Im thinking about getting a bead roller and want to hear from anyone new to using a bead roller. ive seen all the posts with the artwork that can be made with one of these, but id like to see and hear from the guys that are learning how to use it. anyone?
I have a bead roller from Pro Tools, have used it a little, I can do a serviceable job on floorboards, but it will take some practice to get really good.
Im new to using a bead roller, I think they are great. It lets you do more of a factory look rather than just flat panels. well worth getting one.
I was able to control it pretty well the first time I used it, on thin panels. I'd get some scraps from an A/C shop to practice on first, then progress to thicker sheet.
I used a bead roller from harbor freight for a one time job, when I made my front floor pan. it only ran me like $120 or 130 bucks, it sucked, the beads wheren't that deep, but overall , I guess it got the job done.
Well the tool was pretty easy to use, would of been nicer if it came with a bigger bead roller. the biggest bead was a 1/2 " but it really wasn't that deep. Making the beads was a pain in the ass also, would of been easier if I made some type of table for the roller, I just did it all quick style.
I'm new to it, but it's not that hard to do basic stuff. The artsy stuff I suspect is tougher. A lot of guys beef up their HF roller to make it workable, but buying a better roller in the first place makes sense to me. Your time is worth something!
I literally just bought my hf this last weekend, and I can see that it definatly needs to be beefed up. I am not even attempting to use it till I get a chance to do that. I bought it knowing that i would need to do that (been studying them for a while). And since time is something that I have lots of (compared to money anyways lol), I opted to buy it and beef it up. Looks like a lot of fun though as I spent an hour or so looking at it and inspecting it.
I am on a lifelong learning curve with my homemade roller. I have a couple of suggestions for newbies: If you buy an entry-level one made from a piece of thick plate plan to reinforce it with a piece of square tubing. I taper-cut 2" tubing (think tuning fork turned on its side). This will keep the rollers from walking away from each other when using high pressure. The hardst thing for me at first was to make radiused corners evenly and consistently. I found that instead of drawing just the radius at a corner to follow with the die that drawing a complete circle at each radius made it easier for me to move the dies in a consistent arc by keeping the axis of the die pointing through the center of the circle. One additional tip: If your machine came with a crank throw it away and adapt up a large diameter steering wheel instead. It makes it much easier to feed large sheets and crank the wheel at the same time. Happy rolling!
i made up some bomber seats out of .080" thick aluminum and rolled in a bunch of beads using a hf roller. worked out fine. the roller was bolted to a 5/8" thick plate of steel to help increase it's rigidity otherwise it wants to move around on ya. Whole assembly gets dropped into a vice and viola good to go. Making the beads was a two man operation. One guy to guide the piece and another to crank the roller. We didn't have any major fuck ups. Just had to go slowly and communicate well with each other. Not exactly "art" but they come out looking good:
theres a couple of threads about modifying the HF bead roller to make it stiffer. check this one and do a search to see the rest: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95483&highlight=bead+roller+modification
I modified a HF beadroller: http://glennsplace.com/bead_roller.htm It works well. UNDERSTANDING what it is going to do to your metal is a different story. Deep beads or multiple beads in a panel will distort the metal unless you pre-strech the metal. Your asking us the length of the learning curve..... well that depends upon how much you know about SHAPING metal to start. The more you know the shorter the curve.
Go for motorized! Some guys modify the cheapies an work magic with them, but if you have the coin for a Pro Tools or comparable machine(about $300) you'll love it.
With a hammer. I'm not trying to be a smart ass. Search youtube for streching and shrinking sheet metal. Lots of free lessons there. Visit these sites: http://www.allmetalshaping.com/ http://metalmeet.com/forum/index.php Metalmeet has reginal and an annual gathering that are wonderful places to learn how to make metal move the way you want it to.
I started with a hand crank harbor freight. I motorrized it with a chain drive. I wasn't happy with that. I tried some blue prints from a gent in Florida. I currently have a Lazze model, and I'm very happy with it.
I learned that my bead roller pulls inward when rolled in one direction, so I made a very good stop and always roll in that direction to force the panel into the stop. I get nice straight beads that way.
I went motorized. Irvan Smith. I didnt buy his stand, I was able to get the same engine stand locally for less, and mated the two. I prefer the motorized as I am one man and do not feel comfortable hand cranking and holding. Besides I will be doing some hems and partial hems for door skins, and after watching the Lazze video on his 34 Ford, I knew that was the way to go. Yea it hurt a little to pay the money, but I am more than pleased with my novice abilities with it. I learned making inner door panels for a 32 Phaeton, you have to wheel them to where they are more curved than you need. When you start to put middle beads in, the metal naturally wants to flatten out.
If you have the budget, and use for it, buy the best one you can. I bought an entry level machine,beefed it up and build a 36" wheel to hand power it. The crank it came with was worthless. For the money, with the dies it came with, it's fine. Power would be better, but like most I'm on a budget. It takes some practice, but it will up the level of your builds, and will be worth whatever you spend.
This was done on a hand cranked Fasti.... although a power option is on the wish list.. Thread on the fabrication: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=696129
I love my manual one but would buy a motorized if I did it again. If you regularly work with help then the manual would be easier. I roll 20 ga. Perfectly straight or multiple egual length beads will require guides or stops. The first time someone saw my firewall and floorpans they asked me where I bought them. Novice user
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