How To Bend Sheet Metal Into A Curve

Bend metal without expensive tools.

How to bend sheet metal into a curve. The sheet metal is bent to follow the pipe s contours using mallets. 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. This measurement will be necessary for calculating your bend allowance.

Set the form into a heavy vise so that the curved radius faces up. 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. He shows a little trick and shares more tips that make it easy to create professional matched curves. As a result the wipe die also determines the bend s inner radius.

How to bend sheet metal without a brake. Curve sizes vary depending on the pipe diameter utilized. Determine the thickness of your sheet. Update check out this super two person trike my partner and i are offering on kickstarter.

Wipe bending or edge bending is another way to bend sheet metal edges. The form should be wider than the metal sheet you are planning to bend. 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. Homemade sheet metal curve bending tool functions by clamping the sheet metal on top of a pvc pipe.

You can use a tape measure or ruler to measure the thickness of your sheet metal. The slack between the wipe die and the punch plays an important role in getting a good result. 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.