A large part of bead rolling is being creative with how you lay out a panel, the process you roll it through the bead roller, and the combination of dies you use. Some of the dies can be interchanged and swapped out to make custom designs and do specialized tasks. A “soft” lower die is made of a material other than metal and will have some give to it. Learn more below why this would be helpful for your next project!
With the Eastwood Polyurethane lower bead roller die you can create custom profiles in metal. Using this die in place of a hard lower die will give “softer” bends and profiles in metal. This die can also be used in conjunction with a sharp tipping die to start a flange or bend in metal. With a soft lower die you don’t need to pull up on the metal to start a flange or bent edge. Simply tighten the upper die down until it is pressing into the soft lower wheel slightly. When you run the panel through dies it will naturally tip the edge up allowing you to focus on following the design.