Go to www.harborfreight.com and put 34104 in the search box to see their
manual bead roller. You can download the manual for better views and
blowups. I have it and it works fine. If you have a step in each die then
that is for "flanging", not bead rolling; it will fold the edge down and
then back to horizontal but offset from the original height. Useful to
overlap seams to join sheet metal. I needed to "improve" mine to roll some
beads in 0.06" 304 stainless steel, but didn't need the 18" throat, so I
added a strap from top to bottom using the mounting bolts for the pillow
blocks right at the dies. Worked great, stopped the top and bottom jaws
from deflecting so they aren't in line. I start with a shallow bead, and
use the vertical bolt which is visible above the top pillow block to add
pressure for each successive pass until I get my full-depth bead. Anyway,
just thought that you might get some ideas looking at the pictures.

-----
Regards,
Carl Ijames

"Tim Wescott" wrote in message
...

I'm working on a project (it's a visual pun -- because if you're going to
name an engine part after a body part, it should look like the body part,
right?)

Basically I'm making a model airplane muffler (of a style called a
_tongue_ muffler, hence the near-obsessive search for a solution just to
make a god-damned PUN) by soldering two aluminum shells together (see
pictures). Later I'll solder the shells to a base that bolts to the
engine. If I just make one shell a little undersized compared to the
other and squeeze them together, I have a honkin' big seam that I'll need
to fill and file to get everything looking nice.

So I'd like to make a shell, then roll a little bead in it, then solder
everything together.

But I can't find any little bead rollers!!!

So, does anyone have any suggestions for what to do (other than perhaps
to abandon the project, or see a good shrink?) I'm thinking that for a
roller all I need are a pair of little wheels that are machined with the
correct 1/32" step, rounded to fit the interior of the shell, running on
bearings in a block and geared together.

Does that sound about right, or is there something I'm missing? I'd like
to make the amount of squeeze between the rollers at least somewhat
adjustable -- are there any known-good ways to do that, or is it
unnecessary?

Thanks in advance.

The pictures are he

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5lS...jajVqTWc/edit?
usp=sharing

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5lS...DcllvVWs/edit?
usp=sharing

--

Tim Wescott
Wescott Design Services
http://www.wescottdesign.com