elfman
Part of things
Posts: 393
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,710
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Bead Rollers Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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They work, but not straight out of the box. You will need to weld on a fair bit of reinforcement to get good results with one, and make a proper weighted stand for it too. The wheels will also need some softening and blending so they don’t leave toolmarks. This is much easier if you have a lathe. Also the hand crank needs swapping out for a wheel, and even then you’ll need a helper to turn it to get good results.
I had one before i got my current ancient cast iron one, I had it mostly because it was cheap. As long as you know their limitations and what needs to be done to improve them, they’re ok.
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elfman
Part of things
Posts: 393
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That sounds like good advice very much appreciated... I can weld but I don't have a lathe but have a few friends that do ...
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moglite
Part of things
Posts: 815
Club RR Member Number: 144
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Bead Rollers moglite
@moglite
Club Retro Rides Member 144
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I've got one of these bead rollerFor ali door panels and louvres in my bonnet, I've not had to beef it up. But I've swapped out the crank handle for a steering wheel from eBay off of a Massey Fergerson (sp?) Just about usable solo with the wheel.
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1967 Morris Oxford Traveller 1979 Toyota LandCruiser BJ40 1993 Daimler Double Six 2007 Volvo XC70 2.4D
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As Dez says they can be improved to get very good results. They do work out of the box, but there is a lateral deflection of the 2 arms when load is applied if you are rolling steel with some pressure.
I reinforced the back of the arms, added a stand with wheels so i could move it around, and replaced the simple bolt to adjust the tension of the rollers with a crank handle for easier use.
But i also added a motor and foot pedal so it becomes much easier to use it by myself. I can now use both hands to guide the work piece around and sight down the rollers. Rather than having to wind it with one hand and struggle to keep a straight line in the panel (i work alone so a spare pair of hands is a limiting factor)
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Bead Rollers Deleted
@Deleted
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If you looking to get quite a bit of use out of it - plus use it single handed just cut to the chase and don't waste your time on the inferior stuff - Baileigh do a good range of manual / motor drive models that by the time you have messed about with rubbish quality stuff come out has value for money bits of kit www.baileighindustrial.co.uk/bead-roller-br-18m-24-1-1www.baileighindustrial.co.uk/power-bead-roller-br-18e-24-3I appreciate that the wheels / tooling is extra - but you get what you pay for and you would always achieve a decent price if you resold the kit once you had finished with it - the other option is scour the market and see if you can pick up an old industrial unit - downside is that tend to be very big & heavy - so if you are tight for space it becomes an issue - secondly most are 3 phase powered and if you don't have 3 phase power that also becomes a issue
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I've got a fairly basic one, and it's proving to be fairly useful. I like the idea of using a wheel instead of the crank handle, I hadn't heard that before now and I can see it will make it easier to use. I swapped out the thumb-tighten bolt that governs the depth of bead for a normal bolt so I can use a spanner on it, but I keep meaning to get around to welding a bit of bar into a T-handle on it. And I do get the tooling marks - I tried pulling a short length of bike inner tube over the lower tool but it came off.
It came to me in a very good deal, and it's been really useful, but there are plenty of better ones out there with price tags to match.
One thing you need to bear in mind with a bead roller is the challenge of getting the panel flat again once you've rolled a bead in it, if the bead has closed ends. That's the bit I'm trying to get the hand of at the moment.
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elfman
Part of things
Posts: 393
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Very much appreciate all the info, all taken on board. Its more or less only for the one car and i am a bit tight on overall space... but i am looking around for a second hand one as well as the new ones.... many thanks to you all
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,710
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Bead Rollers Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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I've got a fairly basic one, and it's proving to be fairly useful. I like the idea of using a wheel instead of the crank handle, I hadn't heard that before now and I can see it will make it easier to use. I swapped out the thumb-tighten bolt that governs the depth of bead for a normal bolt so I can use a spanner on it, but I keep meaning to get around to welding a bit of bar into a T-handle on it. And I do get the tooling marks - I tried pulling a short length of bike inner tube over the lower tool but it came off. It came to me in a very good deal, and it's been really useful, but there are plenty of better ones out there with price tags to match. One thing you need to bear in mind with a bead roller is the challenge of getting the panel flat again once you've rolled a bead in it, if the bead has closed ends. That's the bit I'm trying to get the hand of at the moment. You need to make a chasing tool to ‘finish’ the ends of the swages. I’ll take some pics of mine later.
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That would be interesting to see. That's another thing I have issues with. I had planned to get some old hole punches and cut them in half as it was recommended on a video I watched, but the car boot sales I'd planned to get them from have of course been missing.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,710
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Bead Rollers Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Here you go. The actual tool. Made up from some 1/4” stock then hardened. My ancient beadroller. It proably predates cars so I’m not actually sure what it was for! It had a crank handle but I added the wheel. It’s cast ally and is off a fire door on a boat. Typical distortion on a beadrolled panel- And a little vid of the tool in use and how effective it is. You can cut up and blunt hole punches as you say, but you need a different one for every size swage, and if you get the placement of it at all wrong it looks terrible. With this it’s kinda one size fits all and you can tweak the ends round a bit after squaring off the end to make it look right.
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elfman
Part of things
Posts: 393
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That's a great tip ;o) And that's what I call a bead roller ...
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Last Edit: Jul 3, 2020 19:36:56 GMT by elfman
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elfman
Part of things
Posts: 393
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I have been offered one to borrow to try out so think that's a good idea before buying ... Also once this car is finished i doubt i will have little need for one...but we will see how i get on and what I can make with it.
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duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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Bead Rollers duncanmartin
@duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member 70
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Jul 13, 2020 16:02:31 GMT
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elfman
Part of things
Posts: 393
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Jul 21, 2020 19:21:52 GMT
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Unfortunately i'm close to Swansea so not near you, but i do really appreciate the offer
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