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The Official Roll Bending Thread

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by BAILEIGH INC, Mar 17, 2009.

  1. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    Hey guys,

    I have started several tube bending, exhaust bending, chassis and frame bending threads here on the HAMB that have been quite popular. I enjoy answering these types of questions and have learned quite a bit from the HAMB crowd as well. There is a ton of talent on this board!

    There seems to be quite a bit of interest in roll bending here.

    I am pretty educated in the art of roll bending, so I will start this roll bending thread. If you have any questions about roll bending, roll benders, square tooling, tube and pipe tooling, how to repeat a radius, how tight you can roll a certain material on what type of machine, how large of a shaft would be required to bend a material to any radius.....just ask away.
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2009
  2. hugh m
    Joined: Jul 18, 2007
    Posts: 2,143

    hugh m
    Member
    from ct.

    Here's our Buffalo size 0 bender.works nice for sweeps, used it for the Haddock Hammock series on our website, haven't learned how to transfer those photos yet, and it's OT, but fabrication is fabrication. also used it for bends on the hack, sorry it's so new...
     

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  3. yoyodyne
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 855

    yoyodyne
    Member

    Yes - all the above. Where do you start? Low volume 1020 and 4130 round, .058 to .120 or thicker wall, possibly 2 or 2.25 dia X .188 (front axle). Typical race car, motorcycle, custom furniture stuff.

    I have a vendor with a big 3 roll bender,(12" or so dia. rolls) but he has only dies for angle and square etc. What do I need to know to make dies to fit his until I get my own?
     
  4. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    How old is that Buffalo bender? That thing is neat! I have never seen one like that before.
     

  5. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    12" rolls? Sounds like a pretty large machine. Probably an 80 mm or a 100 mm shaft machine. To make your own tooling, or to have a local machine shop make your tooling you will need to take a couple measurements.

    You will need to know the shaft diameter and the size of the key way. With these measurements, you can make custom tooling for any roll bender out there.

    Remember you want to "fully encapsulate" the material you are rolling for the best results. So if you are rolling 1 5/8" tube, you will want all three rolls to have a 1 5/8" groove machined in them. This keeps the material nice and round, it won't "egg" on you.

    Let me know if this answered all of your questions. I have much more info if you need.
     
  6. scottybaccus
    Joined: Mar 13, 2006
    Posts: 4,109

    scottybaccus
    Member

    I just want a garage sized roller that can handle light weight tubing to maybe 1 5/8 at most, but 1/2 to 1 1/4 anyway. It shouldn't cost $1000 for something like that. Even kit parts to assemble my own would be great. I have archives of ideas around bending a variable radius and won't even attempt them by hand.

    What's out there?
     
  7. budd
    Joined: Oct 31, 2006
    Posts: 3,478

    budd
    Member

    do you have any advice on roll bending angle iron with the leg in, maybe a 50" radius, thanks
     
  8. yoyodyne
    Joined: Nov 26, 2008
    Posts: 855

    yoyodyne
    Member

    Thanks, I can make the rolls, you gave me a start. Does the material slip easily into the 1-5/8 radius, or is it pinched a little like some bending dies? It's still a future project, might be able to buy a machine when the time comes.

    BTW, I received your brochure in the mail today, that MH-19 combination machine looks interesting. Is that new, and does it work as well as it looks?
     
  9. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    You will want your roll sets to be machined to have a "true radius" groove in them. The tube should fit pretty good in there. If you are doing large radius work (10 ,15 or 20+ feet) you can get away with a two driven roll machine and maybe even some smooth rolls. Now when you start thinking about tight radius work you might want to consider a 3 driven roll machine or even some knurled tooling to prevent slippage. Roll bending is not a direct science, it's more like an art form. So just monkey-ing around with a roll bender for a couple of hours and you will get the hang of it. Good luck!

    Glad to see you got our mailer we sent out. Yes, the Power Hammer is awesome! We have been building it for a couple of years....and yes, it works as good as it looks. It has a dead blow like a Pullmax, flip a switch and now you have some leaf spring action like a Yoder. It even comes with an English wheel. The thing is just plain bad #!*%

    Let me know if you have any other questions about roll bending. I truly enjoy answering questions about the subject.
     
    Last edited: Mar 17, 2009
  10. Bill H.
    Joined: Jan 31, 2008
    Posts: 75

    Bill H.
    Member

    ok,

    How about conical (varying radii) spirals? How might one go about laying out that nightmare?

    Its a valid question. Everytime I try doing it, it has many kinks in it. THought a power down feed for the top wheel adjuster would make it better?

    I thinking of using a mill to do the work, so that you know. My hand powered jobby is warn out.

    The material is 1.5" dia. .130 extruded aluminum. What about marring, what might be the best way to do it without the shear weight pulling the part all out of wac?

    Thanks,



    BH
     
  11. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    Yes....I have plenty of tips and tricks for doing angle iron "leg in" applications. It really depends on what material you are rolling and how thick it is.

    Any time you roll bend angle iron with a "leg in" (a leg towards the inside of the the bend) the material will want to twist. (the material has to go somewhere, right?) This will get harder to deal with, the tighter you roll the material.

    There are a couple of ways to minimize this twisting effect. One of the most common and least expensive solutions will be to roll bend 2 pieces at a time. (back to back) This will cause the 2 pieces to twist into each other, cancelling each other out. If this is not working for you, try tack welding the 2 together (like a "T" shape) but make sure you tack them good, because there will be allot of pressure and you don't want them to come apart mid bend and explode on you.

    Another solution is to purchase angle correcting lateral guides for your roll bender. These are rollers that will correct any twisting that occurs.

    Hope this helped! Let me know if you have any other questions.
     
  12. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    Variable radius applications are quite tricky. Do a quick google search, there are plenty of hand powered roll benders out there. Doing tighter radius work on these types of benders will be a little challenging. But there are guys out there doing it.
     
  13. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor


    Nightmare is right. Applications with variable radii in the same bend will make you pull your hair out. Especially if you are trying to repeat parts. But it can be done.

    You you are getting kinks? I would have to see the application to comment on that. Post up a pic or shoot me an email.

    Marring can be minimized by using smooth or nylon tooling. I have seen some guys put rubber from an intertube around the rolls to keep them from marking up the material.
     
  14. Chaz
    Joined: Feb 24, 2004
    Posts: 5,016

    Chaz
    Member Emeritus

    [​IMG]
    I know this isnt exactly what we're talking about here, but this little guy has been really valuable in our shop. We've bent flat, square, and even some smaller round tubing with this. It does flatten the outside of the round tube a bit. but for light duty work this is a real pal.
     
  15. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    Nice little home built roll bender. Thanks for posting.
     
  16. I "rolled" this axle (2" O.D. X .250" DOM) to a 96" centerline radius using the "feed-along" method and one of those cheap Harbor Freight pipe benders. I made half-round spacers so I could bend that diameter with the H.F. 2" pipe dies.

    A bit time consuming but I'm pleased with the results.
     

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  17. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    Nice work. That is a method called "bump bending"

    Looks like you got it down pat.
     
  18. GAB-KC
    Joined: May 1, 2008
    Posts: 45

    GAB-KC
    Member

    This is a roll bender that I made for initially bending tail tank nerf bars for sprint cars but has since been used on a number of projects. I've made dies for 5/8", 3/4", 7/8", 1", and 1-1/8" round tube as well as 3/4" square tube and 1/8" bar stock on edge.

    [​IMG]

    It is kind of a pain to change dies with them being centered in the tool as opposed to being cantilevered on the outside of the frame but that reduces the size and need for strength of the construction.

    I roll 3/4"x.120" D.O.M. in a 24" diameter semicircle in two shots and it will work your tail off to do it. The handle is 18" long and you have to have had your Wheaties when you tackle this job.

    The biggest problem that I have...other than needing a big strong gearmotor attached to it...is keeping that bend in a flat plane. It wants to corkscrew as it goes through. It takes two people to do a good job, one to crank and one to guide.

    [​IMG]

    The adjustment screw for depth of bend (correct terminology??) has an adjustable sleeve that is graduated in .001" increments for repeating settings and it works pretty well once you get the bend zeroed in.


    [​IMG]

    The chain drive linking the lower dies is pretty much a necessity as trying to drive with only one just results in it slipping on any but the least amount of curvature.
     
  19. Mine is really archaic and was shop made in a ship repair shop in the 1960's to roll 5/8 and 3/4 rebar for crab traps.

    I got it for $75 when the shop closed down. From what I've been told it's an old WWII engine boring machine (Radicon DBW) that was modified so the 10" drive wheel on a 3" shaft pinched the rod against an idler wheel & pushed it into the Dies. Other shafts are 1-1/2 down to 1" if they are cantilevered or supported on both sides and where they fit in the process. (seat of the pants design by me) all are roller bearing.

    I'm in the process of modifying it to take various thickness stock (done) and vary the radius of the bend (done) but adjust the outfeed roller using a trailer-tongue jack to reverse the bend partway thru the process. If I was only doing round stock I could just roll the stock over But I want to do flat stock so need to make adjustments without removing the stock.

    My test pieces I rolled 1/4 by 3" flat bar with no problem. and could vary the radius.

    I also installed a drum switch so I could reverse the feed if i didn't like the result.

    Here's some Pic's. in the crowded corner of my shop.
     

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  20. invizibletouch
    Joined: Jan 17, 2008
    Posts: 302

    invizibletouch
    Member
    from Mobile, AL

    [​IMG]

     
  21. 57 shaker
    Joined: Aug 2, 2008
    Posts: 316

    57 shaker
    Member
    from phx.az

    Yeah like who couldn't make one of those:eek::)
    I couldn't make one of the rollers,truely awsome;)
     
  22. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor


    Very nice! Looks like you have a ton of tooling as well :eek:
     
  23. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor

    Wow! I have seen plenty of machines in my day, but this one is a first. You should post this up in the vintage tool thread. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=290201&highlight=vintage+tool
     
  24. BAILEIGH INC
    Joined: Aug 8, 2008
    Posts: 3,629

    BAILEIGH INC
    Alliance Vendor


    Yes I did see the Fabricator. WOW :eek:

    Some pretty neat roll bending in this issue.
     
  25. HOTTRODZZ
    Joined: Aug 21, 2006
    Posts: 335

    HOTTRODZZ
    Member

    <FIELDSET class=fieldset><LEGEND>Attached Thumbnails</LEGEND>[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    </FIELDSET>Roll bendin machine & some more pics
     
  26. HOTTRODZZ
    Joined: Aug 21, 2006
    Posts: 335

    HOTTRODZZ
    Member

    And some more pics
     

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  27. HOTTRODZZ
    Joined: Aug 21, 2006
    Posts: 335

    HOTTRODZZ
    Member

    More Pics of sweeps
     

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  28. HOTTRODZZ
    Joined: Aug 21, 2006
    Posts: 335

    HOTTRODZZ
    Member

    And one more bunch....
     

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  29. HOTTRODZZ
    Joined: Aug 21, 2006
    Posts: 335

    HOTTRODZZ
    Member

    Hope these are not to big......
     

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  30. HotRodZZ

    Would you plese give us some size of tubing bent and where you got your dies? Dimensions are kind of lost in your photos.

    Does the toothed belt drive function OK? and what about the thought of a gear drive Motor instead of a ratchet?


    Great looking bends I'd like to duplicate off my machine

    Thanks. Movin/on
     

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