I took some pictures of the a-arm panel I'm making and how I use a bead roller.
I first laid out what I wanted with a sharpie, a steel ruler and a plastic template of different circles. They also make the plastic templates with squares and ovals.
Now I'm ready to start. The dies I used are called step dies. They come in different depths. I think this one is a 1/8".
I want the bead to faintly appear and then get more pronounced as it goes along the outline and then slowly dissappear into the other side.
I start out making one light pass. The next pass I go down aways and crank a little bit more pressure and then start letting off as I get to the exit side. Then I do it one more time just a little farther down the outline and cranked up a little more.
When I first started out in the 80's I was using a bead roller I bought at a sheetmetal shop auction. It had a hand crank and it made it hard to do very long runs without help. I then bought a harbor freight bead roller in the late 90's. It was pretty flimsy., but with some beefing up it got me by.
2 years ago I bought the motorized Mitler Bro's. bead roller. The motor makes a big difference in the long runs.
In my next post I'll show another way I make beads.
I first laid out what I wanted with a sharpie, a steel ruler and a plastic template of different circles. They also make the plastic templates with squares and ovals.
Now I'm ready to start. The dies I used are called step dies. They come in different depths. I think this one is a 1/8".
I want the bead to faintly appear and then get more pronounced as it goes along the outline and then slowly dissappear into the other side.
I start out making one light pass. The next pass I go down aways and crank a little bit more pressure and then start letting off as I get to the exit side. Then I do it one more time just a little farther down the outline and cranked up a little more.
When I first started out in the 80's I was using a bead roller I bought at a sheetmetal shop auction. It had a hand crank and it made it hard to do very long runs without help. I then bought a harbor freight bead roller in the late 90's. It was pretty flimsy., but with some beefing up it got me by.
2 years ago I bought the motorized Mitler Bro's. bead roller. The motor makes a big difference in the long runs.
In my next post I'll show another way I make beads.
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