I am trying to get some opinions (yeah i know) about wether to invest in a gear motor setup or wheel for my bead roller. I have only used my roller a couple times and realized it could use alot of help. I am in the process of stiffening it but need help on the drive. I know the motor would be sweet but I am worried about control. If I put a motor on it how do you make it variable speed? It seems that with a wheel you could just stop or back up. I am probably going to make some kind of table to support the sheet allowing one hand feeding. This will never be used for production. As my jeep build has been going on 2 years. Thanks!

The ONE time I used one, seems to me it had a foot switch, and reostat and was reversable at the foot switch.
Didn't pay as much attention as I should have, but that would indicate to me the motor was DC.

If you work by your self a lot, having a power bead roller can be a lifesaver. That way you can guide the sheet metal and control the roller with a foot switch. Trying to crank the roller with one hand and follow the line with the other can be tough on a larger sheet by yourself.

Check out Murfman's beadroller thread:http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=679490&highlight=bead+roller

Well I usually work by myself. But the way I look at it, most of my beads would be straight line beads. Which would be done with an edge guide. The only time I could see freehanding it would be turning a corner or creating some image, which would be very little. If I were to do it manually I would probably have about a 22" 3/4 rod rolled into wheel for leverage. I would like to hear from guys that have done both manual and powered to see what they prefer.

Things you can do with a powered bead roller :smokin:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144995&highlight=baileigh

This will waste about an hour of your day looking at all of these!


Enjoy


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