How To Form And Shape Sheet Metal

Hydraulic die forming is somewhat similar to masonite die forming.

How to form and shape sheet metal.

To bend sheet metal in a vice start by marking a line on the metal where you want to bend it. Numerous forming and folding dies are available for bead rollers. A sheet metal disc is rotated at high speeds while rollers press the sheet against a tool called a mandrel to form the shape of the desired part. Spun metal parts have a rotationally symmetric hollow shape such as a cylinder cone or hemisphere.

If you want a sharp 90 bend tap along the crease with a mallet. Cut it bend it shrink it and stretch it. Create curves in the steel by using a hammer and form or a mechanical roller machine if you have one. After all there are only four things you can do to metal.

Hand operated bead rollers like this one form beads and ribs into sheet metal. With a combination of these manipulations you can create anything from flat sheet and you. Some of the more interesting combinations use a soft top die and a hard bottom one. Rolling the sheet back and forth by hand curves and thins the metal as you guide it into the shape you want.

In both sheet metal is sunk or pressed into a die. Next place the wood parallel and slightly behind the bending line. Next put your wooden or metal form blocks in the vice and clamp your sheet of metal between the forms. Finally bend the sheet up by hand to the angle desired.

Clamp the wood on top of the metal to the workbench. The sheet metal takes the form of the design cut into the die. If your sheet metal is long ask a friend to stabilize the part hanging out from the form blocks so it doesn t affect the bend. A roller machine clamps the metal between a hard metal form usually a humped shape and a heavy duty roller.

Mark a bend line and place the sheet metal on the edge of your bench.