Steve -hinote wrote:Steve--you're getting top quality on your cones, IMHO.steve wrote:The short answer is that no kind of rig does that- it is almost entirely done by hand with a hammer and anvil. To start with I use a slip roll to begin to curl the metal but after that there is no machine to help me. I will squash part of it with the vice grip, then then hammer it smooth on the anvil and repeat this many times. I gradually work the two edges together untill they are close enough for me to tack weld.
Yes, they are beautifully done - the check is now in the mail for mine!
However, I'm having second thoughts on my offer to have you do the rolling and tack welding of these in job lots. I had no idea that so much of the process was manual craft of that kind. I'm afraid that a fellow of your obviously creative bent might get pretty sick of hand-smithing cones over and over again, even if there's some money to be made.
Of course, we could agree to let you do them in small batches until you're just sick and tired of messing with it, after which I'd need to go elsewhere. It isn't like I'd sue you or anything ;-) As an apprentice jeweler, I once had to make up 30 or so Masonic rings from gold slab to finished pieces, a job that took about a week, and I'll tell you, the amusement value of such labor wears off fairly quickly - and that involved a large number of new skills to learn, too.
Please comment when you can. I eagerly await my parts shipment!
L Cottrill