EdsGTI

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump...ODUCT

This is the bead roller i was looking at and the one that many people suggested. I will only use it on 2-4" piping, mostly for intercooler piping.

I am confused from the specifications. I understand that it will roll .080" wall beads in only .050 thick material???

What about .083 aluminum, .065 SS? I use .083 on end tanks, and .065 on any steel.

Is there a better, beefier bead roller for these larger wall thicknesses?

spiceisler

Eastwood gets them from Van Sant. Browse through their site. I have this one:



at the shop in Bklyn (you can stop by to check it out) but I would get it with the heavy-duty motor if I had to do it over again. The motor is a joke compared to the rest of the unit.

Race Egr

IF you can I would go for a hydraulic expander much easier and you get a perfect bead every time

EdsGTI

i was going to get a huth tube expander, so i can use that for bead roll too? sick.

EdsGTI

http://www.vansantent.com/tube...r.htm

jdlracing.com

$4,125 DAMN!!! I will stick with my $500 bead form.

I have used the bead form to make hundreds if not thousands of beads on intercooler piping & intercooler inlet/outlets over 3-4 years and it still works great. The only problem I encountered with it that I fixed was the handle. It was two small and became stripped and I had a new handle CNC machined that was longer and much easier to turn and is going on 3 years with no problems..

The only thing I would suggest other than the handle is welding up a stand for it if you are planning on using it frequently. . Just bolting it to an end of lets say a welding table, you will encounter problems with the handle used to rotate the pipe hitting the table. With the new handle, even a 3 year old child could do it easily. Just make sure to spray some lubricant on the inside & outside of the pipe.

You can put together a nice stand for around $10 in scrap square tubing that you should be able to find at any local scrap yard. I will post a drawing of what I am talking about in a few minutes.

Honestly though, unless you are going to be bead rolling pipe 8-10 hours a day, I would stick with the $500 Bead form or go with the Electric Bead Form which is available for $1,670
Electric Bead Form II (1-1/2" - 4" OD) Produces a bead approx. .080" tall x .270" wide.


More info can be seen here http://vansantent.com/bead_tool_electric.htm

If you want to spend over 4k, your better off buying a pipe bender like this because then you will be able to bend pipe also.


I got mine with all the dies including 1-1/2", 1-3/4", 2", 2-1/4", 2-1/2" & 3", expanding, reducing & swaging dies for $6,250 shipped. I'm sure you can find it cheaper if you look around the net.

I also purchased it over a 6 month period because the company I purchased it from offered a killer deal where you pay $1000 up front, they ship it to you, and you repay the remaining balance over a 6 month period. No credit check, no social security #, all I needed was a credit card.

I believe it was Northern Tool. I cant remember off the top of my head. If you need more info, let me know and I will look for the invoice in my records.

More info can be seen here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...57236

It comes with a ton of dies and includes expanding, reducing & swaging dies. problems.

I will post a drawing of the stand for the bead form shortly. It really did make bead rolling a hell of a lot easier.

Hope my information was helpful!

thanks,
Josh L
JDL Racing

Jon@ForcedFabllc.com

+1 for the 500 bead form, i had one for years, it broke and i had the internals upgraded and fixed for under 100$, it worked even better, but then it got stolen out of the shop..

that 6month deal on the pipe bender sounds like a killer deal, i have an old bender setup from a muffler shop that was a lil over a grand, and its priceless when doing alot of exhaust fabrication.
I have even made a die for it to make header collectors out of 14gauge mild for hot rod guys. paid for the bender in about 4 weeks!

Jon