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With all the tools on my workshop, I sometimes wondered why I bought some just to see them gather dust. Others, I am left scratching my head wondering if it would be easier just to have made them myself.
The Small Shop, of the photo-etch bending brake fame, has produced a nice rolling set for a while. A review of said set can be found on this site. However, through their association with The Small Shop EU (via Alisdair Johnston) new life has been breathed into what was a rather simple set.
For one, it is still in a very nicely machined and anodized aluminum finish. Gone are the wooden dowels, replaced by aluminum and steel rods. One edge has been machined to help make bending wire into grab handles a simple operation while a section has also been machined for the photo-etched mounts we come across so often.
The design also is perfectly flat across its face so the user can turn over the tool and roll pieces using the rods over the rubber section inset into the tool. This rubber provides good resistance to get the tactile feedback when using one’s hands.
In the photos, the first shows the tool. The second and third photos show me rolling the flash suppressor from ABER’s 2cm KwK set. The resistance form the rubber backing was enough to avoid kinking along the flash suppressor’s vent holes. My technique was to anchor one side of the rod and use the free end to form the cone.
The fourth photo shows a normal bend procedure. I first used a rod larger than needed. This was used to start the rolling process by pushing the rod, with brass piece lightly wrapped around it, into the recess designed for the rod. Then I turned over the tool and used a smaller rod to roll the piece to the correct size. Here I roll from the center of the part out towards the edges.
To shape photo-etched handles, straddle the piece across the correct sized area and use tweezers to push the sides down and out. One can make consistent pieces this way.
For other grab handles, such as the Warrior T-34/85 Model 1943 turret I used as a test, thread wire between the tines which are the correct distance needed. I used pliers to tug on the wire and create the handle. Actually, very easy!
This is an excellent set which is a real value when you note that no other tools must be purchased for other uses such as making grab handles.
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