Bead Roller

[Camaro Zach]

Well since im too cheap to dish out $300+ for a "good" bead roller i bought a cheap Harbor Frieght one knowing it would flex, but i just wanted to rob the axles/dies from the kit. So i bought one off ebay for $100 and spent $30 for some 1 1/2"x1 1/2"x1/4" square tubing and here is what i came up with. Still needs a bit more welding and another brace by the gears but hopefully it'l work well.

[Ralph LoGrasso]

Very cool, Zach. Now get on that rear firewall.

[parsonsj]

Zach,

Nicely done. Be aware, however, that that device will flex by allowing the rollers to "slide" or "rotate" away from each other by twisting the main tube. You might want to consider bracing the two runners that run parallel to the crankshafts to each other. You'll give up some throat ... so you'll want to do some experiments to see what you can live with.

jp

[Camaro Zach]

Yep, already have the pieces cut just didnt get a chance to weld them in. Thanks

[Camaro Zach]

got the braces welded in and the rollers lined up well and ran a 1/2" bead. Not sure if the bead looks as if it should but im sure someone here can give me a pointer
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3

[Camaro Zach]

got pissed off yesterday cause i broke the drill so i didnt finish it up instead i went out and didnt get home till 6:30 this morning so today was shot, not enough time to get anything done on the car BUT i redid the upper slider with a piece of 1/2" plate (sorry no pics) and built a stand for it. Does anyone on here have a bead roller? i need some closeup pics of the dies because mine need to be modified a bit.
Pic 1 Pic 2

[Matt@RFR]

I have access to the same bead roller you started with. I'll just send you a 3D model of one of the dies if that will help. Let me know.

[parsonsj]

Zach,

I have the same bead roller you started with too. I use it all the time. What pics ya need?

jp

[Camaro Zach]

well i was hoping to find someone with a different roller and dies. Mine just don't seem to fit together well. the tolerances dont seem right and i think the sides of the concave die should be a bit more rounded because it seems to roll a sharp edge right on the outsides of the rolls.
Sorry hard to explain ill get a picture of what im talking about in a little while

[Jim Nilsen]

It sounds to me that you have the tension set too tight. If you back off of the tension screw you won't get as tight of a bead. if you aren't scoring the edge and starting to cut the sheet then I wouldn't worry as much. You seem to be getting a nice crisp bead to me from the pic but if the tension is too tight and the rollers aren't centered you will shear the sheet, I did this on my practice piece of aluminum once and found out I had to back it off and shim the rollers from going off center and cutting the edge.

The biggest problem I have with mine is the side deflection and not the open closed deflection. I have a Chicago Tools which is basically the same as the harbor freight model. I was thinking of making 2 triangular plates and mounting them on the sides of the top and bottom of the opening and tying them together at the back.

From your pic it looks good to me. Try bending the practice piece and see how many flexes it takes to break it apart. If it takes a bunch I wouldn't worry about it being crisp as much as being thankful you can make it that way. If you are still worried you can always sand the edge on the die and it should solve the problem.

Jim Nilsen

[Camaro Zach]

I guess its just me, i was thinking that those crisp lines on either sides of the beads would be subtle curves

[Matt@RFR]

Make a quickie mandrel that will chuck up in your drill press. (No drill press? Use a hand drill with a locking trigger clamped in your vice) Bolt each die in the mandrel and hit the sharp edge with a file.

Much easier/accurate in a lathe though.