Bending Sheet Steel At Home

How to bend sheet metal without a brake step 1.

Bending sheet steel at home.

In other words if you re bending 1 8 sheet use a tool with a 1 8 radius to form the inside of the bend. Aluminum sheet expanded metal 0 25 in metal stock steel metal stock crafting metal 1 1 square tubing related products 1 1 2 in. It just won t really be at maximum strength. If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius.

Determine the yield strength of the metal. Showing how i bend steel plate without using a brake. To clamp efficiently lay your sheet metal on the top surface of your straightedge with the drawn line perfectly aligned with the outside edge of the sheet metal. I surreptitiously push on the.

Slide the angle iron into the jaws of the vise so that it lays flat the length of the piece of metal you are. Determine the angle at which you want to brake the metal and mark it on the protractor. Now that your forms are placed you should clamp your sheet between your form. In this case the sheet of flat steel will be formed into a wheel disc.

Your forms will have an edge that should match the angle of your desired bend. Clamp your sheet metal in your vise. I buy steel tube in 20 feet sections. The sheetmetal is slid between the two bars and twisted back and forth to create a fold.

Support your excess sheet. I wanted to make a few curves of various diameters so i created a jig with a variable curve. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick. Otherwise the sheet metal is almost certain to shift as you bend it resulting in a bad bend.

Clamping your sheet metal to the straightedge is a must. Bend metal without expensive tools step 1.