Glad I posted. Thanks for catching me before wasting time on a mistake. So I would have to make an opposite mold.
That would take some careful work but simply putting a release agent on the original and then pouring some resin, say epoxy on top, would make the proper female mold. Sounds like this was one of your ideas.
For your rollers you could use bicycle chain and sprockets. I don't do metal work, but making a roller from wood on my lathe would be easy. A large diameter roller would be easy to make and might be a good idea.
Thanks for the great ideas BTW and thoughts.