Cool.. Glad I could help..

Even if it was still red hot, (not just annealed) I don't think you could put enough pressure on it to really increase it's square area with slip rolls.. The rollers would flex too much, and since they would arc so that the edges would be getting the most pressure, it would only stretch in the lengthwise direction, if it stretched at all. Not width wise, as you might first think. You would be much better off using an English Wheel and wheeling it out the the desired square area and then washing over it with a flat wheel (no compound arc), after a final annealing.

@@billsmetal Great suggestion Bill Thanks!

If you were going to employ the tool (guide) that I showed, and rolled from the center out, or even rolled from both ends, you would have to readjust both ends of the rolls with every pass. It would be very time consuming and tedious. You would have to roll on the left and the right ends of the rollers. If you rolled from the center out, unless you hit the center just right, you would end up with either a hump or a flat in the center of your piece. I find that just putting the piece in until it just pinches and holds in place and then pushing it up by hand works as well and anything. It does require some experience to get it just right.

Yep, I usually roll from the center of the U out to one leg and then turn the piece around and then roll toward the other leg. that way the piece is symmetric and without the flat spot that you would get on one leg if you tried to do it all from one direction.

Thanks Bill, that's very helpful. One other thing... How important is it to have a third roller? Most of the 12" rolls I'm looking at online appear to have angled arms or an adjustable bar behind the front rollers instead. This is light-duty work, but I hate junk tools. Do you think any of the current models in the sub-$250 range are worth owning? Thanks!

lol morlol It does make it easier to feed in if you start on the corners but what happens is, that since there is less material to bend, the corners get (bend) tighter and then you have to push them back to get them into the rollers again. Also the diagonal dimension is longer than straight across the sheet. So you can put a bigger piece of material in if you go square to the rollers. However your way will work. There's no right or wrong on this one. So do what works for you.

***** ah... all that makes sense... you're keeping the load uniform. Thanks very much. I've never used anything like this before but I'd like to build myself a slip roll I can use. Thanks.

+motherchucka1 ... I thought I had answered this but I don't see the answer here...?? so.... It is a Stewart Handy Worker.. Patented in 1915.. They were also made in Australia under a different name, which I can't remember right now... here's a link to a yahoo search... lot's of info about them on the web.. search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=stewart+handy+worker&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004

+billsmetal. you did months ago weird why its not there. any way thanks again and keep up the good work

JD, I've been working with metal all my life... Made my first Aluminum TIG Weld when I was 9 years old and I will be 62 in a couple months.... I have never been able to work with gloves on..(Pf course I didn't have any when I was young..!!..) After 51 years you learn how to handle the metal... and I can grip it much more securely with bare hands than I can with gloves on... So I don't let it slip near as often this way as I do with gloves on.. For me having gloves makes me feel like I have ten thumbs.. It's awkward as hell..And this way I feel the metal when it is yielding much easier.. Glad you liked the Video...!!

***** I've seen gloves hurt more people than help. It's wearing baggy clothing around every finger you have. Gloves are for keeping hands warm and hands soft and vulnerable.

+billsmetal Totally agree on the no gloves.

+JD Wisdom Gloves should never be worn around machinery. They are an extreme safety hazard.