Heartbreak at Harbor Freight: bead roller

I hate it when the tool becomes the project.

Ok so when I took on my most recent project econoline I realized I would need to be able to roll beads sooner or later. tool budget is rather small and I rarely buy new tools. I did alot of reading on bead rollers and with full understanding that I would have to modify it to do the job, I plopped down some hard earned green at HF for their roller.

I removed it from the box and set it up in the vice, installed the 1/2 inch round bead dies and stuck a piece of 18ga steel between them and rolled it back and forth while increasing the pressure. it rolled a fair bead but I only moved it back and forth about 1/2 turn of the shafts. flex in the frame was obvious so I set it aside.

it sat on the floor of my shed while I hand hammered a few panels but then Irene struck and I was stuck surfing the web for 2 days... I studied all of the modded HF rollers I could find and determined the best way to reinforce it with what I had on hand.

so tonight after 2 days of measuring, cutting, welding and grinding, I had the frame ready to try a bead again. at first when I assembled the parts the shafts were very stiff. a bit of measuring and I found a heat warp in the frame. a few moments with "the persuader" and the frame was straight. I reassembled and inserted a piece of 18 ga to try a bead.

this time the shaft would turn about half way and get tight... I knew that was not the frame. cutting to the chase, now that i have modified the frame so it cannot be returned to the store, I find that the necked down portion of the shafts that the dies rides on is off center. .004 on the driven shaft, .020 on the drive shaft. Blast!!!

so now I am going to have to buy some stock and try to make new shafts...

 

Can be explained two ways:

one word: China

two words: harbor freight

Sorry its going bad for ya. Name brand stuff is high priced. Harbor freight has an allure but I've had similar issues many times. I guess its the chance you take. Good luck with your mods...and glad you made it thru Irene OK.

 

Take it back.

 

go to the main page to the tech articles section. search for harbor freight beadroller modified. there have been many on here modified that work very well. good luck.

 

Buy another, swap parts and return the junk one.

 

^^^Yup^^^

 

i modifyed mine and it works good
it did warp a little just a little shim wala

 

bought one a long time ago, mainly for the shear... turns out the shear didn't shear so I took it back. couple years later I bought a rolling table with a sheetmetal brake, a vintage roller, and a corner notcher. included with these was another HF roller.

I'll keep the second one and modify it so it works. they are only good if they were free with other tools you can actually use.

 

I got mine from eastwoods and still had to weld more metal to it so it would not warp with 18ga steel.

 

I like the way you think, only problem may be that they only had one on the shelf when I bought it

 

Thing is that nearly everything is "Made in China" I go to Home Depot and nearly all of the tools are "Made in China" and these are brand name tools. I go shopping for a new spatula or knife set for the kitchen and everything is labeled "Made in China". Rarely do I find something that says "Made in the U.S.A."
It's more like "Assembled in the U.S.A. with foreign parts". I remember a time when I only saw "Made in China" in Chinatown.

 

Fix the one you have. You buy another one and it'll be just as screwed up as the first, then you'll feel unbelievably stupid. Try to explain that to your wife.

 

Two options:
1. Go to a different HF store in your area.
2. Weld up the shafts on the one you have and turn them true on a lathe.

I'd go for option #1.

 

good but you left out option 3.

find some 1"od DOM tube, cut the shaft, turn a new end on it and weld a section of the tube in between the two pieces of shaft.

 

I took mine out of the box welded two c channels 2x4 box on the back welded a tail for the vise and has worked greaat for 10 years now.

 

Sounds like a bad case of "I welded on it so much at one time that I warped the shit out of it and now I want another one for free".

 

actually if you read what I wrote the shafts were turned non-concentric on the ends where the dies attach, that was done at the factory and has got nothing to do with welding

 

The one from Woodward Fab is a bit heavier. But it also needs to be beefed up.

 

I have had my HF for years, never a problem with it. Don't like the tension adjuster though, that will be modified some day

 

This is still here......Where's my spam killer.

 

Mittler Brothers bead roller is a good one if your gonna get serious.

 

When you knowingly buy crap, you can't complain that you bought crap. There is tons of info out there on these, do a little research before you buy.

 

I know the economy sucks, but what is your time worth? I spent $350 on a Pro Tools roller, an hour or two putting it together, and it works great. I don't think they still have the "Weld it yourself" model, but they still have one "ready to go" for $429. Baliegh has USA made stuff and is a HAMB alliance member as well.

 

YES!!!! I do this all the time with HF... they have already wasted your valuable time and gas money....so give them their junk back!!

 

I'd rather save my money and do without, I'd beg and borrow before I bought that HF crap.

 

Look up Harbor Freight in your Webster's dictionary.....you'll find it listed under CRAP.

 

well, I did alot of research before I bought and found not one complaint about the shafts on these things. every post or website I have read complained about the frame being too flexible to work correctly and after it was strengthened, it works fine. go ahead and google it.

I have no proplem with the frame now, it is strong and straight and will take the pressure needed to do the job. I mainly wanted to let people know that the shafts may be a problem if they buy one of these. I am going to fix the shafts and it will work.

the only reason i would have taken it back to the store would have been to obtain a set of straight shafts. I have now figured out a way to correct the ones I have and will continue with the mods.

 

I bought my bead roller from Northern Tools about 25-30 years ago and used it many years without problems. Most of the crap HF has is junk but if you need a one time use tool there ok.

 

Turned down and sleeved the shaft so the dies now turn true. finish is not the best but it will hold lube on the surface better this way

completed frame so it can now handle a 1/2" round bead in 18ga in a single pass without diflection

added post mount to fit snugly over 2X2 work post I intend to finish soon

still gotta fab a wheel for it and a tension adjuster

 

I like to see a picture of that modification, got one? Run it here.