More Home Brew Tools

I'm going to need a way to put a bead on the ends of 3/8th aluminum and steel gas lines, transmission lines, and things of that nature. So I started out with an idea for a simple beading tool. The first picture shows the parts laid out, a 1x2x7 inch rectangle piece for the main body. (Only because I had it in the scrap bin.) A flat piece for a cap, angle for the bottom so it could be clamped in the vise. Handle made up of odds and ends, and a die made from a piece of round shaft. The hammer handle was going to be the upper die. Mounted so it would pivot, it would have had a groove in the upper end of the hard wood handle matching the raised ring in the die. With the tubing slipped over the die, pressure could be applied as the die handle was cranked.
Might have worked if I had three hands!! This is where the simple part got left out of the equation. Rooting through the scrap under the welding bench, various boxes, bins, and hiding holes, enough parts, and/or material was found to build what turned out be a not half bad unit. Check out the pictures, and see what you think.

Picture #2 Revamped version, before assembly.
Picture #3 Front View
Picture #4 Back view
Picture #5 Side view

Picture #6 Clamped in the vise, Die side view
Picture #7 Handle side
Picture #8 Die side, backside view
Picture #9 Front view

Picture # 10 Test tubing loaded
Picture # 11 One complete turn, bead starting to form
Picture # 12 Four complete turns and bead is complete
Picture # 13 First attempt, looks good
Picture # 14 Second attempt, also looks good, 'woo hoo' success!!

Thanks for sharing your secrets with us Sniper. I look forward to any of the homemade tools that come along in this thread! CR

Wow that is really slick, and it looks like it does a great job. Thanks for sharing.

At the other end of the food chain from Sniper's superior beading machine[cl is my hastily thrown together clamp. I needed a clamp with a deep throat and a long stand-off for holding the angle iron in place on my truck bed sides while tacking it. I needed a tight fit between the two pieces. This little beauty did the trick.

Awesome job sniper!!!

I was going to design one of those one day, now I can just copy yours!!

Lightspeed Mike

Any of these one off tools are a learning experience. If I were to build another one, there would be two changes I would make. The first one would relocate the spring 'pocket' through the body, that way the 'die side would be clear and it would handle larger tube such as rad hose nipples, or intake tube. The spring would still do the same job, just move the pin it rests against to the other side of the handle. The second change I would make, would have the crank handle spindle hollow. Not a solid die/shaft that I did on this one. That way, different dies can be made that would slip into the hollow spindle and make it even more versatile. You can then change to any size or shape of die and roller you can dream up. This one can handle up to 1 inch tube, anything bigger hits the spring pocket. I have enough parts and pieces to make one that would handle the larger tubing, and just keep this one busy with the smaller stuff. After it's made the 'ol' 20-20 hindsight sure kicks in don't it?

Sniper,

Nice tool and it looks like it works great! Just remember to put the bead on the fuel line before you bend it.
Thanks for showing us.

My tools usually look a lot like Bob W's.