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Thread: Small Roll Bender
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29th Sep 2021, 09:38 PM #1Most Valued Member
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Small Roll Bender
I think I mentioned recently about buying a small Roll Bender. Need to make a few U brackets out of 25 x 3mm flat bar. Well after I got it, it was obvious it needed a little fine tuning so I took it apart, cleaned up all the rough edges and gave the body parts a new coat of paint. Next I discover it has grease nipples and holes for them to screw into. Good you might think, but they are blind holes so I guess it was the thought that counts. Didn't do anything about this and just lubricated what was necessary and put it back together. Can just add a bit of oil to shafts etc occasionally. Tried to bend a bit of 1/4" round just as a test but this was a bit of a failure as the bar tended to twist doing this and not produce a neat flat circle. Maybe some sort of guide can be made. Next was an experiment with a bit of 25 x 3mm flat aluminium. It was then I discovered that when rolling it fouls the head of top bolt. Solution to this was change the Socket Head to a Hex Head bolt. This allows just enough clearance for the inner edge of the flat. Waiting on brother to buy the steel flat to test on that.
Here's a pic of the bender with the offending bolt circled. These are available on ebay and elsewhere but I have noticed that some have Socket Head and some have a Hex Bolt fitted.Nev.
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29th Sep 2021, 10:05 PM #2Most Valued Member
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Hi Nev, I can't quite see what's on the the back of the SH bolts, are there nuts there or are the bolts threaded into the plate? If they're threaded, would it be possible to dismantle and then re assemble the unit with the rollers on the side with the threaded plate?
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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29th Sep 2021, 10:22 PM #3Most Valued Member
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Plate opposite side with head of bolts is threaded. Not sure about reversing gears and rollers, but that would mean more work drilling and tapping the gear cover mounting holes at least.
Nev.
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29th Sep 2021, 11:39 PM #4Most Valued Member
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Another alternative would be to countersink or counter bore the offending bolthole.
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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30th Sep 2021, 07:11 AM #5Senior Member
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A low head or a button head screw are other options.
It may be too close to the edge to countersink.
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30th Sep 2021, 09:12 AM #6
20210930_070734.jpg
Hi Nev,
I have one of these units albeit a few years prior to yours.
I have included a pic to compare your new with my old model.
I have taken the photo so that the step down from machined shoulders in the old model can be clearly seen.
These shoulders are slightly bigger in their diameters and in line with the top of the hex bolt head where they step down to the work area.
It can be seen that the shoulder step lines up with the top of the bolt.
I didn't measure but eyeball it is about a 3mm step.
In the original configuration the flat bar could be snugged up to the three shoulders. It greatly assists the rolling of a flat as far as reducing twist, but not its perfect.
It rolls pretty accurate circles but one needs to remove the straight ends unless you have preset them.
My only whinge is that it will only roll a 3mm thick flat bar which is that thickness I can physically fit into the machine.
All I can suggest is to change the bolt for a thinner hex head or machine a bit off the top of the socket head.I know the heads can be as hard as a bulls forehead but a carbide tool will sort that out.
If I were to add extra guides I would like them about 50mm out board of the rollers.It depends on the diameters you roll. Smaller diameters need the guides closer. Perhaps adjustable guides?
I think I paid around $100 or so, for it, in 2014/15
Does this help you?
Grahame
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30th Sep 2021, 05:13 PM #7Most Valued Member
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It's all back together and working good enough for now. Spent too much time on it for now. Have enough clearance with the hex head bolt.
Grahame, does you grease nipples go into blind holes?Nev.
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30th Sep 2021, 07:14 PM #8
Hi Grahame, Nev, Guys,
Shouldn't there be a cross drilled hole so that lube came out under the roller ?Best Regards:
Baron J.
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30th Sep 2021, 07:19 PM #9
Hi Nev
I removed a grease nipple and measured the hole.
There is a hole drilled part way through the shaft. Measured with a piece of wire, it was the same depth as the roller.
No grease of any description. They gotta make a saving somewhere. I will need to grease the unit, after I retrieve my grease gun that got loaned out.
I suppose there must be bearings at both ends of the rollers.
Grahame
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30th Sep 2021, 07:37 PM #10
Remember you are dealing with the cheap arrses of the manufacturing world. Anybody else but them would. . If theres a cheapest way to do ,they will find it.
I was only down there for two minutes and the sand flies were clocking in for afternoon shift so I only probed the hole depth and retreated back upstairs.
When I receive my grease gun back I'll strip it down and give it a clean up.
Pics if requested?
That unit has been inside the shed from new and the state of the tool is dreadful.
Sea air and coaldust make a really corrosive brew. Six years from new and always under cover ,dreadful.
I can only imagine what it would look like in the open.
Grahame
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30th Sep 2021, 07:46 PM #11Most Valued Member
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Yes and holes to connect to the cross drilled hole. Just a blind threaded hole in each shaft. Like I said it was the thought that counts. Two rollers and the two gears are keyed to shafts which goes through a tube between sides and one roller on the adjuster spins freely.
Nev.
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30th Sep 2021, 07:48 PM #12Most Valued Member
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30th Sep 2021, 07:51 PM #13Most Valued Member
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I got this on ebay and have informed the seller of the problems. They responded by saying they will contact their supplier about this. Funny thing is, they have sold heaps of these and got mostly positive feedback. Pretty strange as they do not work properly straight out of the box.
Nev.
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1st Oct 2021, 10:55 AM #14Most Valued Member
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I had a look at the one I have that was bought maybe 2017ish, the holes for the grease nipples don’t go all the way to the shaft either.
Having said that, it has worked really well for all the stuff I used it for.
A better way to make U brackets like you are doing is with a lever arm pulling the material around a former, the bend is more consistent and it’s faster.
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1st Oct 2021, 06:48 PM #15Most Valued Member
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