Interchangeables roulettes

Roulettes make it easy to work on small or large surfaces to create black, grey, hatched, or textured areas—without aquatint. They are mainly used in direct engraving (without varnish), although they can also be used on varnished plates.
Dozens of burrs are available, and the roulettes are interchangeable: you only need one handle to access a wide range of possibilities.

I offer 3 types of handles, each with basic sets available on the same page as the handle:

• A dedicated intaglio handle, short (about 8 cm), allowing use in any position and compatible with all standard-size burrs. The bearings are optimized for smooth rolling, even with very small burrs (down to 1 mm in diameter).
• A hybrid intaglio–relief handle, longer (about 12 cm), with reinforced bearings suitable for relief engraving. For intaglio, these handles are slightly less maneuverable due to their length, and the bearings roll a bit less freely—only noticeable with the smallest 1 mm ball burrs.
• The maxi roulette handle, much longer (about 20 cm), compatible with specific burrs only available on the same page as the maxi handle.

If you're already using roulettes and wish to choose your own burrs, they are divided into 5 categories, all usable with both the dedicated intaglio and hybrid handles. One handle can support dozens of burrs, but note there are 3 different shaft types.
In addition to these 5 categories, there are maxi spiked burrs (larger versions of category 3), which can only be used with the maxi handle.

The 5 burr categories:

• Burrs for shading and dark tones (diamond-grit burrs). Available in various shapes and sizes, from 1 mm to 6 mm in diameter.
  To create large, uniform surfaces, a smaller roulette is best. Larger roulettes are better for textured or irregular effects.
  6 grain options are available. For deep black, medium grain is best. Coarse grain gives a more textured look.
• Burrs for hatched textures (tungsten carbide), with lines spaced at varying distances. Available in different hatch styles (simple, cross-hatched...) and sizes (1 mm to 6 mm). The 1 mm cross-hatch version is especially useful for creating deep, dense textures.
• Large spiked carbide burrs, in 3 grains and 3 shapes: 8 mm ball, 12 mm ball, and 10 mm egg. Ideal for creating highly textured effects.
• Dot-line burrs, similar to mini rockers: each pass creates rows of tiny dots, similar to rocker textures from 27 to 200 dots per inch.
• “Sun” burrs, made of steel, brass or nylon wire, used for adding textures to varnished plates. (All other burrs work on both varnished and unvarnished plates.)

Maxi spiked burrs, for even more pronounced textures, are only compatible with maxi roulette handles, and are only available on maxi handle page.