Baileigh Manual Roll Bender (R-M3)

This is a very nice bender, operates smoothly. Shipped and delivered on time.

I have mixed feelings about this order/product! I've looked at similar benders at Harbor Freight, but decided to spend the extra money for a Baileigh. It arrived today in a pristine Amazon box. I opened that box and discovered another box, clearly from overseas. It was even stamped "Made in *****." It still had the shipping labels: one to Baileigh and one to Amazon. This second box was ripped from the inside, and the rollers were poking out the side. It had been opened, then re-sealed, probably at Amazon! Two of the three grease nipples are broken off, and no trace of them are in either box, and that's why I believe it was opened at Amazon, then re-sealed before sending the unit to me!!! Come On Amazon, get with it!! After removing the machine, I found it was originally fastened to a piece of plywood with two pieces of wire. They both broke, allowing it to move around, bust through the box, and break off the nipples. I also had to tighten the set screw on the adjusting handle, and tighten two screws that hold the tool to the baseplate... Come On, Baileigh, get with it!!! All that said, it does appear to be an acceptable machine. All the parts move smoothly, and are of heavy steel. I clamped the machine to my bench and started rolling a piece of flat bar. It passed over the rollers nice and straight. I didn't try to bend it too much with each pass, so it came out in a very nice arc. I does leave marks on the steel from the knurled rollers, but if you take it easy and don't try to bend it too much too fast, they aren't that noticeable. The grooves for rolling round stock appear to be smooth, so I don't think it will mark your project. Overall, I can only give four stars. I would give less due to the shipping problems, but more for the end results of the quality and value of the machine itself. I'm looking forward to using it on actual projects, and I hope it stands up to light, careful use.

So far, I'm happy with this roller. Definitely nicer than the HF equivalent, and I haven't found anything better for anywhere near this price. Amazon must have read these reviews, because when I received mine, it was in a box the size of a small carry-on suitcase, and had so much bubble wrap around the roller, you could have dropped it off a building and it wouldn't have had a scratch. So that's good. The first issue I noticed was that the chrome cover protecting the gears was loose, but when I tightened the allen screws more than finger tight, it would bind. So I used a brass drift to "dome" the inside of the cover, creating a little more clearance, and then used Loctite on the screws. It seems to work fine now, but if they start coming loose again, I may use some 1/4" tubing to make some spacers. Minor problem, just annoying. The roller itself, however, works great. My first project was to make an all-weather cup holder for my tractor, turning 1" x 1/8" flat bar down to about 3" in diameter. The machine didn't skip a beat. As advised elsewhere, I took my time and didn't try to put too much bend into each pass. I've done some 1/4" rod as well, with similar results. I don't have any 3/16" flat bar on hand, so I haven't tried that yet. I am admittedly a little nervous about trying it, but I'll definitely take my time with it. It'll do 1/8" material all day long, though. Someone mentioned breaking the machine while bending 1/8" rod. I don't see how that's possible, because you can bend 1/8" rod around your finger, but maybe they got a defective unit. It's from China, after all. It does leave some knurl marks in the material, but I don't know what else you could do. If the wheels were smooth, it might not have enough traction to pull the material through. Just clean up the part afterward with a sanding drum, wire wheel, or what have you and it looks fine. We're not making precision-machined parts here. It's a hobby tool, and that's reflected in the price. So I'm happy with it so far. If I experience any problems I'll update my review...

This roll former has a nice instruction manual with an included parts list. It is unreasonable at it's price point to expect too much, however. I would recommend that Baileigh ship this item without it's grease zerks installed, as two of the three on mine were broken off when I received it. Another recommendation on the customer side of things is to make sure all of the bolts on this tool are tight. After tightening mine, it did bind up. Installing the handle provided enough leverage to overcome it- the spacers between the two side plates are not all the same length. If they line them up next to each other on a surface grinder, and use support plates on either side at the factory, grinding them all at once to a uniform spec, it will resolve this issue. One factor that makes this a better roll former than other Chinese made products the fact that it does not have plastic on the main drive handle...always appreciated! If this were my product.....I would make them with a grade 8 bolt instead of the adjustment knob. Then...sell a large key with a hex drive recess to fit over the top of the bolt to customers who absolutely must have this feature. Would be a more durable and profitable solution, I feel. I would recommend this tool to customers who need a solution for very occasional use projects, or to someone who is willing to go through and "blueprint" it to conform more closely with the standards that a typical user will expect. 3 stars.

I just broke my second one rolling 1/8" rod. Rollers are held in place with a plastic part that snapped in half in the exact same place on both. Save your money and make one or get something better quality!