Bending Sheet Metal

[agent_zed]

My head is in car mode again and thinking through all the things i'd love to get round to doing on the car...

 

todays thought -

 

I quite fancy replacing my scuttle (i made it a separate one from the begining by chopping the aligator bonnet). At the moment it has black edging on the cockpit side as it would be a sharp edge otherwise. It is also in 2 pieces the same as the bonnet, so there is a bit of flex, where 1 piece would be stronger.

 

So i was thinking if i made a new one out of a single piece of steel (guess it could be ally) but at the rear i tacked in a piece of 5mm rod and bent the steel over it so it is now a nice rolled return. Then put the big side bends in it would it keep the rolled edge? My thinking being the 5mm rod would stop the edge collapsing.

 

To make it even better if i left the return across the front edge and down the sides (but not on the curve) quite long i could then put a 90 degree bend in. Hopefully the pic shows it better. The dash would then sit under the rolled edge in front of the screws fixing it to the chassis.

 

 

Anyone tried anything like this?

[fry61]

All Florin's metalwork has rolled edges as I didn't want edge trim covering the sharp edges. Way back when there was an article in our magazine (& on forum I think ) detailing how all the holes & edges were made safe & complied with IVA test. She passed first time so all the extra work was worthwhile.

 

Will take a look back & see if I can find the write-ups.

[fry61]

Can't find the mag that our s/steel bending saga was in.

 

Your illustration is a little complex. If you can form a return bend with a 5/6mm inner space ( assuming you have a sheet metal bender at least half scuttle width) & then leave a strip of mild steel inside the bend whilst the curve of the scuttle is formed by bending around a suitable former.

 

I used male & female formers of increasing curvature ( reducing radius ) to gradually work the panel to the bend required. Ask for too much curve & the inside will start to ripple.

[agent_zed]

I was hoping to bend by hand like the rear panels. yeah sorry prob not explaining it quite so well but if we ignore the return bend in the diagram above for now and just concentrate on putting a ~5mm return edge on the rear what i was thinking was that i'd cut a flat shape out of steel with 1 inch extra. tack weld a 5mm rod along where i want the bend (an inch in from the edge) and bend the steel over. Perhaps tack that too so the rod is trapped.

 

Once that is done i'd then bend the panel and hopefully the rod will keep the curve from collapsing.

 

Is that going to be too hard without a former do you reckon?

[fry61]

YES --- unless the bend is made along its entire length as it's bent the metal being bent & that which is left behind will stretch & little in between & a ripple will result, the welded sections will be harder or softer than the parent metal so problems here as well.

 

That is assuming you have Popeye's muscles to be able to turn the metal through 180* without a bender of some sort

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SORRY.