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
Bending 2" aluminum angle
Aug 07, 2007
2 Replies
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:
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tried it, how about you buy a set and report how well it worked? :)
emmett wrote:
.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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