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metal bender

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jcs0001:
I'm posting this in the "wood" section even though it's for bending metal. 

I'm in need of a number of hooks for storing things - ones that can be screwed to a wall or stud.  Also occassionally need a hook made out of small round bar etc.

Looking in my Shopnotes collection I found a bender that should do the job for this kind of thing.  I have the items on hand to make it so figured it would be today's short term project.  It will likely take a few hours to make the round parts - so maybe a two day part time job.

The bending platform is made of several layers of plywood (3 layers of 3/4 in.) and is a square foot in size.  It calls for 3/4 in. baltic birch but I used some other ply that I had handy with a 1/2 in. baltic birch ply on top.  Thus it's about 1/4 in. thicker than called for.  Gluing all layers except the bottom, after cutting to size on the tablesaw:


And the first three layers are glued up:



Once the glue set I cut the corners off.  That's why I could put a screw in one corner - it's waste so won't show at the end.

The three layers are then glued on to the base which has not had the corners removed.  That way it's easy to clamp to a bench.



From here I need to drill a number of 1/2 inch holes for a couple of pins that will be used to bend things around.  I also need to make a few "wheels" from about 1 in. in diameter to 5 in. in diameter.  They will be used to give smooth bends in metal.  I anticipate that there will be no trouble bending 3/16 x 1in steel or perhaps a little wider and at least 3/16 in. steel rod.

More to follow.

John.

jcs0001:
Marked out and ready for drilling:



John.

SwarfnStuff:
So far so good John, looks like you too subscribe to the, "You can never have too many clamps" fraternity.  :lol: I look forward to the end result.
John B

Lew_Merrick_PE:
There is no such thing as too many clamps!  (Says the man with more than 3600 lbs of clamps.)

jcs0001:
I have a pretty good sized clamp rack that may end up peeling off the wall and recently added to my c clamp collection by purchasing some  from a friend who was downsizing.  I end up using them a lot.  Can never have too many but can't imagine 3600 lb. worth - it would fill my shop :)

I made some progress on the bender and actually bent a couple of hangers today.  Would have got a lot more done except my online banking went offline and because I use linux there is no support.  I expect it's a firefox problem and will have to sort it out soon as I really detest using windows (the computer is dual boot).  Anyway onward:

All the holes drilled and a bit of a bevel put on the entrance of each:


The centre hole needs a nut at the bottom so that a 1/2 in. bolt can screw into it from the top.  I drilled it out a bit undersized for the hex nut and was planning to use my press to force it in but decided to use a bolt from the top to pull it as it would keep the centre line properly oriented to the bolt.  Added a bit of epoxy and pulled it in:







In the photo below you can see the two 1/2 in. pins in place - they go right to the bottom of the jig.  Also two hangers I made from some scrap.  The scrap is about 7/8 in. x 1/8 in. and I had used them as paint stir sticks in the past.  They seemed like willing victims to bending.  The curves are a little less than circular but both pieces are quite close.  It wasn't too onerous to bend them and there were no complaints from the jig.  I was fortunate in that the drill I used was perfect for the 1/2 in. pins.  They slide in with a bit of a push and if the jig is on the top of a flat surface come out with a bit of a "pop".



I need to put finish on this and make up several "wheels" from wood.  They should provide a constant radius to curves and I suppose with a little creativity I can make non round  "wheels" to assist in bending different shapes.

John.

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