Bending metal

[dfigravity]

What is the best tool for the job here? Is bending aluminium something that is best done at a store / factory, or is there a relatively inexpensive tool that can be used for the job??

[DaJe]

Taken from: http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=23946



heres my second segment. basic bends. ill focus on the kind of bends that you would make to create edges of a case with. so lets jump on it:

90 degree bends- these will be the most common bends a computer case will need. there are two sub-categories ill split this into:

-squared bends- these are pretty simple. all you really need to do is clamp your metal to something like a table that has nice sharp square edges on it and then start bending. there are two things you should make sure to do though. one thing to do is draw a line on your metal where you want your bend to start, and then clamp with that line right on the edge of your table or whatever you have found. the second thing to do is to hammer close to the clamps and work your way out. this will let you get a nice clean start to the bend and it will help keep irregularities to a minimum. if you keep those two points in mind, your bends should turn out accurately and cleanly. is cleanly even a word?

-rounded bends- very similar in method to the squared bends, except you need to find a curved surface to use instead of a nice square edge. im going to steal a piece of tribaloverkill's blackout worklog here (hopefully he doesnt mind).

http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/forum/showthread.php?t=745&page=16

on this page you'll see how he went about bending some aluminum using some clamps and two pipes. the bends turned out very good. i really cant say enough to match up to what his pictures tell you. they say a picture is worth 1000 words, but in this case a picture is probably worth more than the 10000 character limit per post will allow. now, the way he did that isnt the way i learned, but its probably the best method ive seen outside of proper industrial methods, and truthfully, the way he did it is probably more along the lines of what most people have the means to do. the only thing i would add is that you should again keep in mind the two things i mentioned for the squared bends.

non 90 degree bends- these bends are similar to the 90 degree bends, but they dont allow you to just use a table edge or any old thing. ill break these down into two groups again.

-squared non-90 bends- in this case, the best thing you could do is cut two pieces of wood and stick them together at the angle you want to bend the metal. then you can clamp the metal down and follow the same procedure that i laid out for the 90 degree squared bends, and again keeping those two special things in mind.

-rounded non-90 bends- fortunately, tribal's method will allow for bends that arent 90 degrees, you just need to use a protractor and pay attention to your bends. i really dont need to say much more. just refer back to what i said about the rounded 90 degree bends, and apply that method while keeping track of what angle you want. and again, i cant stress enough, keep those two special things in mind.


so thats really all there is for basic bends. anything beyond those is getting more complex, and ill cover those in a day or two. also, in a day or two ill see if i can dig up some sort of table for the types of sheet metal, unless someone wants to beat me to it. i have plenty more to write about.

one last thing i want to say is, pitch in here. if you have a different method than what ive said, or if you think im wrong, say so, because im not in this to prove that im right. im looking to help people. by all means, make me look like an idiot if it will save someone from doing what you think will be the wrong thing. like i said, ill have more stuff in a day or two, so you have some time to make corrections/additions to this first batch of info ive posted.

have at it.


Or maybe you need to do more complex bends.



its time for the fourth installation of my many part series, "better know a method for working with sheet metal." today we examine a couple more tools for more advanced work, and ill talk about some complex curves.

so first ill add to my list of tools. in this case, these couple arent completely necessary unless you intend on actually trying out some of these complex bends.

soft hammering surface- this can be many things. i like to use a few folded towels. there are products you can buy that are basically a stuffed leather pad to do the same thing. the reason you would want something like this is so that the surface you work on has some give to it so you can start making bends. this is especially handy for the bends im going to talk about in a bit.

wooden negatives- this is another way to accomplish complex bends. what you do is carve the shape you want into a piece of wood. that way you can just pound the metal into the wooden shape, and its reasonably done.

english wheel- this is a nice piece of equipment to have, but its expensive and really big in most cases. unless you work with metal as an occupation, you probably dont want this piece. the reason its handy is it will smooth out lumps much faster than you could by hand. it also helps bend metal slowly. you can probably do without this tool, but youd be much better off if you could get your hands on one or something similar. if you could even make one, it would help.

power hammer- this is another piece of equipment which would be nice to have, but is expensive and large. its basically a bit of metal that hammers down onto another bit of metal at amazing speeds. i wouldnt be surprised if it could make upwards of ten hits per second. this tool is very good for shrinking metal if you have large lumps or folds along edges. it also smooths a bit too, but it doesnt really help with shaping.

one last thing to keep in mind is that the hammer you choose should again NOT be a regular old hammer that is made of metal. it should be wood, rubber, or rawhide. enough with the tools, and on to the bending.

im going to keep the complex curves all as one topic because you can make them all the same way pretty much. just to make sure you know what complex curves are, ill list some.

-convex/concave shapes (convex is like a magnifying glass, concave is opposite)
-curves too large to bend around a pipe or jig (i would say anything that is larger than 8 inches in length)
-intersecting curves (like a 3D heart shape)
-curves inside of other curves (like ripples created when a stone is dropped in a pond)

so, it doesnt really matter what kind of shape you want to make. you can make them all using the same methods. the first thing you want to do is either make a wooden negative, or you can do it by hand with whatever soft surface you choose. just hammer the metal until it either fills the negative, or takes on a shape you like. at that point, you will probably have something that is kind of lumpy. if you are lucky enough to have access to an english wheel, you can use this to smooth the metal. if you dont have an english wheel, well you'll have to fine tune the metal with a hammer. once you have something fairly smooth, i would suggest test fittign the piece to see if any adjustments need to be made. you'll probably have to adjust and fiddle quite a bit before you get everything to sit right. if you cant get your metal perfectly smooth, dont worry, because you'll probably want to use some bondo or epoxy to get a nice smooth finish that can be easily painted anyways.

all this sounds simple enough, but remember that we're talking about sheet metal. i mentioned in an earlier post that you shouldnt be surprised if one wrong move will fold your sheet in half, and this is the kind of circumstance in which that could happen. take your time, keep your cool, and learn to improvise. you will most likely find that not too much works like it should should, so improvisation will become a key component of metal work.

you cant really learn to work with metal by reading something, so experience is the key. you need to get in there and do it. ive given you the base steps that can be followed, but beyond that, it will boil down to personal preference and developed technique to really get the job done. if you dont believe me now, you'll eventually figure that out on your own, and you'll probably end up using your own ways too.

so thats it for this segment. i think tomorrow ill cover beading. until then, id encourage anyone with how-to questions or extra info to start posting. im only one person and im sure i havent thought of everything to cover yet. i will await your questions and start amassing info.

[Slug Toy]

yep... a year has gone by since i wrote that, and i still stick by those guidelines.

ill add this though. everything depends on how much time, effort, and material you are willing to use. working with metal really is an art form because things have to be just right for a good finished product. if you dont think you can handle it, then your best choice is to have it done for you. i personally would never do that A) because i CAN do it already and B) because i would much rather learn how to do it for myself instead of just paying someone else.

[DaJe]

I've been told by people that if I have someone who can cut and bend it for me, I should use them. But I feel confident enough to cut and bend steel by hand with a dremmel and a rubber mallet.

[progbuddy]

What is the best tool for the job here? Is bending aluminium something that is best done at a store / factory, or is there a relatively inexpensive tool that can be used for the job??

HAMMERTIME!!!

[DaveW]

I've been told by people that if I have someone who can cut and bend it for me, I should use them.

So these would be lazy people then. Some things just aren't worth doing if you're not willing to do them yourself: understandably, some things are outside of your skill range, like open heart surgery. But I think you know what I mean.

There's a difference between a job well done, and job you've done.


I feel confident enough to cut and bend steel by hand with a dremmel and a rubber mallet.

Then go for it. Look at the fan grills for my case: the only tools i had to cut those were drills and files. It took nearly a week to make all 4, and i wouldn't have done it any other way. :)

-Dave

[DaJe]

People also tell me I should look into aluminum instead of steel. **** that, I want to use steel. I'll do what I want dammit! They can't control me!

[Xpirate]

One of my cases is aluminum and it is a whole lot nicer than steel, especially when you have to pick it up.