I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

The only relatively inexpensive ($500) brakes will only do 16ga max.
A brake to do 1/8" sheet is gonna cost you...plenty.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

On Sun, 4 May 2008 11:12:14 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
wrote:

I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
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If you're not the lead dog, the view never changes
Doubt yourself, and the real world will eat you alive
The world doesn't revolve around you, it revolves around me
No skeletons in the closet; just decomposing corpses
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Dependence is Vulnerability:
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JR North wrote:
I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
On Sun, 4 May 2008 11:12:14 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
wrote:

The only relatively inexpensive ($500) brakes will only do 16ga max.
A brake to do 1/8" sheet is gonna cost you...plenty.
JR
Dweller in the cellar


I'll bet Gunner could hook him up with something for a couple hundred
dollars or less.

--

John R. Carroll
www.machiningsolution.com

On Sun, 4 May 2008 11:12:14 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
wrote:

I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

A hydraulic press brake comes to mind, but unless this is a high
production need the cost is probably more than you'd want to pay.

If there's an iron working shop near, they would probably make the
bends for a modest fee.

Searcher7 wrote in :

I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

How about just buying it pre-formed?
http://www.onlinemetals.com/merchant.cfm?pid=9942&step=4&showunits=inches&id=2 76&top_cat=0

The force needed to bend metal goes up by the square of the thickness
increase.
This means it takes 4 times the machine to bend twice the thickness.

The $500 16 gage brakes are cheap, overrated (that is, they fudge on
their stats) chinese imports.
A decent american made 16 gage brake is closer to a grand.

Imagine needing to build 4 times the machine, to bend 1/8", and you
start to see why the Chicago D&K machines, made here, are north of 5
grand.

Cheapest heavy duty manual brakes I know of are the Grizzlys. They
make a couple of 12 gage brakes that will bend 1/8".
The G0542, for example, will do what you want, and, at about $1500, is
a bargain. Just on a per pound basis, its only .88 a lb. You cant buy
raw steel for that where I live, much less machined, welded, and
assembled into a brake.
And its a very flexible tool that will do all kinds of sheet metal
work.

The other alternative is a cheap press brake die, in a hydraulic
press. Together, probably similar money, but more suited to production
bending of just one bend.
The problem is that 24" of bend gets you up into higher tonnages. A 20
ton is probably not enough. Northern tool makes a 24" press brake die
that they claim will work with a 20 ton press, but they dont specify
thickness. Me, I think 1/8" is gonna be pushing it with this setup-
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...70_21896_21896
If you are only doing a few, maybe.
Any quantity, and I would be thinking 40 ton press, and heavier duty
dieset.
But its a start, and its only a few hundred for the die.

Bending 1/8" plate, reliably and accurately, in any quantity, gets you
into industrial tools, and industrial prices.

On May 4, 1:12 pm, Searcher7 wrote:
I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.


You don't say what quantity of parts you need bent but I'm wondering
if you could get sheets of metal, of the size you need and have them
welded together at the appropriate angle?

Lewis.

*****

On Sun, 04 May 2008 19:12:58 GMT, "John R. Carroll"
wrote:

JR North wrote:
I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
On Sun, 4 May 2008 11:12:14 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
wrote:

The only relatively inexpensive ($500) brakes will only do 16ga max.
A brake to do 1/8" sheet is gonna cost you...plenty.
JR
Dweller in the cellar


I'll bet Gunner could hook him up with something for a couple hundred
dollars or less.

http://bd-4.org/bendingbrake.html

www.zena.net/htdocs/welders/projects.shtml

http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/series/index.html

Its actually pretty hard to find a brake that will do 1/8" steel on
the surplus market

Thats well into the press brake capacity.

If its only one or two pieces, most fabrication shops will do it for
you for little money

Its fairly easy to make a beefy version of the above brakes, that will
do 24x 1/8" flat stock. Simply scale up the plans, and put a LONG
lever on it. If something breaks, (pun intended) beef it up again.

Gunner

Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional,
illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an
unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the
proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

On May 4, 9:16*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2008 19:12:58 GMT, "John R. Carroll"





wrote:
JR North wrote:
I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
On Sun, 4 May 2008 11:12:14 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
wrote:

The only relatively inexpensive ($500) brakes will only do 16ga max.
A brake to do 1/8" sheet is gonna cost you...plenty.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

I'll bet Gunner could hook him up with something for a couple hundred
dollars or less.

http://bd-4.org/bendingbrake.html

www.zena.net/htdocs/welders/projects.shtml

http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/series/index.html

Its actually pretty hard to find a brake that will do 1/8" steel on
the surplus market

Thats well into the press brake capacity.

If its only one or two pieces, most fabrication shops will do it for
you for little money

Its fairly easy to make a beefy version of the above brakes, that will
do 24x 1/8" flat stock. Simply scale up the plans, and put a LONG
lever on it. If something breaks, (pun intended) beef it up again.

Gunner

Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional,
illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an
unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the
proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Due to an ommision I deleted my first post from Google and re-posted,
but I guess certain news readers grabbed it up immediately and now
there are two of these threads.

Anyway, what I am making is a replica of a video game control panel
that was originally made of B.C. plywood covered with veneer. So now
I'm forced to wonder if 1/16" thick steel would be sturdy enough.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Searcher7 wrote in news:c72f442d-563b-4faf-966d-
:

Anyway, what I am making is a replica of a video game control panel
that was originally made of B.C. plywood covered with veneer. So now
I'm forced to wonder if 1/16" thick steel would be sturdy enough.

If this is a one-off, there are several possibilities:

1. Have you considered using Plexiglass?
Most plastics suppliers can bend a piece to your specifications.

2. Have you considered using marine plywood?
Soak your piece(s) in hot water for an hour and then bend to shape
using 2" PVC pipe cut in half for the exterior mold and 1.5"
for the inside of the curve. If multiple pieces, glue after
all pieces are dry.

3. Have you considered multiple layers of light sheet metal?
Cut as many sheets as needed for the final thickness, narrowing each
by the thickness of the metal above it or re-cutting after the
"sandwich" is finalized.

A "mold" as described in 2. can be used for forming by not removing
any sheet until the "sandwich" is completely formed.

Due to an ommision I deleted my first post from Google and re-posted,
but I guess certain news readers grabbed it up immediately and now
there are two of these threads.

Anyway, what I am making is a replica of a video game control panel
that was originally made of B.C. plywood covered with veneer. So now
I'm forced to wonder if 1/16" thick steel would be sturdy enough.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

If you mean the outer shell of an arcade style game what do you even
need steel for? Use some MDF for the side panels and the top control
board. Then use 2X2 glued into the inner corners under the deck. That
was all the original games used. I have an original Pac-man and a
Missile Command and both are MDF with veneer and screen printed logo
panels. There are steel angle brackets for the rear access panels and
the CRT cover. They are 16 gauge formed steel.

--
Steve W.

On Sun, 4 May 2008 18:22:24 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
wrote:

On May 4, 9:16*pm, Gunner Asch wrote:
On Sun, 04 May 2008 19:12:58 GMT, "John R. Carroll"





wrote:
JR North wrote:
I am looking into a tool that will allow me to bend 6" X 24"(1/8"
thick) mild steel lengthwise to about 90 degrees.

I'd appreciate any ideas on what I'd need, or possibly a website
tutorial for this.

Thanks a lot.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
On Sun, 4 May 2008 11:12:14 -0700 (PDT), Searcher7
wrote:

The only relatively inexpensive ($500) brakes will only do 16ga max.
A brake to do 1/8" sheet is gonna cost you...plenty.
JR
Dweller in the cellar

I'll bet Gunner could hook him up with something for a couple hundred
dollars or less.

http://bd-4.org/bendingbrake.html

www.zena.net/htdocs/welders/projects.shtml

http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/series/index.html

Its actually pretty hard to find a brake that will do 1/8" steel on
the surplus market

Thats well into the press brake capacity.

If its only one or two pieces, most fabrication shops will do it for
you for little money

Its fairly easy to make a beefy version of the above brakes, that will
do 24x 1/8" flat stock. Simply scale up the plans, and put a LONG
lever on it. If something breaks, (pun intended) beef it up again.

Gunner

Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional,
illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an
unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the
proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Due to an ommision I deleted my first post from Google and re-posted,
but I guess certain news readers grabbed it up immediately and now
there are two of these threads.

Anyway, what I am making is a replica of a video game control panel
that was originally made of B.C. plywood covered with veneer. So now
I'm forced to wonder if 1/16" thick steel would be sturdy enough.

Thanks.

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.


Does it even need to be made of steel? A nice piece of 5/16 lexan or
other plastic can be pretty stiff, and is easily formed with a simple
form and a heat source.

Reading the other posts showed that it wasnt a true 90, but a very
large radius, which means Press Brake and dies, as its very hard to
roll that sort of radius on anything in a hobbists shop

One Could cobble something up, using a solid bar of the proper
diameter, several hydraulic bottle jacks and some I beams

Gunner

Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional,
illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an
unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the
proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

On Sun, 4 May 2008 17:02:46 -0700 (PDT), Ries
wrote:

The force needed to bend metal goes up by the square of the thickness
increase.
This means it takes 4 times the machine to bend twice the thickness.

The $500 16 gage brakes are cheap, overrated (that is, they fudge on
their stats) chinese imports.
A decent american made 16 gage brake is closer to a grand.

Imagine needing to build 4 times the machine, to bend 1/8", and you
start to see why the Chicago D&K machines, made here, are north of 5
grand.

Cheapest heavy duty manual brakes I know of are the Grizzlys. They
make a couple of 12 gage brakes that will bend 1/8".
The G0542, for example, will do what you want, and, at about $1500, is
a bargain. Just on a per pound basis, its only .88 a lb. You cant buy
raw steel for that where I live, much less machined, welded, and
assembled into a brake.
And its a very flexible tool that will do all kinds of sheet metal
work.

The other alternative is a cheap press brake die, in a hydraulic
press. Together, probably similar money, but more suited to production
bending of just one bend.
The problem is that 24" of bend gets you up into higher tonnages. A 20
ton is probably not enough. Northern tool makes a 24" press brake die
that they claim will work with a 20 ton press, but they dont specify
thickness. Me, I think 1/8" is gonna be pushing it with this setup-
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...70_21896_21896
If you are only doing a few, maybe.
Any quantity, and I would be thinking 40 ton press, and heavier duty
dieset.

I agree..its gonna be in the 40 ton range.

But its a start, and its only a few hundred for the die.

Bending 1/8" plate, reliably and accurately, in any quantity, gets you
into industrial tools, and industrial prices.


Google Ebay for Press Brake.

Dont forget to add rigging and shipping of 10-20,000 lbs

Have it fabbed at a fab shop.


You could copy this and use a couple bottle jacks....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Press-brake-Meta...QQcmdZViewItem


Political Correctness is a doctrine fostered by a delusional,
illogical liberal minority, and rabidly promoted by an
unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the
proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.