Method of manufacturing a sheet feed roller

A method of manufacturing a sheet feed roller, comprising the steps of:

• providing a pair of punches composed of a first punch and a second punch, the first and second punches being opposite to each other at an interval smaller than a diameter of a cylindrical metal roller;
• repeatedly performing, in a state in which the metal roller is supported by a supporting stand, a first projection forming operation including a punching operation by the first and second punches and a rotating operation in which the metal roller is sequentially rotated by a predetermined rotation angle in synchronism with the punching operation to form a plurality of projections in a circumferential direction and in an axial direction on a circumferential surface of the metal roller, the plurality of projections formed by the first punches having a pitch;
• and
• moving the metal roller in the axial direction by a predetermined distance, which is smaller than the pitch, and in a rotation direction by a predetermined rotation angle after the first projection forming operation, and repeatedly performing a second projection forming operation which is the same as the first projection forming operation to form additional projections in the circumferential direction between the projections that have been formed so as to be adjacent to each other in the axial direction.