Raduis brake

[Jaroslav]

Steve. Never-ever kick a fresh turd on a hot day!

That's good news ....

Change of mind.
I canceled the bending on a 3-cylinder rolling machine and I will probably sell it. I only have a sharp tool in the bending machine. I make all the radius bends over the rubber wheel. It allows me to tune exactly where I want it to bend. For the last 5 years, I haven't done anything so straight that I need a precise bend over a precise radius. The rubber wheel in EW expands my variability.

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[sfm1951]

This is all good info and I'm taking all of the suggestions in mind for the build before I start. Anybody else have anything to add? I want to do this right the first time. Just like the old saying . We haven't got time to do it once, but we can do it twice. Thanks Steve.

[metal manny]

Steve, if you only plan to do one-off radius bends and have an absolute "must-have" English wheel handy, then Jaro's suggestion makes perfect sense.

Apart from a rubber wheel, as suggested, you could use a 4" go-kart slick as the rubber wheel and full radius rollers made from UMHW plastic or similar to roll in shape. This method produces seamless, beautiful curves and does not stretch the metal with any significance. I like the fact that varying the psi in the tyre contributes to how forming takes place. That said, it's all about personal preference, availability and most importantly, COST!

My workshop is littered with fantastic machines I've built over the years but seldom get to use - causing storage misery as they are sadly too valuable to toss and pretty worthless to sell, consuming prime workshop real estate to no real benefit.

Finding a storage place for a square foot's worth of rubber and plastic wheels is a viable option and won't cost the earth.

[Jaroslav]

Yes, Manny. Steel friends don't talk nonsense and just do only what you want. Especially when you created them. Experience and instructions on how to use it are very difficult to explain. We have to reckon with the fact that most of our ideas end up in recycling.

Note: Mild pressure is required on my rubber wheel. It beautifully describes the radius.