Forming The Ribs

The process of forming the aluminum strips into ribs is fairly simple. You do need the fixture solidly clamped down.

With the roller down at the nose of the rib loosen the clamp and turn it to the side. Insert the tip of the strip into the notch and bend it back flat to the form block.

Position the clamp and tighten it down.

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Brush oil on the strip and the roller. I'm using 5w30 motor oil but there are probably better oils to use.

I made wooden blocks to hold the strip from moving side to side. They have a notch band sawed into them to slide over the strip. The cut is deeper at the front than the back. Also the wood below the cut was sanded to curve the surface so it can wiggle as needed to clamp the strip centered on the form block.

The sides of the blocks are oiled. The blocks are clamped tight with a plastic clamp from Lowes. It flexes to work like a tight spring.

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The forming starts by lifting the handle and pressing the roller down into the strip while rolling toward the Trailing Edge.
After a few inches stop and roll back over the start to tighten it up. Then add a small plastic clamp to the end of the channel to keep it from lifting from the form block.
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After about 6 inches the roller stops. I believe the angle is off slightly. By holding the handle down and pushing it rolls on just fine. It doesn't form the channel as tight this way so you need to tip it back to the normal position and re-roll it. I also could have used a slightly longer form because with it tipped down it misses the last bit of the rib.

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This last bit of the rib is finished when you re-roll with the handle in the up position so it's not a big deal. I've taken some pictures so when I get some time I'll see if the stopping problem can be fixed.

At this point the rib is formed. Wipe off the oil, remove the clamps. The roller needs to be wiped off before moving it back to the start. It picks up a lot of aluminum during the rolling. Cleaning it prevents galling during the rolling of the next part.

The channel is formed with a nice radius in each corner.
The bent end gets cut off leaving a 1/2" tab for nailing to the leading edge and you have a rib. Just 99 left to make. A few more hours work but very satisfying.

If you didn't see the video of this in the earlier post click here.