slip roller

[ironman]

Hi everyone, I usually use very primitive methods to put curves in steel (heat, brute force, etc.). Naturally that gets tougher to do, the wider the steel sheet. I've been thinking of buying a "manually operated slip roller" that will handle up to 16 ga. steel. and up to 50" wide. Does anyone have experience with these things and how well do they work? OR, is there a better machine out there that will do the job.
Thanks,
Jeff

[warren01]

Jeff,
I am not real good with very many of those machines to do the forming. But I also have many times when they are necessary. If you go to the www.metalmeet.com site those guys are real expert on how to form some metal. They do mostly car panels but there are also some sculptors. There is going to be a metalmeet at the end of October that I am going to, to get some hands on learning. There are some great machines to help expand our metal sculpture techniques.

warren

[ironman]

Hi Warren01, Thanks for the info on that "metalmeet" site. Yeah, they're mostly car guys and other sheet metal shops who generally work in thinner metal than 16 ga. but non the less a good source of info and feedback. I found one guy who made a huge spiked heel out of .060 aluminum, looks awsome, with complex curves, etc., probably done with an e-wheel, and other tools I know nothing about. In the photos it even looks like he made a wooden form to wrap the aluminum skin around, impressive! I've always resisted using anything thinner than 16 ga. and only use that for curved portions of the work, but maybe I'll try some thinner stuff and see how it works. This opens up another world for us steelworkers. Thanks again and............
Have a great day,
Jeff

[JAZ]

For the shoe he probably used an English wheel, which does compound curves in sheetmetal. It's the way automotive people do fenders and such.
If you are looking to curve flat steel a slip roller is the best, I think. I have a little one that will even curve 11 gauge as long as it's no wider than about ten inches. The wider the piece, the more force it takes to bend. The one I have is a homemade one. The image doesn't show the cranking handle (which I plan to repalce with a big wheel one of these days), or the legs - it's a stand up model. I've welded cleats and a made-shift brake I made onto it because it's bolted to the floor, so is handy in many ways. The rollers are about 30" long. One drawback of mine is that the rollers are fixed.
Before I bought it (for $200) I looked around quite a bit, including on the web. You can get some really slick ones if you want to spend $10,000 becasue a lot of them are mechanized. If you're pocketbook is anything like mine, you can find some good deals in used equipment places. There are two good ones in my area, so you probably can find some too. Here are two things to look for. Some have fixed rollers, while on others you can unclip the top roller to release the steel you were bending. That makes it easier to remove, however, you need to look closely at the locking device. Especially if you're going to be using the heavier gauges, that's one spot that will wear. Also, some of them have grooves on one end so that you can also bend rod, if you want to. You shouldn't bend rod on plain rollers becasue it screws up the roller.
Some people call them slip rolls, others rolling benders, I think.
Good luck.
JAZ

[ironman]

Hi Jaz, thanks for the info and picture. I was going to build one myself but found this manually operated ENCO slip roller on the web for $525. It claims to handle 16 ga., 50" wide. How can you beat that!
Have a great day,
Jeff

[JAZ]

Hi Jaz, thanks for the info and picture. I was going to build one myself but found this manually operated ENCO slip roller on the web for $525. It claims to handle 16 ga., 50" wide. How can you beat that!
Have a great day,
Jeff
Congratulations, Jeff. Sounds like you got a deal. Once you make something with it, you'll have to post pictures!
JAZ

[ironman]

Hi JAZ, That's for a NEW machine!!!!!!!! I just realized that you're the sculptor who made "Potential Cubed X3". I keep looking at that piece whenever it pops up at the top of the page and it has intrigued me ever since I first saw it. That's a teriffic piece, Joyce.
Have a nice evening,
Jeff

[JAZ]

Hi JAZ, That's for a NEW machine!!!!!!!! I just realized that you're the sculptor who made "Potential Cubed X3". I keep looking at that piece whenever it pops up at the top of the page and it has intrigued me ever since I first saw it. That's a teriffic piece, Joyce.
Have a nice evening,
Jeff
Wow, thanks, Jeff. The best part doesn't show in the picture - when the breeze shifts, they turn. I've been checking out your photo gallery images and I like your style. I'll be interested to see what you do with that bender!
JAZ

[Araich]

That's a great looking roller there JAZ... plenty of character.

[JAZ]

That's a great looking roller there JAZ... plenty of character.
Actually, the guy who built it has an equivalent amount of "character". And I've got lots of other stuff in my studio that has, too. Most of the furniture in the "clean" part of my space is in the roadisde treasures category. It's amazing what some people will try to throw away. Believe it or not I found a four wheel dolly - one of those flat ones - one day, left out for the trash truck. It has the fully rotating wheels. As we all know, you can never have enough wheels.

[warren01]

Ironman, glad you liked the site. I have been down the last couple of days so sorry about not getting right back.

Yeah I would to see to what you are going to use it far. For me it cannot make enough shapes for some future stuff I want to make. Of course a while back I would of loved to have one. I had to make some 12" diameter by 28" high ash trays out of brass. I did not know if one would of formed the metal anyway because was not just flat piece of metal. Made up sheets with different textures and formed. Ended up doing the old hammer method, what a pain trying to get something curved round. Pledged to myself --- no more round items. Had to make five of them.

I think the one machine I really want to get is a helve hammer. Rig it up so I can do some hammering over dollies and stakes. Kind of like raising, but use it for both strectching and shirnking. Do some real shaping of metal. In the future though.

warren

[sculptorsam]

We have an old yet functional slip roller in the shop with a motor attached that I use occasionally (when it's not being "repaired" yet again). Probably a lot handier than rolling by hand, but you have to make sure you aren't wearing any loose clothing or gloves. You'll lose a finger in a jiffy. Be safe all and happy rolling!

Sam

[ironman]

Hi Warren01, When I first read your last post about the ashtrays (I hadn't scrolled down to see the photo as yet) I thought "ashtrays?, what kind of sculptor is this guy?"
Then I saw the photo, it looks beautiful, I love the texture and the look of it, definitely a work of art. It looks like a lot of work went into it and I hope you got amply rewarded. I'm a nonobjective sculptor and I like a combination of flat and rounded shapes in my work. Yeah, making those curved shapes is a pain in the ass but feel as though I'm limiting myself without them in my repetoire. Sculptorsam makes great sculpture with curves & compound curves that I'm sure take a lot of hard work, determination and frustration to accomplish. His work is very biomorphic (not sure if that's a word), you know, forms that are reminiscent of, but not quite what you'd find in nature but imbued with lots of feeling.
Hi Sculptorsam, I hope I haven't offended you in that last paragraph, I haven't looked at your web site in a while so I'm just going on vague impressions that were imprinted somewhere in my brain. I haven't ordered the slip roller as yet (probably will today), and although I'd like a motorized one, I don't think I can afford it. I do want to thank you for the safety warning. One could get stuck in one of those machines and come out looking like GUMBIE!!!!!!!!!
Thanks again and have a great day,
Jeff