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Home Metal workers...... home made kit..

4K views 38 replies 11 participants last post by  spelllbound 
#1 ·
Looks like i am going to be possibly making my own panels for one of my yank tanks.... and at the moment i am thinking of metal benders.....


i fancy making my own bending machine and wondered if anyone on here had done it and had any input/ideas/tips/tricks they could/would kindly pass on?

Ive seen the vid's on the likes of youtube etc but would like some "real" world feedback rather than just rely on a video off the net....


I am pretty much thinking of using angle iron with nice straight and sharp edges......


I'd appreciate any and all input


many thanks in advance


Mario
 
#8 ·
nope no press... it will have to be manual.....good job i need the exercise :D

The one in tonybmw's thread on retro rides is a good place to start.

http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/65793
thanks for the link, i shall have a butchers at that:D

I have two lengths of angle iron with a few bolts down that i use as a brake, and just knock it over with a hammer to the right angle. But my fabrication does all seem to have a 'rustic' feel.
i am thinking of a full hinging one as i dont want any hammer marks on some of the panels i am looking at doing.....plus i have some box section to make....

If I still had access to the machine shop I would be designing and folding all your metal for you mate. It's rare I get the chance to get anything these days even for myself.

All the best with it though bud, it's a fair bit of work you be got there.
cheers dude...... and this is before i go into the main floor and sills:lol::crazy:

If only you were closer! Lol
:lol::lol: it is a real arse living so far away at times...:rolleyes: but i will get there with it:D
 
#15 ·
this is mine, home made by a guy I bought a beetle off.



it's around 3' long and very very heavy duty. I've mounted it to a steel bench I had and use it all the time. As well as bending 90 degrees, I use the top edge as a form to hammer on.





2 things to consider, idealy it needs to be able to bend beyond 90 so that you can get a true right angle, and the longer you make it, the thicker the webs need to be or in the middle they will bend and you will only get a sharp bend at the edges and the middle will be radiused
 
#31 ·
I've got one of the cheapo 600mm folders & it works great!
Also got a home made 1m one I bought on eBay & it's just as good:)
I bought a shrinker / stretcher from frost & that's worth it's weight in gold, one of those tools that when you need it you'll wonder how you managed without!

If you go onto rods n sods garage section & follow the thread for the 37 pick up you'd be amazed at what you can do with a sheet of steel:eek:
Cheers
Kev
 
#33 ·
Oh and don't underestimate what you can do with a set of flanging pliers! I use a large pair made for metalwork for long runs and a smaller pair of "glass pliers" for everything else, then planish the edge against a square block to neaten it up.
I also use a pair of mole grips with a short piece of round bar welded across the top jaw. This gives a rounded radius.
The real beauty of this method is that you can do curved folds really neatly.
And you get to hammer things.
I like hammering :)
 
#37 ·
im gonna be buying a lot more gear soon,just gotta hide it from the wife:lol:

I love how he makes his own spot weld drill, and explains and shows how to do it...and I gotta find me some of that zintec metal sheet he uses too....
an utterly excellent thread,probably one of the best ive read,along with Molers build thread on here...
 
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