DOOT: 178.—Rollers

A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921.

Sub-order 3.—Rollers

178.—Rollers

aluminium foil roller

an aluminium sheet roller q.v. who continues rolling process until sheet is very thin, i.e., foil.

aluminium sheet roller

a roller q.v. who superintends rolling of aluminium ingot into aluminium sheet between smooth steel rollers; adjusts distance between rollers during progress of operations by turning screw, by hand; sends sheet to be annealed after each rolling.

back catcher

a catcher q.v. who stands at delivery end of third, or finishing set of rolls; when steel emerges for last time, grips it with tongs and drags it aside to cooling bank, or, attaches grips of overhead travelling crane which moves it to cooling bank.

backer, backer-up

see catcher ; sometimes specifically designated, e.g. spindle backer.

back finisher (plate or sheet mill)

a catcher q.v. who seizes plate or sheet as it emerges from rolls, using tongs or "dogs," and heaves it over to front of rolls for further rolling,

back hook finisher

a hooker q.v. working at finishing rolls,

back roller

see catcher,

back rougher

a catcher q.v. on roughening, or second set of rolls,

back side hand, back side hooker-over, back tongsman

see hooker,

barrel roller (guns)

feeds forged blanks of thick steel rod to small rolling machine which reduces -rod to correct size ready for drilling of bore; handles rod by means of tongs; cf. barrel roller (266).

barrer, barrer-over ; passer

assists bar roller q.v. by lifting bars by means of tongs, as they emerge from rolls, from one set of grooves to the next smaller set, ready for return pass; or, guides ingots, as necessary, between rolls and shears,

bar roller

a finishing roller q.v. who superintends working of rolling mill in which bars, usually steel bars, are final product.

bayonet blade roller

a section roller q.v. who produces strip steel of suitable section for making into bayonets; receives steel strip, roughly rolled to shape, or steel in form of billets, from reheating furnace, and passes it between finishing rolls till correct section is obtained.

bearer-up

(ij assists catcher q.v. a rolls by helping with tongs or hook to move partly rolled product into position for return pass through rolls

(ii) bears up bars, etc., being rolled as they emerge from rolls, by gripping them with hooks or tongs to prevent them bending under their own weight.

behinder

see catcher.

behinder (tinplate) ; catcher (tinplate), mill behinder

stands at back of rolling mill in which bar steel is rolled into thin sheets for making tinplate or blackplate; grips sheet steel as it emerges from rolls by means of tongs swings it up over mill so that it falls on top roll which carries it back to roller (tinplate) q.v. who again passes it through rolls; continues rolling after doubling, shearing, etc., until sheet is eightfold, see doubler; when rolling is completed, places "unopened" sheets on trolley for transference to opener (279) q.v.

beveller

a finishing roller (steel) q.v. who rolls sections which have a bevelled edge.

black cold roller

feeds, by hand, sheets of black plate (thin steel sheet dipped in acid to clean impurities from off its surface after rolling) whilst cold, after it has been annealed, to rolls of rolling machine to remove any buckling or unevenness in plate.

bloomer, blooming mill roller

see cogger ; cf. bloomer (174).

bolter-down

(i) (Midlands), see breaker-down;

(ii) (Northern Counties), see roughing roller.

brass roller

as for roller (steel) except that quantities of metal handled are not so great and manual work involved is, therefore, not so arduous,

brass sheet roller

a brass roller q.v. engaged in a sheet rolling mill,

breaker (iron and steel rolling)

is chief assistant to breaker-down q.v.; manipulates screws to gauge passes in rolls, where this is not done mechanically; in sheet mills, these duties aro performed by roller q.v.

breaker-down ; bolter-down (Midlands)

(i) (plate mill) a cogger q.v. engaged in rolling steel ingots into plates;

(ii) (sheet mill) under roller; a roughing roller q.v. who rolls thick bars into plates ready for sheet roller q.v. to roll into sheets; sometimes also does work of matcher (279) q.v.

bull dogger (rolling mill) ; rod mill backer

a booker q.v. in a rod rolling mill.

case metal roller

rolls, by passing through heavy press lire rolls (as for roller (steel) ), sheet metal for use in making watch and clock cases,

catcher

backer, backer-up, back roller, behinder, heaver-over (sheet rolling mill), hooker-in, hooker-over, mill behinder, receiver; stands at front or back of rolls and arranges, under direction of roller (steel) q.v., backward pass of metal being rolled; work done depends on type of rolling mill (two high or three high) and whether of modern or older construction; (two high, modern mills) receives steel as it emerges from rolls on to rollers set on level with mill floor, pulls lever which causes steel pins to rise from under floor and push against side of steel till it is moved opposite next gap in rolls through which it has to pass; pulls another lever causing rollers on which steel rests to revolve, thus bringing steel up to rolls (at same time roller reverses rolls), and returning steel to front of null; (three-high, modern mills) receives steel on platform at back of rolls, as it comes through between middle and lower rolls, moves lever raising platform so that steel is on level of top of middle roll; moves another lever which causes rollers on floor of platform to revolve, thus driving steel forward to gap between middle and upper roll, through which it passes; (two-high mills, not modern) as for modern mill above, except that steel is pushed along on l dead rollers, i.e. , not mechanically driven, by catcher and assistants using tongs and special gripping irons for turning steel over opposite next gap in rolls; when rolls have been reversed by roller q.v. , pushes steel by hand back over "dead" rollers till it is gripped by rolls, and thus passes from back to front; (three-high mill, not modern) as for three-high mill, modern, except that moving of steel back towards rolls, for backward pass is done by hand over "dead" rollers using steel bars, tongs, and grips; (Note , chief difference between mechanical and manual handling of steel is that catcher and assistants are exposed to great heat in latter case, whereas, in former case, catcher is removed some distance from rolls and elevated on platform; sometimes one man or boy moves all levers controlling rollers and platforms both before and behind rolls, under direction of roller); (in plate mill ) arranges under direction of roller (plate mill) q.v. return pass of steel plate from back to front of mill; work as for catchers described above except that plate does not require to be moved through different gaps in rolls (plate mills are usually two-high and reversible in this country); sometimes specifically designated according to mill, e.g. sheet mill catcher, or according to position, e.g. front catcher.

catcher (rod rolling) ; turner-in

seizes end of rod, as it emerges from back of rolls, with tongs and turns it so that it passes back over roll as rolls revolve.

catcher (tinplate)

see behinder (tinplate).

catcher and sticker (wire) ; turner-in

catches rod from finishing train of hot roll mills and passes it into adjacent set of rolls, where rolls are continuous.

charger (tinplate)

see doubler (tinplate).

cogger ; bloomer, blooming mill roller, cogging roller

is in charge of first set of rolls in steel rolling mill in which steel ingots direct from soaking pit, see soaking pitman (171), are rolled to reduce them to plates or billets of more manageable proportions, i.e., to plates about 6 ins. thick or billets about 6 ins. square; is in charge of men and boys engaged on cogging rolls; either manipulates ingot himself or directs its mechanical manipulation by signals to man or boy, who, by moving levers, causes "live" rollers, on which ingot is laid, to revolve, thus moving ingot forward towards rolls; sets suitable rolls in rolling machine or supervises the setting; guides ingot in its passage on rollers by means of movable pins, also actuated by levers, so that it is forced between rolls; when steel has passed through all sections of one set of rolls, operates machinery which moves it and whole platform of rollers on which it rests along to another set with smaller gaps; passes steel plate or billet on rollers to reheating furnace.

cogger's helper

a catcher q.v. engaged at hack of cogging mill,

cogging roller

see cogger,

cold roller

a roller (steel) q.v. who passes steel plate or sheet, without previous heating, between heavy cylindrical rolls to smooth out any unevenness and polish surface, and also to render it tougher; in case of sheet metal for tin or black-plate, feeding is done by hand, but for larger sheets or plates, pushes them on "dead" rollers or by means of "live" rollers up to rolls through which they pass.

copper plate roller ; rollerman (copper plate mill)

a roller (plate mill) q.v. who rolls out copper ingots into plates, of -ft- inch thickness or more.

copper rod roller

a section roller q.v. who rolls copper ingots, or billets into rod form.

copper roller, copper rollerman

(i) as for roller (steel); work is somewhat lighter as copper is softer, i.e., more easy to roll;

(ii) as for cold roller,

copper sheet roller ; rollerman (copper sheet mill)

(i) as for sheet roller;

(ii) as for cold roller,

doubler (tinplate) ; charger (tinplate)

charges furnace with bars and draws first "heat" from furnace for passage to roiling mill; returns partially rolled sheets for re-heating; doubles sheet, gripping one end with tongs and holding other end firmly on floor with his foot, and trims ends of doubled sheet using doubler's shears; repeats operation till sheet is eight-fold, see roller (tinplate); sometimes also stokes and cleans fires; usually done by furnaceman (171) q.v.

edge tool roller

shapes blanks for edge tools, stamped out by hot or cold stamp, by passing them between eccentric rolls in a mill; feeds hot blanks to mill by hand with tongs,

electric roller machine minder

a rollerman q.v. who is engaged on rolling mill driven by electric power; moves electrical controls which animate rolls, "live" rollers, and rolling mill platforms; see roller (steel) for purpose of rolls, "live" rollers, and platforms,

finer (cutlery)

see roller (cutlery),

finisher (cold roils, tinplate)

as for black cold roller q.v. except that thin steel sheet to be rolled has been "white pickled" (in weaker acid) and tinned.

finisher (roller)

see finishing roller,

finishing backhooker, finishing catcher

a catcher q.v. who receives rolled metal at back of finishing, or final, set of rolls; works under direction of finishing roller q.v.

finishing front hooker

a catcher q.v. who feeds partly rolled metal to last or finishing set of rolls, under direction of finishing roller q.v.

finishing roller ; finisher (roller)

a roller (steel) q.v. who receives steel roughly shaped in roughing rolls (see roughing roller) and passes it through rolls which shape it to final desired shape, such as girders, angles, channels, rod, bar, hexagon bar, strip, etc.; work is same as that of roughing roller except that rolls are more accurate and greater exactness is required, it being necessary to measure plates, wire, and rod sometimes with a micrometer screw gauge; passes finished goods on to large cooling bank to cool before being moved to warehouse.

forge roller

see puddled bar roller.

former (tubes)

see roller (tubes),

front hooker

takes wrought iron in form of bars or blooms after it has been treated under forge hammer and has passed through first or breaking down rolls, and passes it into second set of rolls, using an iron hook to lift metal; only found in mills unprovided with mechanical feed gear; cf. hooker, back hooker,

guide roller

usually a roller (steel) q.v. who is employed on a small rolling mill in which guide rails are clamped in position on either side of live rollers to prevent jamming of metal being rolled and so that bars can be easily guided; may work in other metal.

guide rolling backer

a catcher q.v. employed on a guide mill; cf. guide roller.

hard roll worker

general term for any worker assisting in rolling billets or rods in a wire drawing mill,

head roller

term applied to roller in charge of a set of rolls and of men engaged thereon; controls work of front and back catcher, re-heater (171), shearer (279), hooker, and labourers (279) q.v. and is responsible that final product of mill is what is required; decides what rolls are to be used, and adjusts roll to thickness required; when rolls are no longer fit for use sends them to roll turner (169) q.v. to be repaired.

heaver-over

(i) (sheet rolling mill), see catcher;

(ii) (other rolling mills) pulls steel ingot, suspended by crane, with long hook, and slews it into desired position on rollers ready for cogging, see cogger; cf. heaver-over (279).

hooker, back hooker ; back side hand, back side hooker-over, back tongsman

stands at back of rolls and receives steel, or other metal, as it emerges from rolls; grips it with tongs or special hooks and guides it along over "live" rollers to next set of rolls, or to shears, see re-heater (171); cf. front hooker.

hooker-in, hooker-over

see catcher,

hooking bar trailer

a hooker q.v. who uses hooking bar to lever bar up to entrance of roll.

iron roller, iron bar roller

see merchant roller.

lead roller, lead sheet roller ; sheet lead millman, sheet lead roller

a cold roller q.v. who rolls lead ingots out into sheet lead, between smooth steel rollers.

merchant roller ; iron bar roller, iron roller, strip roller, strip steel roller

as for roller (steel) except that material used is wrought iron, and product is iron strip, lengths of which are known as merchant bars,

mill behinder

(i) see behinder (tinplate);

(ii) see catcher,

millman

general term for any man engaged on rolling mill, e.g. , roller, doubler, furnaceman (171) q.v.; sometimes also applied to their respective helpers, i.e., catcher, behinder, shearer (279), cogger, cogger's helper q.v.

muck roller

feeds by means of long-handled tongs bundles of wrought iron scrap which have been heated to welding temperature to heavy muck rolls, through which scrap passes and is welded under pressure into bars known as muck bars,

paragon frame roller (umbrella)

a roller (steel) q.v. who passes heated steel strip through rolls to obtain V-shaped strip for making into patent umbrella ribs,

passer

see barrer; often further designated according to allocation of duties, e.g. , first passer, second passer.

pen steel roller

a sheet roller q.v. who rolls steel bar into thin sheets from which pen nib blanks are stamped out in the cold,

plate gauger

measures thickness of plate, e.g. , steel, copper, etc., at intervals during rolling of plate, taking measurements at various places to ensure uniformity of thickness; also makes final exact test after rolling; gauging frequently done by roller (steel) q.v. and afterwards checked by checker (278) q.v.

plate rolling machine attendant

assists roller (plate mill) generally; moves levers operating rolls and live rollers or, may do work of catcher (plate mill) q.v.

puddled bar roller, puddle roller ; forge roller

as for roller (steel) except that he rolls puddled iron which has been roughly hammered into bar form by shingler (174) q.v.

rail maker, rail roller

a roller (steel) q.v. who rolls heated steel billets into rails for railways, tramways, etc.

receiver

see catcher ; sometimes specifically designated, e.g. sheet mill receiver.

rim maker, rim roller

see wheel rim roller.

rod mill backer

see hull dogger (rolling mill).

rod mill roller, rod roller ; wire rod maker, wire rod mill roller

a roller (steel) q.v. who rolls heated steel bars or billets into rods, from which wire may subsequently be drawn.

roller (cutlery) ; finer

as for roller (steel), rolling steel into rough shape of cutlery blade.

roller (plate mill), plate mill roller plate roller

a roller (steel) q.v. win is in charge of rolling mill in wind steel ingots or billets are rolled down between smooth rolls to form steel plate; in case of rolling thick armour plate, commences with steel ingot from soaking pit; continues rolling process until plate is of required thickness, i.e. slowly adjusts distant between rolls by screw worms until the required thickness is obtained during rolling operation may sent plate for shearing if required.

roller (steel) ; rollerman

is in charge of sets of rolls and of men who assist in operating them, e.g. behinder, bearer-up, breaker-down, catcher, doubler (tinplate), hooker, rougher-up, screwer, and including men engaged in heating up steel when it cools to such a temperature that further rolling cannot be done, see heater (171); nature of work varies according to plant installed, that in modern plant being almost wholly mechanically performed, whereas in older type plants there is considerable manual work involved in pushing bars, billets or blooms of steel about on rollers up to the rolls; further, rolls may he two-high, in which case they are reversible, by which means steel bar is returned from back to front of rolls; or three high, in which case steel passes through lower pair of rolls on to movable platform which roller's helpers raise mechanically so that steel passes back between top pair of rolls, and thus saves reversing rolls; superintends placing of rolls in rolling machine, to ensure that suitable rolls are used according to product required; receives heated steel in one form or another, e.g., ingot, billet, rod, bar, etc., from soaking pitman (171), or re-heater (171) q.v.; supervises helpers who, at his signals, move levers to actuate live rollers which move it to rolls; or instructs gang of men who push stool along floor of mill over "dead" rollers, i.e., not mechanically-driven, up to rolls; supervises, in particular, catchers q.v.; determines duration of rolling process; if rolls are in tandem, supervises helpers on intermediate rollers or platform; sometimes specifically designated, e.g., hot roller (to distinguish from cold roller q.v.), sheet mill roller, sheet roller, spindle.

roller, rollerman (tin plate)

is in charge of process of rolling out rough steel bars into steel plate, ready for tinning; sets rolls for first rolling; picks up steel bars with tongs from floor where they have been slid along by furnaceman (171) q.v.; places bar between rolls and repeats pass till thin enough, receiving plate over top of rolls each time from behinder or catcher q.v., and adjusting rolls by means of hand screw; returns plate to doubler q.v. who doubles plate and slides it along floor to furnaceman (171) q.v. to be reheated ready for continued rolling; doubling, reheating and rolling continues till plate is eight-fold; passes plate to shearer (279) and opener (279) q.v.; supervises work of catcher, doubler and furnaceman (171) q.v.

roller (tubes) ; former (tubes)

as for roller (steel), rolling iron and steel strip for tubes.

roller and bloomer

see cogger.

rollerman

(i) see roller's assistant;

(ii) see roller (steel),

rollerman (copper plate mill)

see copper plate roller,

rollerman (copper sheet mill)

see copper sheet roller.

roller's assistant, roller's helper, roller's second hand ; rollerman, under roller, underhand roller

general terms for all men assisting at rolls, guiding or pushing steel billets, bars, plate, sheet, etc., to rolls and from rolls to shearer (279) or reheater (171) q.v. or to next set of rolls, adjusting rolls under direction of head roller q.v. or controlling mechanism of modern mechanical mill; term includes backer, behinder, catcher, roller gear boy (279) q.v.

rougher

see roughing roller.

rougher-down

a roughing roller q.v. in a rolling mill in which raw material used is steel billets, i.e. mill has no cogging rolls, but obtains billets from other mills.

rougher-up

guides bar by means of skids or pins into roll and signals to screwer, who operates worm gear to adjust roll to varying thicknesses of bar.

roughing hooker

a hooker q.v. who works at roughing rolls, at which bars or billets are roughly rolled to shape according to final product required,

roughing roller, roughing mill roller ; bolter-down (Northern Counties), rougher

a roller (steel) q.v. who receives heated lengths of billets (steel bar about 6 inches square) and rolls them roughly into shape in which they are finally required, after which the roughly shaped product is re-heated ready for finishing roller q.v.; billets are received from re-heating furnace to which they are sent from cogging rolls, thus roughing rolls are intermediate between cogging rolls and finishing rolls,

runner-through, guide rolling runner-through

(i) puts foremost end of metal being rolled into guide box of rolls by means of tongs, and closes box as soon as section is nipped in rolls;

(ii) (wire rolling) a catcher q.v. who seizes end of rod as it emerges from rolls, which are three-high, and turns end into next pass hole above where it passes between rolls revolving in opposite direction,

screwer, screwer-down

screws down rolls of rolling, mill to obtain required space between rolls, according to a gauge set by rollerman q.v.; may be done by turning a wheel by hand (usual for small rolls) or by operating levers or wheel controlling hydraulic or electric mechanism, see screw gear driver; sometimes specifically designated. e.g., first screwer (at first set of breaking down rolls), second screwer.

screw gear driver

a screwer q.v. who adjusts distance between rolls by operating levers or wheel controlling hydraulic or electric mechanism,

section roller

general term applied to any finishing roller q.v. who produces finished rolled steel in any form except plate or sheet, i.e., in form of bar, rod, strip, girder, channel, angle, etc.

sheet lead millman, sheet lead roller

see lead roller,

ship plate maker

a roller (plate mill) q.v. who is rolling steel bars or ingots into plates for ships,

side roller (tyre mills)

a roller's helper q.v. who assists in rolling tyres of steel wheels.

spare hand (rolling mill)

does odd work in. rolling mill, e.g. loading, piling, and takes place of any roller's helper q.v. absent from mill through accident, sickness, etc.

strip roller, strip steel roller

see merchant roller.

subordinate roller

takes roller's duty during night shifts, where roller (steel) q.v. works on contract,

sword blade roller

a finishing roller q.v. who rolls out from special bar steel, strips of steel from which sword blades are stamped or forged,

tapered strip roller

see wedge roller,

tea lead roller, tea lead worker

as for lead roller.

tin foil beater, tin foil roller

as for lead roller ; tin foil is usually an alloy of tin and lead.

turner-in (rod rolling)

see catcher (rod rolling); cf. turner-over (279).

turner-in (wire)

see catcher and sticker (wire).

tyre roller ; wheel roller

a roller (steel) q.v. who operates special rolling mill which rolls steel tyres of railway, etc., wheels; grips heated circular forged blank of tyre with tongs and places it on end of one roll, and after setting rolls in motion screws up other roll so that it approaches first roll thus rolling tyre,

underhand roller

see roller's assistant.

under roller

(i) general term applied to roller who does less important rolling; may work on night shift;

(ii) (sheet mill) see breaker-down;

(iii) see roller's assistant.

wedge roller ; tapered strip roller

a section roller q.v. who rolls wedge-shaped sections of iron and steel packing used by shipbuilders,

wheel rim roller ; rim maker, rim roller

a sheet roller q.v. who rolls steel bar into strip of cross-section of wheel rim.

wheel roller

see tyre roller.

wire rod maker, wire rod mill roller

see rod mill roller.

zinc roller

as for roller (steel), except that work is not so heavy and final product not so varied; product is usually zinc rods or sheet.

From: A Dictionary of Occupational Terms Based on the Classification of Occupations used in the Census of Population, 1921,
Ministry of Labour, 1927. Digitised by Peter Christian, August, 2016. This text is in the Public Domain.

ORDER VII.—METAL WORKERS (NOT ELECTRO PLATE OR PRECIOUS METALS)

Sub-order 3.—Rollers

178.—Rollers