Bending Aluminum Sheet Stock

A bending brake will be best suited for shaping flat square sheets of light gauge aluminum.

Bending aluminum sheet stock.

We re having trouble bending 6061 t6 aluminum without cracking and i was wondering if you could give us a few pointers. In high purity forms aluminum is soft and ductile. I had to bend some aluminum ears on mounting plate for my underwater camera and lights this is how i did it the wrong way a costly mistake and then how i d. When you release the handle the bent material will spring back to 90 not 85.

Video demonstrating a diy way of bending thin gage aluminum coil stock by making a simple roller using a soft skateboard wheel. Heavy gauge aluminum bars or rods must be heat bent using an acetylene torch and vice. Get free shipping on qualified aluminum sheet metal or buy online pick up in store today in the hardware department. Use scrap lumber to make a brake that is effective when only a few bends will be necessary.

I used a angle of 5 degrees this is because when you bend the metal you usually want 90 degrees and when you hit 90 the metal will want to spring back a little. 6061 t6 aluminum is tempered and notorious for not bending easily. In this post we ll explain it to you. Most frequently expensive sheet metal bending tools called brakes are used to bend sheet metal but you can also complete this task without one.

Bending sheet metal by hand is a manageable task if the piece of sheet metal is small and thin enough to handle. A siding brake bends aluminum or bendable vinyl siding to the angles you want using leverage from a hinged joint. A purpose made brake isn t necessary if you are going to be bending only a few pieces of coiled siding. Bending is a delicate and demanding process most of the time and common fabricating processes require a degree of formability that make your choice of proper alloy critical.

This is a highly technical and potentially dangerous process best left to a professional metalworker. From a bending perspective it s always best to bend these parts in an annealed state and then temper them to the correct condition.