Bending Sheet Aluminium At Home

Place the fracture line over the edge of a table and bend the overhang slightly downwards.

Bending sheet aluminium at home.

Step 1 determine the angle at which you want to brake the metal and mark it on the protractor. Die opening with a relieved profile. Otherwise the sheet metal is almost certain to shift as you bend it resulting in a bad bend. Aluminum sheet metal metal stock the home depot store finder.

To make this easier you d start with your 6061 material in the soft t 0 state. Lift the clamp bar away from the rear of the brake frame and slide the sheet in perpendicularly to the direction you want to bend it. For most applications with stainless steel or aluminum you can get away with a zero radius bend on anything under 0 050 thick. With the aid of a straight edge and a sharp knife score both sides of the aluminium sheet.

Then place the clamp bar back down on top of the aluminum crosswise. Clamping your sheet metal to the straightedge is a must. Say you re bending 0 25 in thick 6061 t6 aluminum to a 100 degree external angle 80 degree internal angle. Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal.

You d probably air bend by using a 3 0 in. In other words if you re bending 1 8 sheet use a tool with a 1 8 radius to form the inside of the bend. This weakens the aluminium and creates a fracture line. Simple sheet metal bender using a hand roller clamps and plywood.

Metal shops have brakes mounted at different angles with automated braking arms however it is possible to bend sheet metal at home without the use of a brake. To clamp efficiently lay your sheet metal on the top surface of your straightedge with the drawn line perfectly aligned with the outside edge of the sheet metal. So we have the depth set on the table saw and the lines marked on the material to bend. Monkeys spinning monkeys by kevin macleod.

Make sure the bar is seated firmly inside the frame. If you re bending 0 020 thick material use a 0 020 radius. Here we can see that the blade it set at about 1 3rd of the thickness of aluminium this figure will depend on the thickness of the material to be bent. Here s a piece of aluminium 3mm thick it s a good idea is to practice on some scrap first.

You will use the protractor to gauge the brake as you bend the metal little by little. Insert your aluminum sheet into the brake beneath the removable clamp bar. 0 017453 x 90 x 0 020 0 33 x 0 024 0 0438558984 inch bend allowance keep in mind that some metals are more brittle than others.