Broken Tools = Set Backs. . .

One of those things you hear about and hope that will never happen to you. I had a tragedy happen to me the other day. I some how managed to have one of my favorite tools break on me. And I always felt that I couldn't break this tool if I was trying to... 

The rolling mill how it should look... 

I was working on a commission piece that I hope to share soon, when all of a sudden I heard a big CRACK! and my rolling mill came apart into two parts!

The rolling mill and how the handle/"reduction gear  box" broke off. 

Needless to say, I was shocked, surprised, frustrated and sad (quite the roller coaster of emotions). Mostly shocked and surprised. . . I felt like I could cry but, after all it is just a little "spilt milk".

Rolling mill (on left), reduction gear box (on right). In this picture you can see how the roller looks like it sheared off like a twisted wire! 

As you can see from the picture above it looks as though the connecting rod (which is part of the bottom roller) appears to have sheared off like a twisted wire. Never, ever expected anything like this to happen. I have heard plenty of stories of rolling mills breaking before, but never in this way.

Bottom roller (left) and gear assembly (right). 

After disassembling the entire rolling mill I was able to remove the broken part (the bottom roller). Unfortunately the roller broke off inside of the reduction gear box assembly and I have not been able to remove the broken part of the roller from the gear assembly. If anybody out there has any suggestions for how I could get these pieces apart, I would love to get some input.  

Broken bottom roller (on left) and the piece that broke off of the roller stuck in the gear assembly (on right).  

I have already contacted the manufacturer of the rolling mill and will hopefully have the needed parts to repair the mill soon... (Not soon enough though...) In the mean while I am actually quite excited, this set back will force me to be more creative and figure out new ways to fabricate pieces without using sheet metal. I am trying to make this tragedy into a fun challenge for myself. Hopefully it will all work out for the best and I will be sure to make a few posts about how this situation works out.

Be back soon with more.

Until next time.

Peace and Love