I was asked by a member how to roll sheet metal such as used to make a rounded end on a chain or clutch guard without buying a set of rolls. Most smaller items can be formed by useing the pictured device. Beats the heck out of trying to bend a piece over the edge of the work bench and it does a nice job if even a small amout of patience is used.
The 1st picture shows a hunk of 2-1/2" standard pipe and a hunk of 1/4 X 3 X 3 angle. Both were scrap pieces worth a few cents a pound. The 2nd picture shows the pipe cut into sections and welded to a piece of the angle. In this case the distance between the two longer pieces of pipe is 3/16 inch, to be used for sheet metal. The distance between the short pipe and it's neighbor is 1/2 inch. I quickly bent a radius in a length of 3/8 square useing the 1/2 inch gap and a piece of approx. 1/8 thick aluminum useing the pipes with 3/16 inch between them. The piece to be radiused is bent by hand a little at a time and the piece is moved a little at a time. Real easy to do.
This is of course only one of the possibilities considering that much larger or smaller pipes can be used. The beauty of the tool is that it costs next to nothing and takes up little room under the bench. Sure, it can't be used to roll up a big tank but will do a lot of things.
The 1st picture shows a hunk of 2-1/2" standard pipe and a hunk of 1/4 X 3 X 3 angle. Both were scrap pieces worth a few cents a pound. The 2nd picture shows the pipe cut into sections and welded to a piece of the angle. In this case the distance between the two longer pieces of pipe is 3/16 inch, to be used for sheet metal. The distance between the short pipe and it's neighbor is 1/2 inch. I quickly bent a radius in a length of 3/8 square useing the 1/2 inch gap and a piece of approx. 1/8 thick aluminum useing the pipes with 3/16 inch between them. The piece to be radiused is bent by hand a little at a time and the piece is moved a little at a time. Real easy to do.
This is of course only one of the possibilities considering that much larger or smaller pipes can be used. The beauty of the tool is that it costs next to nothing and takes up little room under the bench. Sure, it can't be used to roll up a big tank but will do a lot of things.
