Slip Roll Hinge

I did ask how they made that and they said it was just a slip roll like it was a nothing operation any fab shop should be able to do.

I had meant to put that in the first post somehow it slipped by.

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Do you mean like the bead-rolled rim of a bucket?

Sorta. From what I've been able to find these are usually made in production with dies and a press. Usually takes two press operations and two dies for a roll.

Sorta. From what I've been able to find these are usually made in production with dies and a press. Usually takes two press operations and two dies for a roll.

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It's possible to form a half round bead by rolling the sheet metal plus a rod through the slip roll grooves, then clamp then in a bending brake (or between angle irons) with the narrow lip exposed enough to bend it further around the rod, until it can be tapped, squeezed and rolled fully round over the rod. My efforts weren't exactly pretty, and I made doubled-over hinge leaves instead of a wired edge. I turn the bench vise jaws around to the smooth sides for working sheet metal.

Many years ago I looked at an aluminum body motorcycle trailer. It was at a run or a show. I don't recall exactly. There was a top hinged door that used no bolt/weld/rivet on hinge. One of the panels of the trailer had a roll or tube rolled into one edge of the panel, and the door had a similar roll on one edge. Then they just slid together. I didn't care about the trailer one way or another. (I had/have a couple motorcycle trailers.) What I found interesting was the hinge mechanism. In the open position you could just slide the two pieces apart and set the door out of the way. In the closed position there was a latch that kept things from moving.

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I think I've seen it too. The metal edges are rolled into concentric P shapes, with round loops. The problem is clamping the edge to a shaft and either bending the sheet metal around the shaft or winding it up. If you don't mind holes the edge could be screwed to tapped holes in the shaft. The simple, tedious approach would be clamping them in a vise with the sheet upright and gradually hammering it against and around the shaft, using a block of wood to distribute the blows lengthwise and concentrate them near the shaft, where work-hardening makes the bent metal stiffer and less easily bent than the rest of the sheet.

See this used on louvers and slats. Web page here with some info and cad files:

See this used on louvers and slats. Web page here with some info and cad files:

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The dies:

There is a nice animation video of using this type of die on YouTube. I'll post the link if I run across it again.