Hello Guys & Gals, I have been looking at right angle gear reducers @ 100:1 reduction. The only ones I have found that are affordable have bronze pinions. Anyone will experience with these? I would like to know it they will last in a bead roller. Thanks always for your great help. harowalt
Use a cheap 2500lb electric winch for the motor and gearbox. They are about 150:1 ,and the motors are reversible.
My son says he can make something up using a repurposed motor from a treadmill, there are lots of those in Craigslist as give a ways, and some gears. We'll see how that goes...
Is there a reason that you want the 90 degree ? Most bead rollers run in the 10 RPM range. Why not just buy a motor with built in reduction? Available in both AC or DC. DC has the advantage of variable speed just make sure you have enough torque. Both are can be reversed. I put together several DC kits for a few friends, but by the time you find an adequate DC motor, controller, and foot control in most cases you are close to, or at, the cost of the Eastwood kit. For mine I stumbled on a Dayton AC motor usually used in commercial food rotisseries for about $60. It's overkill with 1/4 HP, 6 RPM, and 600 in. lb. of torque. Wired up a reverse switch and a foot control and was done.
If you are talking about what I have pictured in my mind, I would say yes.......but somehow I don't think we are talking about the same thing. I have some gear reducers sitting on a cabinet and they are industrial quality and would easily handle what you need. Can you post a picture of the ones you are considering ? As for the treadmill motors. I had one of them and was going to use it. Can't remember why right now, but for some reason I decided against it. The electric winch motors will need something to convert to 110/120 volt. Also something that needs to be considered is that the motor of choice will be powerful enough not to bog. You need something that is reversible too. Variable speed is a nice option. On the one I'm building I have a DC motor with a built in reduction and I still need to gear it down so I have power when I want to proceed slowly.
I've been running this thru my head too.... Treadmill, I decided against because they say you have to run the control board, all the wiring etc.
For a DC motor something in the 1/20 HP, 200 in.lb., 10 RPM range works well. Dayton has them in 90 degree configuration if you want to go in that direction to make a compact setup.
Reputable gear reduction unit manufacturers will furnish a chart showing the maximum acceptable limit on torque input at various input RPM. Without that information, you're just guessing as to the durability. Bob
Something to consider is the method of attachment. If you mount it with a coupler so its direct drive, you get the exact rpm and power of the motor. If you use a sprocket you can multiply the torque and lower the speed at the same time. If you find a decent motor but the rpms are still too high, consider using a sprocket and chain with it.
I have a DC motor taken out of a treadmill but haven't been able to out smart the control panel yet. I do have the AC motor for the incline movement, it is gear reduced, not sure if it has enough power or not.
It seems Lazze has a good bead roller. Attached is a photo of his second generation bead roller. Thanks.
Lazze makes a nice ($$$) bead roller and has some good videos. The one in the picture has extra clearance between the "jaws" and a real big motor.
Check out my thread, lots of info on the gear drive motor and all the other stuff like wiring for the motor rotation etc. I modified my bead roller during the building phase of my RPU and it works great. Here you go. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/another-bead-roller-beef-up-and-power.756945/ Lots of details in my thread including a wiring diagram for reversing the gear drive motor.
Here is a picture of a HEAVY DUTY bead roller I bought sometime back. It has several dies and I can use it on thicker stuff. Don't know who built it, but it works good.
Another thing to keep in mind it's nice to still have a hand feed for doing detail work. Some reduction drives wont allow you to over ride them.
A few notes on treadmill motors for those of us that recycle. The wife wanted some space back in her craft room, so the unused treadmill had to go out of her way. It was too heavy/clumsy to lift, so I took it apart for more manageable pieces... This is what I found when the treadmill belt was cut off. The reed switch is a speed/distance sender and is not needed for a bead roller. The control board and choke removes as an assembly - unplug all the wires (take pictures and notes first) and remove 4 self-tapping sheet metal screws. Will it reverse? This is the control board. Reversed the RED and BLACK wires (top right of picture) and the treadmill ran backwards - and promptly unscrewed the pulley from the motor shaft... <sigh>. The three (3) wires (bottom of picture) go to a slide potentiometer and control the motor speed. Looks good, 2.5 HP DC motor. 2/3 inch (approx 17mm) shaft. Nice flywheel on the pulley. This looks feasible. At 76 years old, there are no big fabrication projects on my future - the bead roller will continue to sleep under my work bench. Add a motor and gear box - too heavy to lift... The disassembled treadmill is now headed for the dump. Russ
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