[BOGDOG]

Anybody have the ability to bend a radius in to .100 aluminum diamond plate? Or have any ideas on how I can do it myself? I need to armor my cab corners to hide some creative sheetmetal/fiberglass work.

 

[Christmas Cookie]

When I bent the radius in mine and trailrails alum roofs for our cages we made a homemade break from a large pallet and some wood, when bent the raidus by doing a bunch of small bends in the break...worked pretty god, but ou have to have two people, three would have been better

 

[Lousypirate]

find a pipe with the same radius as what you are looking to get, clamp to table and bend around. I haven't tried with anything that thick.... you might be able to pull it off with two people and a rosebud. You'd have to polish the aluminum back up. FLITZ to the rescue.

I typically find a hunk of steel at the welding shop, and clamp to one of our tables to act as a brake. They don't do much sheet metal work.

 

[fsumotorhead]

find a pipe with the same radius as what you are looking to get, clamp to table and bend around. I haven't tried with anything that thick.... you might be able to pull it off with two people and a rosebud. You'd have to polish the aluminum back up. FLITZ to the rescue.

I typically find a hunk of steel at the welding shop, and clamp to one of our tables to act as a brake. They don't do much sheet metal work.

I'm not sure what type of AL it is, but I've had good luck with a sooty carburizing flame for bending aluminum road signs for various projects, just wipe the soot off after, I never needed to repolish.

 

[chadcooper55]

I'm not sure what type of AL it is, but I've had good luck with a sooty carburizing flame for bending aluminum road signs for various projects, just wipe the soot off after, I never needed to repolish.

Without re-heat treating it you now have extra soft aluminum.

Honchos way is what I would use with the exception that I wouldn't use the Mexican pallet brake, I would use a real one. :Teehee:

 

[Lousypirate]

Without re-heat treating it you now have extra soft aluminum.

maybe just warm, not hot, to reduce the potential for stress cracks?

 

[chadcooper55]

maybe just warm, not hot, to reduce the potential for stress cracks?

When you use a sooty flame you anneal the aluminum. The only way to get it to full strength again is heat treat. I've seen the brake technique work very well for people. I have never personally done it though.

 

[Lousypirate]

I take that back, I have used a brake on aluminum thicker than that. I didn't have that big of a radius though.

 

[Christmas Cookie]

Without re-heat treating it you now have extra soft aluminum.

Honchos way is what I would use with the exception that I wouldn't use the Mexican pallet brake, I would use a real one. :Teehee:

It was a real shady break too!

When you use a sooty flame you anneal the aluminum. The only way to get it to full strength again is heat treat. I've seen the brake technique work very well for people. I have never personally done it though.

If you are just using a sooty flame you haven't annealed anything yet. You have to cover it in soot, then use a neutral flame and cook the soot off to anneal it. Trailrail and I also did this on when we built that tower for is fishing boat:sonicjay: