Slip Roller

There is no better way to get nice curved sides on the block numbers than using a slip roller. This is a small version but still packed with many features. Don’t let that 600mm width trick you; those three rollers are solid, and the unit weighs 55kg! The two front rollers are connected through a gearbox on the other end to the crank handle, so both feed sheet in and out (depending on which direction you wind the crank). The rear roller then deflects the sheet, and the more it is wound up, the greater the bend. As a test, I rolled a 50mm wide piece of 1.6mm mild steel into a closed tube about 65mm in diameter. Naturally, the wider the material being rolled, the thinner it needs to be to stay within the machine's rated capacity.

In keeping with all my equipment, I fabricated a custom stand that suits my height and locking rollers. I bought better quality rollers from the local engineering suppliers, as the cheap ones I have found from experience are pretty rubbish. Despite its weight, it is easily moved around.

While it will be great for fabricating more block numbers, the main reason for buying this roller is that I want to make tree sculptures! There are two independent rear roller adjusting screws so I can roll small conical sections. Each concial section will be welded together to form the trunk and branches. The main top roller has a quick release, so the finished piece slides off.

NOTE - The tree project is still in the conceptual stage, so stay tuned….