Well, after a year of this thing wang-fu bead roller being a pain in the ass to use alone I came up with a solution. In the spirit of hot rodding I used what was available to me. I am in the hurricane shutter business, and after a recent job where we replaced the roll down shutters, I found myself staring at a used tubular roll down motor. These things are picking up shutters that weigh around 150 lbs or more so they have the grunt to spin the roller. As a bonus they are wired for forward and backward operation. I had no plan except that it would spin the roller. I used a 10 speed bike for the gear teeth and a bike chain for the drive. It has not been finish welded or ground but I did run beads and flanges on some scrap sheetmetal for a bit to sort it all out. It worked great. I just jammed the wires into an extension cord to test it. I need to get the proper momentary switch so I can finish wiring it up. I hope y'all enjoy the photos and as always, building stuff is just too much fun!!
Hey TF, Cool setup you have there! Nice work. Are you going to use a food pedal to actuate your motor? Did you replace the set screws and hex head bolts that were supplied on your roller? Mine was a gift of sorts,so I can't complain...but the junk they call set screws is...junk! I wouldn't have bought this one,but again,it's the thought that counts. I rolled some aluminum (28 ga?) flashing today for snorts and giggles and found this thing sorely needing some beefing up! Good luck with your project!
Ran, The first day I had the thing I replaced the set screws. The bolts are next but not a priority. Next mod will be to drill the blocks and tap them for zerk fittings, there is just too much drag on the thing with the steel on steel. I welded the angle to it to stiffen it a little bit but it also acts as a stop for when I slam it in the vice to use it. I came up with a pretty decent mod to square up the fence and it holds 1/16 over four feet. I'll post it if there is any interest, easy to do, just a piece of angle, nut and flat plate. The switch is a momentary rocker for up and down, similar to a decora type wall switch. I am going to do it as a foot switch with some type of pedal. I hope the photos help you get yours squared up. I would have bought something better but when I needed it the price was right and I worked through it. I seem to have way more time than money so all things considered it worked out well.
Just contemplating: could a garage door opener also be made to work? Topless, you're not related to the Wright Brothers, are you?
I'd like to see the fence mod please. I have a gear reduction motor from a BBQ chicken rotisserie I was hoping to use to power mine. Michael
On my roller they used a pointy screw to set the fence. The other side was just resting on a thin 1/8 plate edgewise. Compare your stock fence to the one pictured. When the fence was tightened the whole thing would be crooked because the screw and 1/8 metal were not aligned. Another issue was that when tightened, there was a bunch of pressure where the roller axle went through the fence guide. I welded a nut to the back of a piece of plate for the pointy screw to ride in. The plate helps distribute the load. I then fit a piece of angle to the inside of the fence guide. I trimmed the metal guide with a hand file to get the right spacing and take the pressure off of the roller axle. Squared it all up and welded it. You should see exactly what I did in the pics. It's cheap and easy, and best of all takes a shitty fence and makes it work well.
Hey TF, Thanks for the info! The torsioning of the frame is a headache,but that should be remedied soon. Way to "hot rod" your roller! Thanks again!
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