[TheForge] Scroll maker

[Ries Niemi]

Making lots of scrolls-
Dave mudge suggested a hossfeld. As a hossfeld fan and supporter, I 
would have to say, nope, not a very good choice. Hossfeld makes a 
couple of scroll dies, neither of them very good. I have one, and have 
used it about twice. It only fits thin flat bar, and produces a 
particularly undistinguished scroll. I have seen the output of the Ram 
bender, as well, and I cant say I was very impressed with it either. 
Like the hossfeld, it makes a pretty wimpy scroll out of a few sizes of 
material. Okay for aluminum screen doors, not good enough for hand 
forged metalwork.
If money was no object, what you would want to do would be buy a Hebo 
scroll jig. They make something like 25 different stock scroll dies. 
And they would undoubtedly make any custom die you wanted. But their 
machines are fiendishly expensive, made to order in germany, and take 
months to get here. And the dollar is dropping every day against the 
Euro.
So what you want to do is copy the way their dies work. A decent scroll 
die is made to fit your material, and your desired curvature, with 
hinged pieces to extract the finished scroll.
Then either use a motor, like a ram scroll bender does, or make a 
manual setup, like a hossfeld. Both are just different ways of applying 
force to the die. It is the die that makes all the difference.
Hebo website is : www.heboe.com
I have been having trouble getting it to load lately, but maybe it is 
just my browser. You could also call Robert Rayson, Hebo's US rep, at 
503-658-2881 and get him to send you a catalog.
Hebo makes a complete line of CNC, money is no object ornamental iron 
machines for twisting, scrolling, bending, surface texturing, bar end 
finishing, etc. All stuff you would swear has to be done by hand to 
look right, but the hebo stuff is so well engineered and thought out 
that it is routinely used in europe to make restoration quality 
ironwork for 500 year old buildings. A very interesting catalog to 
steal ideas from.

ries