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Instructions for Using and Maintaining DURSTON Rolling Mills  Page 7 of 7

ROLLING MILL PRINTING (cont.)

TO ETCH STEEL:
Use one part nitric acid to 3 parts water or 2 parts hydrochloric acid (muriatic) to 1 part water. ALWAYS ADD ACID TO WATER NEVER THE OPPOSITE! If you are not familiar with acids and their dangers, do not try this! Read about etching in a printmaking book for more details before you proceed. Use resists that a printmaker would use (asphaltum etc.). Use in well ventilated area and wear rubber gloves and eye protection. Do not inhale fumes.

Flow Diagram

NON ACID ETCHING OF COPPER, BRONZE AND BRASS:
Ferric chloride is a salt which gives a clean etch to copper-based alloys. Follow directions on the bottle. Wear rubber or latex gloves. Tapes such as electrical tape or brown packing tape can be used as resists. The real bonus of this material is that permanent markers used for writing on plastic will resist the etching action which allows you to draw or write (remember to reverse the letters for imprinting) directly on the metal .The ink can be removed with methyl hydrate (alcohol - use a fume hood and rubber gloves). The piece to be etched must be suspended upside down (design facing down) below the surface of the ferric chloride. Agitate occasionally for better action. Check the depth of the bite frequently. Clean the metal very well with dish detergent and water. Then clean with toothbrush or brass brush and baking soda to ensure the etching action is neutralised (important!!!). The finished piece can be used to imprint - the etched away sections will emboss.

Figure 16

INCREASE EMBOSSING EFFECT: When roller printing a thin gauge of metal, you can enhance the embossing by padding the back of the metal with layers of paper and rolling with more compression.


OTHER USES OF THE ROLLING MILL

SOLDER INLAY: Designs can be impressed into a sheet of metal and the recesses filled with solder.

FOLD FORMING: Linear patterns can be produced on metal by folding and unfolding the metal. Because metal has a memory due to work-hardening, the fold remains as a raised line on the service. Fold metal and pass through the rolling mill to compress the fold. Anneal, unfold the metal and pass through to compress and flatten the top of the fold line. Metal can be folded and unfolded many times, creating parallel or intersecting lines.

TWISTED WIRE LAMINATION: Twisted and braided wires of different metals, soldered together, can be rolled to create square decorative wires.

MONKUME GANE: A Japanese technique (means "woodgrain") of soldering thin sheets of different coloured metal together, rolling them through a rolling mill and relaminating those layers together again. The resulting sheet is then distorted and the layers revealed by grinding the surface down.
Figure 17

Figure 18

 

MAKING FLAT OVALS: If you pass a circular piece of metal or circular jump ring (wire) through the mill under pressure it will be stretched to an oval shape.

OTHER DISTORTIONS: Metal shapes can be purposefully distorted using the rolling mill. Drilled holes can become perfect ovals (similar but opposite to making an oval from a circle); edges are softened and straight edges become organic curves. Rolling wire in a paper sandwich gives slightly raised edges to the wire which now has a soft paper texture and is broadened.
ROLLING A TAPER: Wire can be forged into a graceful tapered end which can be used in many ways (spirals or tendrils etc). The rolling mill provides a shortcut version. Anneal the wire to be tapered. Begin rolling at the first groove and roll as far up the wire as you wish the taper to extend. Move to the next groove along and roll part way up the wire, leaving part of the first rolled section unchanged. Continue rolling until the wire tapers in a series of 'steps'. Once you have rolled the taper continue refining the taper with a hammer on an anvil. Smooth the ridges between the steps with the hammer, turning the wire as you work to round out the squared off edges. If you wish squared taper, do not turn the wire. Once the ridges are smoothed out, file, sand and polish the tapered wire. If you wish to shape the taper, anneal and pickle before sanding and polishing.
Diagram 4

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