the tinker
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Bought a new roller a couple years back to replace my old one that had seen better days. decided to finally try it out.
Been experimenting with different ways of mounting it in a vise. also mounting the vise differently so the unit can be mounted over the vise and not sticking out into the work area. The roller mounts on the end of a welded angle iron arm that is clamped into a vise. There always is some "wobble" when using it that is annoying. Trying to eliminate this as well. Anyway been messing around with it mounted in different positions. One thing that worked out well was making the bench lower. With the roller mounted lower there is more control and is easier on the shoulders.
The new rollers have one improvement over the older ones. The bottom wheel will not become loose during use. They are pretty much only good for balloon fenders. This particular roller was originally made to roll out Whizzer fenders. I sold a roller last year that had an extra small roller for light weight fenders and a flat roller for taking a kink out of anything that is flat . I wish I would have kept them. It will not do peaked fenders. It will do the sides only. Also deep fenders like monark are tricky as the bottom lip of the fender drags against the shaft housing of the bottom wheel. Maybe the new units may be deeper, I havent tested it yet.
I always run a couple of turns of electrical tape on both rollers. Keeps the knurling on the bottom wheel from nicking up the underside of the fender, and buffers the top roller from disturbing paint or chrome. Never roll a dirty fender. A little piece of grit will ruin your day. THey are lots of fun!
Been experimenting with different ways of mounting it in a vise. also mounting the vise differently so the unit can be mounted over the vise and not sticking out into the work area. The roller mounts on the end of a welded angle iron arm that is clamped into a vise. There always is some "wobble" when using it that is annoying. Trying to eliminate this as well. Anyway been messing around with it mounted in different positions. One thing that worked out well was making the bench lower. With the roller mounted lower there is more control and is easier on the shoulders.
The new rollers have one improvement over the older ones. The bottom wheel will not become loose during use. They are pretty much only good for balloon fenders. This particular roller was originally made to roll out Whizzer fenders. I sold a roller last year that had an extra small roller for light weight fenders and a flat roller for taking a kink out of anything that is flat . I wish I would have kept them. It will not do peaked fenders. It will do the sides only. Also deep fenders like monark are tricky as the bottom lip of the fender drags against the shaft housing of the bottom wheel. Maybe the new units may be deeper, I havent tested it yet.
I always run a couple of turns of electrical tape on both rollers. Keeps the knurling on the bottom wheel from nicking up the underside of the fender, and buffers the top roller from disturbing paint or chrome. Never roll a dirty fender. A little piece of grit will ruin your day. THey are lots of fun!