 inch per second feed rate because this is a bit fast.
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I still have to ask Del, but if his main issue is catching the steel on the other side and not roller slippage I will be running mine at about 6" per second. I'm building mine with 1/16" steel slopes to move the metal back to me so I won't have to catch it; just simply pick it up once its back in front of me.
 
I finished turning the rollers yesterday, I'll update this more once I have the steel and bronze. I'm planning on drilling/tapping and bolting this together after tack welding for all the parts except 1 which I will need to be arc welded rather than bolted.
bothrollers.jpg
 
Very cool Dan! Looking foward to seeing this come together.:thumbup:
Mace
 
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