I was curious to see if any of you guys have made a bead roller? They seem to be easy enough to make except for the actual bead roller dollys. Which I imagine you could order those. Anyways, I think I am going to tackle that project. Input would be appreciated. I'll try to remember to take pics so I can post it when I'm finished.
Just do like many others on here and catch the Harbor Freight Bead roller on sale for $89.99 and buy one. They come with all kinds of dies and it really works pretty well for the money. Thats my .02 Go ahead and build one if you want, I'm not one to stand in the way of do-it-yourself creativity..... but sometimes I find it just makes more sense to buy. In this case, I doubt you could build one WITH dies for under $89.99.
I think just one set of dies from eastwood is like $80. Not to hyjack the post but does anyone who has a harbor freight one have problems with it going off center, pics of possible reinforcement.
I'm wondering if that yellow bead roller has side plates of aluminum? Aluminum or steel, looks like a good design to copy. Although any of them pictured look like they're strong enough to keep the dies running true. Anyone have pics of the roller used to roll out the belt-line beads in the early Ford hoods? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rustridden 31, got a larger pic of your coupe you could post? The one in the avatar looks like it may have been taken at the transmission shop on Tipton St. Bein an ex Visalia guy - recently - I was curious about the location of the pic.
I made one out of 3/4 inch plate cut it out on a band saw,what a *****, anyway I made it about 3ft deep so I could roll bigger panels for tube ch***is race car tin work.I also made the dies on a lathe. works great. pat
Check out this site. About 1/2 way down the page, There are images of the Harbor Freight unit. Some of these images show how to reinforce the unit and one image shows a roller that was made using components of the Harbor Freight unit. All of the applicable photos are labeled "Harbor Freight". http://allshops.org/cgi-bin/community/communityalbums.cgi?action=openalbum&albumid=9980104562330&ownerid=9990102756165
C9, we have made many of our own dies at the shop. I have the beltline die you speak of, lemme see if I can snap a pic when I get to the shop. A good pal made his roller and utilized an old set of gears from his MIG welder, works great.
I use the HF unit and reinforced it and put a big wheel on it (similar to the pictures, use it once and you quickly see the need and get your own idea how to do it) and made a stand using an old axle tube and plow disc (the stand is actually alittle too short for comfortable work) Here is a question, what do you guys do when setting the tension on the wheels (cranking 'em down) to get the same depth on multiple beads? We just made a little floor pan and the beads were all alittle different depth?? Also, I apparently cranked down too hard a broke the tab off the frame that the adjusting bolt goes through (weak weld) I would recommend gusseting this area on the HF machines...
[ QUOTE ] what do you guys do when setting the tension on the wheels (cranking 'em down) to get the same depth on multiple beads? [/ QUOTE ] This is hardly accurate, but what I do is to spin the adjuster down to where you just barely start to feel that the die is putting more pressure on the work piece than the weight of the die itself. From there (on your first bead), count how many turns you make on the adjuster. (This was usually 2.5 or 3 rounds for me; ymmv.) This will make it consistent enough that you will have a VERY tough time telling if one bead is deeper than another. (This ***umes you are using the same gauge and grade of sheet metal... and from the same vendor.) A tip to help this is to put a t-handle on the adjuster (if your model don't already got one).
Great responses! Thanks fellas. Yeah, the HF hear Visalia has them for $199. I remember someone posting a HF advertisemnt for a bead roller/metal break a while back and I asked a "kid" that worked at HF and he didn;t even know what I was talking about when I said bead roller. Anyway I will probably keep my eyes open for a HF model and modify it. C9- That pic in the avatar was taken in Ventura at a buddies shop on the avenue. The pic below is at Primer Nats this past Oct. In this pic it is channeled unlike the avatar pic. I need to find a shorter radiator so I can move it back on top of the front crossmember.
HF sells 2 different models. One is the real low end Cheapo model,similar to Eastwood's. A real Flexi-Flier. The other is a few bucks more,but it is a knockoff of a Pexto.MUCH better machine. I started one,with an adjustable electric drive,tubular frame;but the project is stalled. I think the gears were $50,and $20 for the shafts. There might be more in the Bead Roller Forum on www.allshops.org , or check out our Yahoo group:< http://groups.yahoo.com/group/metalshapers/ >
I used a modified harbor freight one for years, I hated It, the rolls ****, and the beads are not really nice, I just bought the mittler brothers 24" powered roller and I absolutely love it, It was a lot of money, but worth every penny...... LUKESTER
I built one about 20 years ago when I was doin' race car fab...My buddy cut the gears for me and made the dies at his workplace..Sold it. Now I've got a Harbor Freight...not a very accurate unit..needs some reinforcing..I have a tuff time making the beads nice and consistent.
<font color="maroon"> I bought the HF model, reinforced it and put a wheel on it. I like it now that I'm finished with it. I am all about making something for yourself as well, <font color="black"> BUT </font> I found it would have been cheaper to buy the better one at first. With all my time invested, as time is money, I could have afforded the high dollar one. If you have all the stuff laying around to reinforce it and able put it together within a few hours, go for it. If not, invest in the quality version. I think all of us are on the low buck budget, which is why I bought the HF one. </font> Reverend Jake
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