Bead roller dies

[BrokenBiker]

Got a bead roller for Xmas, vevor brand but identical to moat other manual rollers. I may power it with a wiper motor at some point but not worried about it being manual to be honest

It has 3 different sized round bead dies, and 3 different sizes of stepped dies for an overlapping edge.

What other dies are worth buying/making as 'standard'?

Only thing I can think of initially is a tipping die and flat bottom die for putting a lip on an edge

 

[Taylormade100]

Louver die maybe.

 

[Fazerruss]

You need a lathe then I recommend watching Lazze and Ron Covelle on YouTube. You will never have enough dies!
I have made quite a few now and swap combinations to achieve different results.

Wire edge dies are useful

 

[Fazerruss]

I take photos of the screen so I can replicate them.

 

[BrokenBiker]

You need a lathe then I recommend watching Lazze and Ron Covelle on YouTube. You will never have enough dies!
I have made quite a few now and swap combinations to achieve different results.

Wire edge dies are useful

Got a lathe.

Don't know what it is about ron covelle I just can't get into his videos.

I don't plan on doing much major panel work to be honest, small motorbike bits, infill panels and some trays/drawer skins etc but always nice to have an assortment of tooling

I have seen a 3 step hem set that I would have a use for so will make a set of those definitely, doing it with a hammer in the vice at the moment when I need to

 

[BrokenBiker]

Louver die maybe.

Good shout, thanks

 

[RichardM]

I thought you meant it had stopped working.
Just think what you want to roll and design the formers for it.

 

[oldbikedavey]

Using polyurethane skateboard rollers one one side is a nifty dodge....
Works well on my CMZ 5 .....

 

[BrokenBiker]

Using polyurethane skateboard rollers one one side is a nifty dodge....
Works well on my CMZ 5 .....

I assume as the bottom die? Does that stop any marking on the bottom?

 

[oldbikedavey]

I assume as the bottom die? Does that stop any marking on the bottom?

It's an exercise in squidgery....
The things are cheap enough, and worth the trying.

 

[BrokenBiker]

It's an exercise in squidgery....
The things are cheap enough, and worth the trying.

I shall order some skateboard wheels.

The only 'fancy' panel work I want to do at the moment is some pillow pleats on an infill panel for my father's chopper, I've seen how to do it and what dies they used so will make 1 for that and try a PU bottom die when practicing

 

[BrokenBiker]

Right, set of 4 skateboard wheels ordered and 10x 150x150x1mm mild steel off cuts for 20 quid...added bonus the skateboard wheels come with bearings that I can use for my next ring roller project

 

[droopsnoot]

Get some washers of the correct size to fit the shaft, so you can alter the "width" of the step easily by spacing out one of the rollers against the other.

I bought one of the tipping die sets from eBay, I've recently been using it to good effect. One piece I make has a fold which goes along a curve, and it's neater than just pulling the edge up with pliers bit by bit.

 

[BrokenBiker]

Get some washers of the correct size to fit the shaft, so you can alter the "width" of the step easily by spacing out one of the rollers against the other.

I bought one of the tipping die sets from eBay, I've recently been using it to good effect. One piece I make has a fold which goes along a curve, and it's neater than just pulling the edge up with pliers bit by bit.

mine has got some locking collars on it that i assumed were to alter the spacing.

a fold along a curve is the exact reason i wanted on, for a cafe racer seat cowl that will need a lip around the inner edge

 

[mike 109444]

Replace the crank handle with a wheel (old stearing wheel or similar will make for even feeding (if you are not yet going powered feed).

 

[Matchless]

Got a bead roller for Xmas, vevor brand but identical to moat other manual rollers. I may power it with a wiper motor at some point but not worried about it being manual to be honest

It has 3 different sized round bead dies, and 3 different sizes of stepped dies for an overlapping edge.

What other dies are worth buying/making as 'standard'?

Only thing I can think of initially is a tipping die and flat bottom die for putting a lip on an edge

If it is manual you only have one hand to hold and guide the work through the rollers, I motorised mine with a wheelchair motor, 24v but I run it on 12v, works just fine.

 

[oldbikedavey]

If it is manual you only have one hand to hold and guide the work through the rollers, I motorised mine with a wheelchair motor, 24v but I run it on 12v, works just fine.

Sounds like a plan.....

 

[droopsnoot]

mine has got some locking collars on it that i assumed were to alter the spacing.

Mine has too, but I hadn't thought of them that way, maybe I could have done that. I only touch those when they come undone.

Oh, another thing to do is a backstop to help you do straight lines. I've got by without one for ages, but then needed to do a visible straight line so knocked this up.

It's a bit clunky and knocked up out of some offcuts from a scrap pile, and it really wants a better way of holding itself in place, but it did the job. The bar stops it getting very close to the rollers, unfortunately, so on the item I needed it for I ended up with quite a lot of waste. Mine had knurled ends on the depth adjuster but I swapped that for one with a T across it in the top of the photo as it was quite difficult to screw down the knurled one.

I'd love to motorise mine, or even fit the bigger wheel as @mike 109444 suggests, but I don't have the space - at the moment, it sits in the vice, and when it isn't being used it goes back under the bench.

 

[BrokenBiker]

I have some old 18 inch wheels that are buckled and/or have cracks so plan on using 1 as a base, filled with concrete and a length of box section stood in it, then either a bolt on flange or a slip on collar so I can swap between the bead roller, the shrinker stretcher or the blacksmiths vice as space is getting tight and means I can move it to wherever I'm working quite easily, though for the first few uses it will probably either be clamped in the bench vice or bolted to the welding bench