Cheap/easy DIY bead crimper for intercooler piping
 

I know there are probably a hundred ways to go about this, but this was so cheap and easy I figured I'd share.

$12.00 electrical crimping/cutting tool from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B21CH8Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...321bb730e7.jpg

Say hello to my little friend...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...69d061ea53.jpg


Cut off the ends, clean up the sharp edges, and it's ready to use.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7f3b342e11.jpg

It takes some time and quite a bit of pressure to make the crimp; however, you can just set the pliers on a bench and give it a few whacks with a rubber mallet, easy peasy. I'm able to put a whole bead on a 3" pipe in less than 5 minutes. By ramming the edge of the pipe right against the hinge of the jaws, it keeps the bead a consistent distance from the edge. Test crimp on a piece of scrap- not as tall as I would like, but certainly tall enough to be effective and a lot better than no bead at all.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...0201d30751.jpg

That's actually pretty clever, have a cat. If you have a welder you can also run a bead around the end. The coupling seals the strait pipe, the bead just keeps it from coming off.

Very cool, have a cat!

I used to have one similar to this with with clamps in the past. It is great do do one set of beads, but if you are doing a ton of beads on a ton of pipes it starts hurting you handle very quickly. I ended up spending $250 on a Vibrant bead roller and it works amazingly.

Yeah, it's definitely not the best if you need to make a bunch of beads. If you just need it for a dozen beads for a DIY project, you can't beat a $12 dollar tool that you can make in 10 minutes with an angle grinder.

Since my OP, I cut some relief in the back of the jaws with the cutoff wheel. If you look at the original picture of my test bead, you can see the witness marks where the tool was biting on the edge of the pipe. After adding the relief cuts, it's much easier to use- especially with a workbench and BFH.

We used the same method, but used the $7 harbor freight crimper.

https://www.miataturbo.net/build-thr...d-87186/page3/

I planned to do this on mine. Found the technique on the d series honda forum.

Turns out I don't make enough pressure to blow couplers though, so it is a non issue....

I could probably get away without the beads, but I'm planning to put my car on the track and I figure it's worth the extra effort to eliminate as many potential failure points as possible.

thread bump.

Redoing the plumbing from my supercharger to intercool, and need to run a bead on some tubing.

Was about to do grab a pair of pliers to hack up, was googling and stumbled upon a nice prefabbed version on egay - I figured I'd be likely to munt something up making my own and this looked pretty cool so I just bought one.
60 bucks. Not the cheapest thing in the world but I'm also lazy.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/142355886591

This. I have the Vibrant roller and I have no idea how I survived so long without it.

I have already started looking at THIS automatic roller to help speed things up.

Depending on the gear reduction speed could be perfect for shops that do multiple beads. Lots of cool fabrication tools.

Love the resource page on the trick tools website.
https://www.trick-tools.com/index/pa...ical_resources

That's pretty clever! I've usually done a light misting of hairspray on the end of the pipe to create a tacky grip for the coupler, but this is less hoodrat.

Oh jeez

So I'll throw this out - made with fidget spinner bearings, washers, and a spare piece of angle. Really slow and annoying to use, and I'll probably remake it again if I need to do more than another 2 beads, but made a pretty good bead I used to reduce the radiator pipe. Also made another beader from a pair of needle nose pliers to slip into some 3/8 aluminum pipe.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...05fd7992e6.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5c068e0531.jpg

Finally, a good use for fidget spinners.