I am looking for a bead roller, to roll flanges and beads into sheet
metal for auto restoration and hopefully for some sculpture or
furniture design. I do this strictly as a hobby, but it is one I take
seriously. I am trying to choose between a good quality US made
(Proformer) roller for $330, or a harbor freight bead roller, on sale
for $89. While the US made machine is definately of higher quality, I
am wondering if the HF model would meet my needs and hold up for
awhile. I avoid throw-away tools, but try not to spend more money
than I have to. If the HF model actually works and is of decent
quality, I would be happy to spend less money. Does anyone have
experience with this particular tool? Is it still working away in
your shop, or did it end up at the curb? BTW, the HF model comes with
a full set of dies, while the US made model comes with one. Dies are
$60 each.

Thanks for your help,

James

I have the HF version. I haven't used it all that much but it's worked fine
when I have. The only minor complaint I have with it is that the edges on
the dies seem to be too sharp but since it's the only one I've ever used
there may be a reason for it that I'm not aware of.

The only other gotchas are that it's tough to keep the work straight so the
optional fence (I think it's about $30) would be a great help, plus it's
really tough to use by yourself. There's enough distance between the crank
and the rollers that it's a fight to work the crank while steering the
metal. Of course a motorized version would be even better so that's a
project on my todo list. :-)

Best Regards,
Keith Marshall


"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"


"james" wrote in message
m...
I am looking for a bead roller, to roll flanges and beads into sheet
metal for auto restoration and hopefully for some sculpture or
furniture design. I do this strictly as a hobby, but it is one I take
seriously. I am trying to choose between a good quality US made
(Proformer) roller for $330, or a harbor freight bead roller, on sale
for $89. While the US made machine is definately of higher quality, I
am wondering if the HF model would meet my needs and hold up for
awhile. I avoid throw-away tools, but try not to spend more money
than I have to. If the HF model actually works and is of decent
quality, I would be happy to spend less money. Does anyone have
experience with this particular tool? Is it still working away in
your shop, or did it end up at the curb? BTW, the HF model comes with
a full set of dies, while the US made model comes with one. Dies are
$60 each.

Thanks for your help,

James

worked fer me. You can see an example on my MaXum website,
where I made a bead-rolled aluminum enclosure for the 1KW
genset I built for it.
See:http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth/gen.htm
JR
Dweller in the cellar

james wrote:

I am looking for a bead roller, to roll flanges and beads into sheet
metal for auto restoration and hopefully for some sculpture or
furniture design. I do this strictly as a hobby, but it is one I take
seriously. I am trying to choose between a good quality US made
(Proformer) roller for $330, or a harbor freight bead roller, on sale
for $89. While the US made machine is definately of higher quality, I
am wondering if the HF model would meet my needs and hold up for
awhile. I avoid throw-away tools, but try not to spend more money
than I have to. If the HF model actually works and is of decent
quality, I would be happy to spend less money. Does anyone have
experience with this particular tool? Is it still working away in
your shop, or did it end up at the curb? BTW, the HF model comes with
a full set of dies, while the US made model comes with one. Dies are
$60 each.

Thanks for your help,

James

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Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth
If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
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No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dependence is Vulnerability:

"Open the Pod Bay Doors please, Hal"
"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.."

I have one too. I mostly use it to put beads on the ends of 2.5 and 3"
OD tubing to keep hoses from sliding off, using the 1/4" bead die set.
Keith is right, it is really a two man tool. I'm 5'9" and can't hold a
tube and turn the crank by the handle in a full circle by myself. I can
cheat and run my hand down the handle and make do, but that gives up
lots of leverage. I didn't get the guide, which would really make flat
sheet work easier. I don't recall what HF rates it at, thickness wise,
but to put full depth beads in 18 ga steel I need about three or four
passes, tightening down on the die each pass. If you try to go full
depth in one pass the dies/throat deflects sideways (surprised me that
~1/2" plate would flex like that). I added a 1/4" thick 2" wide steel
strap across the throat at the axle pillow blocks next to the dies,
which stiffened it up nicely but cut the throat to about 2" - my tubing
beads are right at the end anyway. That let me bead a piece of 2.5" OD
16 ga stainless tubing for a friend in about three passes. Oh, the 1/4"
bead die is just under 2.25" OD if you need to slip that into a piece of
tubing :-). I've only played with the flanging dies on some leftover
galvanized ductwork scraps, about 22 or 24 ga, but it worked just fine.
The cutoff dies didn't work too well but again, could be my inexperiece
showing through. I did have to spend an hour or so playing and tweaking
with the thrust settings and axle spacings, but lots of that was because
this was the first tool like this I've ever used. For $90 I say get it
and use it some, and if nothing else you will know what to look for in
your next one and can probably get your money back on ebay. For $190,
well, maybe not ...

--
Regards,
Carl Ijames

----- Original Message -----
From: "Keith Marshall"
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking
Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 11:17 AM
Subject: harbor freight bead roller


I have the HF version. I haven't used it all that much but it's
worked fine
when I have. The only minor complaint I have with it is that the
edges on
the dies seem to be too sharp but since it's the only one I've ever
used
there may be a reason for it that I'm not aware of.

The only other gotchas are that it's tough to keep the work straight
so the
optional fence (I think it's about $30) would be a great help, plus
it's
really tough to use by yourself. There's enough distance between the
crank
and the rollers that it's a fight to work the crank while steering
the
metal. Of course a motorized version would be even better so that's a
project on my todo list. :-)

Best Regards,
Keith Marshall


"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"


"james" wrote in message
m...
I am looking for a bead roller, to roll flanges and beads into sheet
metal for auto restoration and hopefully for some sculpture or
furniture design. I do this strictly as a hobby, but it is one I
take
seriously. I am trying to choose between a good quality US made
(Proformer) roller for $330, or a harbor freight bead roller, on
sale
for $89. While the US made machine is definately of higher quality,
I
am wondering if the HF model would meet my needs and hold up for
awhile. I avoid throw-away tools, but try not to spend more money
than I have to. If the HF model actually works and is of decent
quality, I would be happy to spend less money. Does anyone have
experience with this particular tool? Is it still working away in
your shop, or did it end up at the curb? BTW, the HF model comes
with
a full set of dies, while the US made model comes with one. Dies
are
$60 each.

I have one. I definitely second the motiont hat the guide is worth
the money. Overall, I'm happy with mine, but haven't had a chance to
use it a bunch. A fellow I talked to before I bought mine said the
difference between the HF unit and a more expensive US model, (I don't
recall what he had for sure - Roper Whitney I think) was that the HF
unit wouldn't stand up to every day use. I even saw a pic once of a
guy that reinforced the heck out of his hase HF unit by adding extra
steel all over the place.

I've used mine 6-8 times now (not much in other words) on sheet metal
ranging from 18-22ga and it's worked fine. The dies show no signs of
wear at all and neither does the machine.

--George


On 6 Dec 2003 05:55:26 -0800, (james) wrote:

I am looking for a bead roller, to roll flanges and beads into sheet
metal for auto restoration and hopefully for some sculpture or
furniture design. I do this strictly as a hobby, but it is one I take
seriously. I am trying to choose between a good quality US made
(Proformer) roller for $330, or a harbor freight bead roller, on sale
for $89. While the US made machine is definately of higher quality, I
am wondering if the HF model would meet my needs and hold up for
awhile. I avoid throw-away tools, but try not to spend more money
than I have to. If the HF model actually works and is of decent
quality, I would be happy to spend less money. Does anyone have
experience with this particular tool? Is it still working away in
your shop, or did it end up at the curb? BTW, the HF model comes with
a full set of dies, while the US made model comes with one. Dies are
$60 each.

Thanks for your help,

James

On 6 Dec 2003 05:55:26 -0800, (james) wrote:
I am looking for a bead roller, to roll flanges and beads into sheet
metal for auto restoration and hopefully for some sculpture or
furniture design. I do this strictly as a hobby, but it is one I take
seriously. I am trying to choose between a good quality US made
(Proformer) roller for $330, or a harbor freight bead roller, on sale
for $89. While the US made machine is definately of higher quality, I
am wondering if the HF model would meet my needs and hold up for
awhile. I avoid throw-away tools, but try not to spend more money
than I have to. If the HF model actually works and is of decent
quality, I would be happy to spend less money. Does anyone have
experience with this particular tool? Is it still working away in
your shop, or did it end up at the curb? BTW, the HF model comes with
a full set of dies, while the US made model comes with one. Dies are
$60 each.

I have the HF unit. One note, the fence is not optional if you want to
do sheet stock. It is nearly impossible to roll a straight bead without
it. The machine itself is surprisingly hefty, and works quite well once
you get everything adjusted. You do need a *heavy* bench vise to
hold it. This is a two man machine. It is very difficult to handle the
stock and turn the crank at the same time.

Gary