How to bend a steel sheet evenly without a bender

During the manufacture of products from metal sheets, there is an urgent need to evenly bend the sheet to the specified dimensions. With a sheet bender, work is much simplified, but not all craftsmen have such a device. There is an easy way to do this without special equipment or tools.

What you need to have

You will need measuring tools, a grinder with stones 1 mm and 2 mm thick. For safety reasons, special glasses are required. We will bend sheet steel 2 mm thick, the dimensions are selected depending on the net length and width, taking into account the size of the bends. It must be bent on any flat profile with a metal hammer.

Sheet metal bending technology as an example

Let's look at the process using the example of making a lid for a smokehouse. The sheet thickness in our case is 2 mm.

Make markings on the sheet. For each bend, 35 mm is provided; for bending, it is recommended to subtract 4 mm from this size. Accordingly, you need to draw a rectangle 508×308 mm on the sheet, the bends will be 31 mm long. Draw lines under the ruler.

So that the sheet can be easily bent, it is necessary to cut small grooves.Put on safety glasses or a mask and use a grinder to smoothly walk along the lines, cutting depth is approximately one millimeter, but no more. Disc thickness 1 mm.

Change the disk to 2.5 mm and go over the lines again. There are two reasons to use two disks.

1. A thin disk is much easier to work with, it gives an even cut, and it’s easier to control the depth.
   
2. The wide disc increases the kerf, which allows you to bend metal without resting on the edges.
   

Cut through one side of the corner; they are completely cut off after bending.

Start bending the sheet. Place it exactly along the sawing line on the profile, bend one side first, then the opposite.

Tap gradually along the entire length, bend slowly, do not try to make a large angle at once.



Repeat the operations with the remaining edges of the sheet. If the line is not perfect, then place the part on its edge and trim the problem areas.
Check the product. Everything is fine - cut off the remaining tails with a grinder.

Boil the cut areas at the corners. Using a grinder, remove scale, metal stains and sharp edges, and give it a marketable appearance.

Conclusion

An even bend is obtained due to preliminary cutting; along these lines the metal bends much faster, and the thick edges are not deformed. Using this method, you can bend thick sheets to fit various products.

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