Modified Harbor Freight Metal Roller - Electric Pipe Threader Add-On

[@nelsenstudios2853]

This is one of the things I’ve always admired about you Doug. You show the warts/failures of your process. Never have to be the smartest guy in the room 24/7 like so many on social media. And you always manage to deliver no matter what. Your final product was awesome🤘🔥 #Doug4President

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks Tim😊 I always feel it's important to share the good and the bad. The successes and the failures. It's the way we grow as a community. I've had emails from people ready to throw in the towel when their just getting started because they felt they were the only person making mistakes. When they learn that's just part of the journey, they have a renewed sense of " I've got this!"

[@DaleDix]

I've screamed at the screen before for people to do something like that! Made the gates look perfect!

[@ArtfullyRogue]

I know the feeling. I'd rather take the extra time to make it right

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Very nice tips and tricks and MOD video today keep up the great craftsmanship and hard work my friend keep making

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks Jared😊 they may not always turn out exactly the way I anticipate but hopefully they'll spark a creative notion in someone to give it a try and improve upon it😊

[@SchysCraftCo.]

Artfully Rogue as my mother says go with the flow of life

[@barryphilrush719]

Nice , Very Nice , I like what you ,and Robin Did with the Bender . It's give me 2 New Idea's " Thanks Doug "

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Haha excellent more projects😀 I'm always glad to add to the list my friend😉👍

[@ericjdommer]

I love the fact that you modified it. Its the American way. I often look at something and think of ways to modify as well, make it better........Cheers.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Yeah I love the same thing. Always looking for ways to make it better or do it differently

[@Everythings_Adjustable]

Everything adjustable Doug 😁 Good work on the modification and those gates look great 👍 😊

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks Tony you are so right! Everything is adjustable.

[@Everythings_Adjustable]

😀👍

[@TheEquineFencer]

Great post. Kinda what I do, post videos to let folks now how to get things done.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Exactly. share the knowledge

[@rogermccaslin6750]

I thought for sure you were going to show a real life exploded view of that Harbor Freight threader. 😲 Glad it held up for you.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

There were a couple times I thought, this baby is going to blow!. But it just dug in and went all 4 wheel drive on me and got the job the done

[@johnvice4066]

V-Tec just kicked in, yo

[@AJR2208]

Hi Doug, I once had similar difficulties. So my modifications included - being able to spread the base rollers further apart, installed a hand winch off a boat trailer for the gear reduction and for thin wall, I use heat, reduce the feed pressure & make more passes (a LOT more passes) to avoid wrinkles. Good luck, Stay safe and well :)

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Yeah I was wondering if heating the 2" tube would've prevented some of the deformation. It was a great lesson action/reaction. We actually tried .095 x 2" as tubing but the top die started tearing into the tubing and we didn't want to trash the dies so we ended up just giving the task to my metal supplier

[@AJR2208]

@@ArtfullyRogue I hear you brother. The heat helps to initially shrink one side - so for 2" SHS, heat a square section about 2-3" on one face and then on both sides bring the heat into a V. When you cool it down quickly it will shrink and the tube will start to bend in that direction. Repeat this along the tube. Once you initially "shrink bend" the tube, then heat again and roll it. If you have more trouble, let me know & I'll send a more detailed email. Good luck :)

[@theartman410]

Thanks for the idea on how to use the die and making a plate. I have a CNC table on can burn the square for my slip roller. Thanks again

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Heck yeah, glad to help

[@WildmanTech]

If I'd seen this before modifying mine, I'd have used this as my guide.

[@crleppard1]

Great idea and a valiant attempt!

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks Chris👍😊 I always love the process of discovery. Rarely does it work perfect the first time around...at least for me anyway😊

[@lowtidecustoms1166]

Gear head customs in chandler makes a killer wing kit and bottle jack for the tension.... that is what I bend all my frames with.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

We actually picked up our 2" dies from swag off road and they also have a modified version. I didn't know about Gear head, I'll have to check them out

[@bunyanforgings7849]

I did a recurved arch on my front gate. Finished size was 1 inch X 1 inch. My solution was to stack two layers of 1/2 inch X 1 inch solid after first bending them to shape in my hydraulic press. Then I aligned and welded the layers together. The rest of the gate was constructed of square tubing. One of my future projects will be to construct a rolling bender. I want to try it out curving handrails. Cheers.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Curving handrails is an art unto itself. I've done one and it was a great challenge but took me longer than I had wanted. I learned a lot in the process though

[@FigmentsMade]

Gotta love a hack that gets results one way or another!

[@ArtfullyRogue]

yeah we are pretty pleased with the result and we know that it will evolve and improve over time

[@zachary8669]

Awesome video. So underrated

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks Myles

[@micro963]

Great project thank you for sharing👍👍👍

[@retiredfederalie178]

I have done the full swag off-road wings, drive, and hydraulic bottle jack. I found that it was difficult to control run on and keep my bends level not corkscrew. I got a foot peddle and just taped the switch on the pipe threader down. You still have the reverse/forward switch in the same spot but it allows me to keep a straight on look at the bending. I haven’t tried square tube yet but 1”; 1.5” and 2” stainless steel up to .125 wall thickness goes through with no problem.

[@4legdfishman]

New subscriber! I have this roller and I just watched a video on swag off-road kit for this issue. They sell the entire weld up kit (minus the HF power threader) I'm guessing the problem you may have is that the bottom rollers are too close and this is probably why swag off-road has the extention wings for this kit! Nice work and beautiful gate! Looking forward to seeing more.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks for the sub Carl. And yes that's is the problem. My timing on the project limited my time on the mofiication but its on the list to do in the future. I saw the same swag-off-road videos

[@trx769]

Maybe overkill, but if you could NOT get another shop to bend the 2" for you - how about bending 2 identical 1" place them side by side, the 2 more slightly larger to fit directly on top, then weld all 4 together. More work, but would be strong. LOVE the idea of using the pipe threader. Was going to try something similar bc of the high torque. Thanks for sharing!

[@ArtfullyRogue]

I ended up get my metal supplier to bend the square tubing. Saved a ton of time and effort on the project. I now use the bender on smaller jobs though

[@Atlantismonkey40]

Hi Doug. I really like this topic of “How too”. First great attempt, learned some stuff. Can’t pay for that at college. I’m totally on board with the modification. There might have been a little play on the walls of the square bar being rolled. That contributes too the unwanted finished look. Also the thinness of the metal. Was kinda hard to see. All that being said. Still well worth the effort. I have also used a threading pipe tool to my roller. Know this is where I can get misinterpreted. Harbor freight is a homeowner hardware store. Just like any tool from anywhere. The moment you modified it. Well the product is voided as per warranty and design operation. Not that anything is wrong with modifying things. I give you big points for saying it works for smaller stuff. I guess what I’m saying is there is a fundamental difference between homeowners tools and commercial tools. Sometimes HF gets a bad rap. Well in the end. You got yourself a new tool for the shop, learned some stuff. Lastly got a bad ass finished gate. It looks amazing Doug and crew, well done. I’m still confused why you don’t have 2-3 hundred thousand views. Be safe!

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks Allen👍😊 I think if I had more time I probably worked on a more detailed modification. There are several premade mods that use the threader. Swag off road and Gear head both sell all the parts needed. And honestly I rarely buy anything from HF with a cord however I've noticed that they're trying to improve their products and as long as you don't void the warranty😉 they have a great return policy. It was still worth it for me since we could take our mangled tubing to my metal supplier and they could copy the arch. All in all I'm fairly pleased and yes now I can open myself up to other ideas for projects 😊😊

[@wrobelmike]

Very clever. It may not work on the big stuff, sure, but now you can do the smaller stuff yourself... And probably come up with some new things just because you now can.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

So true!😊 once we ran the 1" tubing through, the ideas for new projects started to pop into my head😀

[@tinkmarshino]

Yeah I have done things to make everything I do easier.. I retired and let my son do it now.. oh it is so much easier to say.. son.. I need you to weld this up just like this.. and then go and have coffee with the guys while he welds what I need.. Can't be any easier..

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Now you're talking👍😊 working smarter not harder.

[@tinkmarshino]

@@ArtfullyRogue yup my grandfather taught me that! ;-)

[@pthumphries1]

Isn't it funny how once we find ourselves messing with threaders and benders, we wind up in a video like this 🙃. I was contemplating over the past few days, that a threader motor could be used for such things

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Yeah we played with several ideas and kept coming back to the threader as the motor to use on the bender

[@EdgePrecision]

Great idea! Did you try the .120 wall yourself? It may have worked. I couldn’t tell from the video maybe if your dies/rollers fit the sidewalls of the 2” tube with the .062 wall tighter. They may not have bulged out and deformed so much.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

We tried .095 and the dies started tearing into the top corners of the tubing. We didn't want to risk trashing the dies so we threw in the towel for now in the 2" and just had my metal supplier do it

[@01squigs]

You probably already know but swag offroad sells everything you need for the roller and more

[@ManCrafting]

Did you modify the existing gate or rebuild from scratch. Cool to see the process of working through the problem.

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Modified the existing gate. Cut off the top and welded the new on

[@ManCrafting]

Artfully Rogue that’s what I would have done. Good to know we are on the same page.

[@BadBoyEzRider]

Can you add a fine thread die to the HF electric pipe threader? Great job with the modification to pipe bender.

[@damnitdang]

I want to curve a 1/4" metal flat bar, flat side laying down. Can this do it?

[@ArtfullyRogue]

It may take some time but I believe the threading machine has the torque to do it

[@ralphchurch3900]

I know this is a old video but where do you get the 2" dies?

[@ArtfullyRogue]

I bought them online from Swag Off Road. They have a kit that works with the Harbor Freight tubing bender

[@zico3239]

how about using impack wrench?

[@ArtfullyRogue]

totally possible, We'll have to give it try

[@ethangood9572]

Swag offroad makes a kit to do this

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Yep they do. And when you don't want to spend the money, you do it yourself 👍🙂

[@teamgrills444]

Hey buddy I have the same modifications on my tube bender , but every time I bend the pipe it never come up straight , I will appreciate any sugestións tankyou

[@ArtfullyRogue]

I'm still working it out. I have discovered the smaller the tubing, the easier it is to control. A second set of hands has helped as well to while one person operates the threader the other is helping to guide and keep the material straight

[@vanda01z]

top

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Top?

[@vanda01z]

🙆

[@bryanmeier8251]

The bottom rollers are too close together. I like the real world video .

[@GibClark]

👍👍👍👍

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks Gib😊👍

[@ameenghuloom1346]

i do build comprassor with a car engine 3 cy

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Now that's a cool modification😊👍

[@captesmail]

This should help explain the upgrade kit that this company (Swag Off-Road) made for the HF roller. (kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHjXo6CgfJpnf68) Good luck!

[@ArtfullyRogue]

Thanks for the added link

[@kshofat4]

Square sucks anyway. I love new Indian tricks.