How To Bend Sheet Metal Into A Curve

If your sheet metal is too thick you may need special machinery like a brake or a torch to bend your sheet into the desired shape.

How to bend sheet metal into a curve.

Use long thin 1 inch or so in width test strips to practice your technique and learn how your particular heat source affects your chosen thickness of plastic. I ll be bending the metal using a jig just like the one in this ible i m a big fan of atomic zombie s builds. Curve sizes vary depending on the pipe diameter utilized. Next place the metal piece into the vise right next to the wooden form and clamp it securely.

Bend metal without expensive tools. He shows a little trick and shares more tips that make it easy to create professional matched curves. The form should be wider than the metal sheet you are planning to bend. To set up your plastic or acrylic sheet to bend simple curves for your miniature and model projects you need to first remove the protective covering from the material you wish to bend.

It is important to make sure that the sheet is properly pushed onto the wipe die. Except i like curved lines once in a while. How to bend sheet metal without a brake. Wipe bending or edge bending is another way to bend sheet metal edges.

Set the form into a heavy vise so that the curved radius faces up. Artist kevin caron shows how to create a curve he can cut out on an aluminum metal sheet for the public sculpture he s working on. You can use a tape measure or ruler to measure the thickness of your sheet metal. This measurement will be necessary for calculating your bend allowance.

Update check out this super two person trike my partner and i are offering on kickstarter. Homemade sheet metal curve bending tool functions by clamping the sheet metal on top of a pvc pipe. Determine the thickness of your sheet. The slack between the wipe die and the punch plays an important role in getting a good result.