# sheet metal bending tool ?????



## one.man.band (Feb 4, 2013)

does anyone have experience with metal bending tools......bending curves, radiii etc. ?

looked at one expensive manual tool online. and two cheapies at the local harbor fright.

looking to bend 18 guage or thicker if possible.

-omb

hopefully this qualifies under "tools" thread.


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## Old Doug (Feb 5, 2013)

I have 2 brakes . 18 is thick for a hand powered rig. What are you building?


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## one.man.band (Feb 6, 2013)

Old Doug said:


> I have 2 brakes . 18 is thick for a hand powered rig. What are you building?



making brackets to hold exhaust pipe and heat shields for pipe from flat stock strips. 18 guage.

most of the widths would be less than 4 inches in diameter.

right now i'm thinking that i could you one of the bending tools, if they could bend about 3 to 4 inch pieces. vise gripping sheet steel around iron pipe, then heating, and hammering will work. but its rough looking. 

there bending tools being sold for this, but i have never seen one in use, and do not know if they could make the bends i need, or what arbors i would need.

-omb

currently, i don't think i need a brake. will use a length of angle iron clamped on as a guide for cuts with an angle grinder or torch.


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## Old Doug (Feb 6, 2013)

I worked at a shop that bought a very simple home made press brake. I was very happy knowing that i could use it after hours and i would build one like it if it worked ok. But about 30 days or less they called me into the office and said they sold it and get it ready to load. I had no ideal they wanted to sell it. I never got to use it much and i saw it the other day out side of its new home i dont think they ever used it. The crazy part is my cousin work at the place that built it i ask him how it worked and he didnt realy give me a answer.


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## esshup (Feb 6, 2013)

I have this, and while it would work for the narrow stuff, if the pieces that you wanted to bend were wider than the rolls were long, then it wouldn't work. I've used it (with a cheater bar on the handle) to put 90° bends in 3/4" square stock to make a fireplace grate (solid) without heating the square stock.

Bench Top Bar and Rod Bender

Take a piece of pipe that is undersided for the radius that you want. If you want to bend a piece 4" wide, a foot of pipe will do. ViseGrip it to the pipe, use a torch to heat it up, and form it around the pipe. Use a smaller diamerer pipe than what you want the finished size to be. You can get it pretty close by using the correct diamerer pipe, and heat is your friend. Don't get it white hot, but red enough so it forms easily. Don't quench it to cool it, let it air cool.


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## LegDeLimber (Feb 7, 2013)

I gotta second that idea of using an under sized form to wrap the strap around.
If it's repeat sized parts and same material type and dimensions.

If you have enough extra length to allow for the ends not taking the curve
and to give you a gripping point.
You can get some pretty surprising results from some ghetto rigs.
(was called "custom fabrication", when the paying customer isn't able to see ya working!)

sometimes you can even use wood, screwed or clamped to a bench top and pull around it or any thing to make the form
If you only need to bend a small number of straps


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## one.man.band (Feb 8, 2013)

thanks for the replies folks.

guess i will go with the homebrew method of clamps, pipe or rebar to wrap sheet metal around with heat.

filling the tanks up is more expensive though than couple of the bending tools i looked at. i will take another look at the two cheaper benders one more time before i decide for sure. if they are big enough to bend some good size tubing as well, (for some future projects) i will get one. guess i will still have to fill the tanks even with the purchase of the tool.

-omb


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