Weekend Ring Roller

I finished a ring roller this weekend. This was a fun project. I was worried the whole time I was building it that it wouldn't work. Damned if it did!!

This is the drive roller.

Base without the drive.

The other side.

All put together.

The first ring.

And a smaller one. I have no idea how to figure out what size rings it will make, or if I want a certain size, how much pressure to put on the metal to achieve it. I guess it's going to be trial and error. That's the way I do most things anyway

[Planet X]

OH Yeah!, Did you just go off of a picture? I want to make one of these things..soon.

[kELTIC]

Thats pretty darn slick, what did u do for rollers? And what is the flat bar closest to u doing? Cheers

It's based on this -- http://www.metalsmith.org/pub/mtlsmith/V20.3/roller.htm

I set out to make one like it, but the trial and error stuff took over.

The rollers are 1 7/8 drill pipe with 1/4" plate for caps. The axles are 1/2 bolts. I think the flat bar your referring too is the handle for the drive roller.

Jim314

To make a certain size ring, figure out the circumference of the ring you want, cut your stock to that length & and start rolling. Keep rolling it smaller till the ends meet. Your ring is done.

[Franz]

How to dimension ring stock ~ multiply the outside diameter of the ring x 3.14 to get the length of circumferance stock. Of course it's always a good idea to have a little extra stock so you don't have to fight with the ends.

You'll get a lot better rolling action if you drive 2 rollers, using a chain than you get with 1 driven roller.
A steering wheel works a lot better than a crank too.

[Mike W]

Nice work, now I need to make one.

[joehobart]

Thanks for posting this. This is on the short list of shop projects, and i was planning on using the same design you did. I was really worried about 'grab' action with only one drive wheel. good to know it actually works.

[Hickey]

How well would that work with square tube? say 1.5" .095 wall? I need to build a fancy gate for the misses. I dont need a full circle, more like an arch with about a 15 foot radius bend in it.

[Bolt]

Well Franz, he hasn't been able to put a wheel on instead of the crank, as he needed the crank on there to make the wheel with. LOL

Originally posted by Hickey
How well would that work with square tube? say 1.5" .095 wall? I need to build a fancy gate for the misses. I dont need a full circle, more like an arch with about a 15 foot radius bend in it.

It wouldn't be capable of rolling square tube that large.

Originally posted by Paychk
Jim314

To make a certain size ring, figure out the circumference of the ring you want, cut your stock to that length & and start rolling. Keep rolling it smaller till the ends meet. Your ring is done.

Thanks Paychk. That makes perfect sense now that you've told me.

[Hickey]

Originally posted by Jim314
It wouldn't be capable of rolling square tube that large.

What if I made it really really big? like, WAY big? MY wife is gonna kill me if I don't get thi gate done soon.

Originally posted by Hickey
What if I made it really really big? like, WAY big? MY wife is gonna kill me if I don't get thi gate done soon.

Hickey, when I got home tonight, I tried some 1/2" tube in the roller. I guess if you make it really, really big it would do what you want. But it sure takes a lot of pressure to bend the tube compared to flat bar, which seem to bend very easily. There's others on the board that know a whole lot more about bending tube than I do.

[Franz]

There's a nice roller/bender in the Metalworking.com drop box.
Of course, since it was built by a machinist, he got a bit exotic with some of the components.
http://metalworking.com/DropBox/roller.txt
http://metalworking.com/DropBox/roller.dxf

Whoa Franz, that's way beyond my ability, not to mention my equipment. Hell, even if I had the equipment, it's still beyond my ability.

[Hickey]

Originally posted by Jim314
Hickey, when I got home tonight, I tried some 1/2" tube in the roller. I guess if you make it really, really big it would do what you want. But it sure takes a lot of pressure to bend the tube compared to flat bar, which seem to bend very easily. There's others on the board that know a whole lot more about bending tube than I do.

What wall thickness is that tube? The bend I need is less than that one. I need it to rise about 8 inches over a 10 foot span. Maybe if I spaced the lower rollers farther apart, I would be able to acheive enough leverage. Hmmmm, now you have me thinking.

[Franz]

I keep tryin to tell you guys, these roller benders are just updated versions of a wheelright's tire roller from 100 years ago.
You want to frustrate hell out of yourself, reinventing the wheel, like that machinist did, fine by me, but if you want to build a bender, build one.
Start by determining the minimum size you want to roll. make the rollers, and mount them.

Originally posted by Hickey
What wall thickness is that tube? The bend I need is less than that one. I need it to rise about 8 inches over a 10 foot span. Maybe if I spaced the lower rollers farther apart, I would be able to acheive enough leverage. Hmmmm, now you have me thinking.

The tube was 16 ga. Maybe Franz can come up with a picture of a wheelrights tire roller. Sounds like that is the way to go.