Trying to bend 2" ".030" thick aluminum angle in a 90-degree arc. I
have taken a saw and cut the back with several slots then pried them
open and bridged the slots by welding them, but need to eliminate the
welding. Thought about bending two heavier pieces of steel angle then
pressing the aluminum between like a sandwich but I'm wondering where
the "extra" aluminum is going to go as you know I'm sure either the
center has to expand or the sides need to compress in order to retain
the V. Maybe I need to figure a different way to "expand" the center
of the angle? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Emmett

If you bend with the flange to the outside, the outside will stretch
since the vertical wall has way more metal than the thin flange. If the
flange is to the inside (not your case I think), the flange must shrink.
You can try clamping the flange and doing the bend, I think you will
find it fairly messy. .030" is fairly thin so it shouldn't take too much
tonnage to bend it.

Harbor Freight has some new toys that are specifically for this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95062
Never tried it, how about you buy a set and report how well it worked?

emmett wrote:
Trying to bend 2" ".030" thick aluminum angle in a 90-degree arc. I
have taken a saw and cut the back with several slots then pried them
open and bridged the slots by welding them, but need to eliminate the
welding. Thought about bending two heavier pieces of steel angle then
pressing the aluminum between like a sandwich but I'm wondering where
the "extra" aluminum is going to go as you know I'm sure either the
center has to expand or the sides need to compress in order to retain
the V. Maybe I need to figure a different way to "expand" the center
of the angle? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Emmett

On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:01:41 GMT, RoyJ wrote:

If you bend with the flange to the outside, the outside will stretch
since the vertical wall has way more metal than the thin flange. If the
flange is to the inside (not your case I think), the flange must shrink.
You can try clamping the flange and doing the bend, I think you will
find it fairly messy. .030" is fairly thin so it shouldn't take too much
tonnage to bend it.

Harbor Freight has some new toys that are specifically for this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=95062
Never tried it, how about you buy a set and report how well it worked?

emmett wrote:
Trying to bend 2" ".030" thick aluminum angle in a 90-degree arc. I
have taken a saw and cut the back with several slots then pried them
open and bridged the slots by welding them, but need to eliminate the
welding. Thought about bending two heavier pieces of steel angle then
pressing the aluminum between like a sandwich but I'm wondering where
the "extra" aluminum is going to go as you know I'm sure either the
center has to expand or the sides need to compress in order to retain
the V. Maybe I need to figure a different way to "expand" the center
of the angle? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Emmett

.030 will "wheel" nicely. Make a rough "english wheel" and roll the
flange thinner at the edge and it will gently bend.

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