Determine the angle at which you want to brake the metal and mark it on the protractor.
Easy ways to bend sheet metal.
This measurement will be necessary for calculating your bend allowance.
Otherwise the sheet metal is almost certain to shift as you bend it resulting in a bad bend.
The slack between the wipe die and the punch plays an important role in getting a good result.
Cut the section of metal out or otherwise prepare the metal to be bent by removing any burrs or sharp edges.
It is important to make sure that the sheet is properly pushed onto the wipe die.
If your sheet metal is too thick you may need special machinery like a brake or a torch to bend your sheet into the desired shape.
Grooved seam is one the most effective ways to provide strength to the sheet metal especially when you want a round shape pipe from the sheet.
You will use the protractor to gauge the brake as you bend the metal little by little.
Not everything requires a brake.
As a result the wipe die also determines the bend s inner radius.
Simple sheet metal bender using a hand roller clamps and plywood.
One way that i often work with sheet metal for automotive panels is to sandwich 2 4 s in a vise with the workpiece in the middle then work the metal with a rubber mallet.
To attach them to each other grooves are used which are basically trenches that run parallel to the grain of the sheet metal.
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.
There are lots of other ways to bend sheet metal especially if it s a smaller piece.
Clamping your sheet metal to the straightedge is a must.
A seam is a joint where the two ends of the sheet meet.