I have been working metal for a long time and although I dont have equipment like a sheet metal break I find a way to get done what I need to get done. I dont claim to be an expert but I know a thing or two so I thought I would share a couple of very simple tips on bending steel.
Im making this plate for a shifter mount for my Art Carr shifter to mount in my K5. I cut it out to the size I wanted and marked the line for a 1/2 in bend. Im using my 1/2 in thick welding table, two large clamps, two smaller clamps, a piece of tube to aid in clamping, a Sledge Hammer, and a piece of 1 in square Brass.
I clamp the piece to the welding table with the marked line just outside the table edge about the thickness of the material so when the bend is complete it does'nt come out short. Material is .090 thick.
The key thing to bending where you Dolly the material VS bend the entire piece like you would in a sheet metal brake in one shot is to NOT Hammer it where you create a wavy edge. You want to Dolly it a little at a time moving your piece of Brass along the surface of the portion you want bent. You also DO NOT want to place your brass on the "EDGE" of the material.
You want to have the blunt face of your Brass ALMOST flat on the material. A slight tilt out towards the material edge is fine. As you bend it down you want to maintain the slight tilt of the Brass Dolly on the material all the way through the bend.
Using something soft like Brass VS just using the Sledge Hammer to Dolly the material keeps the steel from smashing and stretching or basically elongating along the length of the material. You want it to Bend at the Bend only. If you did use a hammer only, when you removed the piece from the clamp the material would be Curved and would not be very flat on the top surface.
You would think just start pounding the material but it takes a bit of time to do it right. Just imagine pounding the center only all the way till it was 90 deg., but the remainder of the material was basically still flat. As the flat portion curves down the the 90 deg bent area the material is stretched from being bent dramatically at one point and from being smashed with the hammer by thinning out the material.
You want to keep the entire piece you want bent moving all together so you have to keep your driver moving along the material as you smack it with the sledge. As I explained before about Keeping the blunt face of the Brass at a slight tilt only. If you tilt it alot and it drives it from the very edge of the material, it will start to "CURL" the piece and it wont come out right. You want it to bend as flat as possible.
I hope this all makes sence. Its actually very easy. As you can see I have kept the bend moving flat. And you can also see the back of the piece does not have a curve to it. When I bent the second side I had to put a riser under it so the first bend was not an interference, so the piece would sit flat. Once you get it allmost 90 deg, you Dolly it as flat as possible, and fine tune it if necessary.
A few pics.
Im making this plate for a shifter mount for my Art Carr shifter to mount in my K5. I cut it out to the size I wanted and marked the line for a 1/2 in bend. Im using my 1/2 in thick welding table, two large clamps, two smaller clamps, a piece of tube to aid in clamping, a Sledge Hammer, and a piece of 1 in square Brass.
I clamp the piece to the welding table with the marked line just outside the table edge about the thickness of the material so when the bend is complete it does'nt come out short. Material is .090 thick.
The key thing to bending where you Dolly the material VS bend the entire piece like you would in a sheet metal brake in one shot is to NOT Hammer it where you create a wavy edge. You want to Dolly it a little at a time moving your piece of Brass along the surface of the portion you want bent. You also DO NOT want to place your brass on the "EDGE" of the material.
You want to have the blunt face of your Brass ALMOST flat on the material. A slight tilt out towards the material edge is fine. As you bend it down you want to maintain the slight tilt of the Brass Dolly on the material all the way through the bend.
Using something soft like Brass VS just using the Sledge Hammer to Dolly the material keeps the steel from smashing and stretching or basically elongating along the length of the material. You want it to Bend at the Bend only. If you did use a hammer only, when you removed the piece from the clamp the material would be Curved and would not be very flat on the top surface.
You would think just start pounding the material but it takes a bit of time to do it right. Just imagine pounding the center only all the way till it was 90 deg., but the remainder of the material was basically still flat. As the flat portion curves down the the 90 deg bent area the material is stretched from being bent dramatically at one point and from being smashed with the hammer by thinning out the material.
You want to keep the entire piece you want bent moving all together so you have to keep your driver moving along the material as you smack it with the sledge. As I explained before about Keeping the blunt face of the Brass at a slight tilt only. If you tilt it alot and it drives it from the very edge of the material, it will start to "CURL" the piece and it wont come out right. You want it to bend as flat as possible.
I hope this all makes sence. Its actually very easy. As you can see I have kept the bend moving flat. And you can also see the back of the piece does not have a curve to it. When I bent the second side I had to put a riser under it so the first bend was not an interference, so the piece would sit flat. Once you get it allmost 90 deg, you Dolly it as flat as possible, and fine tune it if necessary.
A few pics.
