You need to gather as much information about your roll form tooling and equipment as possible before you can get started. Measure and record:
- Horizontal centers.
- Vertical centers (minimum and maximum).
- Spindle diameter (keyway size).
- Roll space (base to centerline of bottom spindle).
Tooling Material
It is important to know what steel grade the roll form tooling was made of originally. In the past many sets of roll form tooling were made out of tool steels that would case-harden only when heat-treated, meaning that the hardened surface was only about 1¼32 inch deep. Roll form tooling constructed this way cannot be recut; it has to be replaced. If the roll form tooling is made out of tool steel that can be through-hardened, the chances of being able to recut it are better.
