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PSA: dropped $340 on a used tube roller that was wore slap out, don't make my mistake
So about 5 months back I drove out to a guy's shop near Gary to look at a used tube roller he had listed. He told me it ran smooth and had only been used on light gauge stuff. I get it home, set it up, and the bearings are growling like an old dog. Took it apart and the shafts had about a quarter inch of play, plus somebody had welded a crack in the frame and ground it down to hide it. I paid $340 cash for it because I was in a hurry on a boiler job and thought I was getting a deal. Ended up putting another $180 in bearings and a new drive chain just to make it usable, and honestly it still walks all over the floor when I run anything heavier than 14 gauge. Should've brought a dial indicator and a straightedge with me instead of trusting a guy's word in a driveway. What do you all check first when you're buying used rolls or a slip roller off marketplace? Any tips so I don't get burned again?
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cameron4266d ago
Buddy of mine bought a roll bender off a guy in a parking lot and didn't find out the bottom roll was bent until he tried to run a full length of channel through it. He now brings a short piece of his own stock and runs it through before any cash changes hands, so he can see if it tracks straight or binds up. That trick plus turning the shafts by hand to feel for slop would catch most of what bit you.
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