Patent ID: 7181845

Claim:
A method of manufacturing from a metal tube a tapered conveyor roller, the roller having first and second ends and a belt-engagement length tapered from a smaller-diameters portion to a larger-diameters portion near the second end, the metal tube having a longitudinal axis, first and second ends, and an initial outer diameter, the method comprising: rotating the tube about the longitudinal axis, the tube being substantially free of internal and external supports between the ends thereof; providing first and second rollers which are rotatable about corresponding axes generally parallel to the longitudinal axis; and urging the first and second rollers against the tube and moving the first and second rollers between the first and second ends of the tube so as to alter the outer diameter of the tube to form in a single tube-shaping step both (a) the smaller- and larger-diameters portions along the belt-engagement length and (b) a necked-down portion adjacent the second end of the roller.