bending some 4mm x 40mm steel strip with basic tools?

[julianf]

Im wanting to bend some steel strip into an arc, to make a lifting device for a crucible.

Very roughly, this sort of thing -

I was going to get this rolled at my local supplier, but they said that their rollers could not go as tight as i needed (A20 crucible - i can look up the dimensions if it makes any difference)


So, i purchased the metal, but now i need to work out how to curve it round. Any ideas?


A friend has an anvil, but no forge to go with it, and, id imagine that cold hammering the strip wont be much fun. Maybe im mistaken though?


Anyhow, what would you suggest?

 

[eSCHEn]

I cold hand rolled (literally with bare hands) a 4" diameter collar to form a throat for some pipe using 4mm x 30 odd ish mm (hand cut). I was dreading it but had a go and mate it was really really easy. I am by no means a hulk of a person either.

Just rolled it around a pipe, crossed side by side at the back, slit to size, pushed into shape with G clamp and TIGed.

 

[cumbriasteve]

Just do it cold with bending pins, basically two bars with a gap between and just gently curving the bar as you feed it through, lots of very small close bends make a curve.

 

[Gareth J]

If it's a case of function over form, it could probably be made using either single bends or cutting and welding into a sort of coffin shape from appropriate straight lengths.

4mm should be bash-about-able though. As above.

 

[steve_s]

Its easy over a vice just open the jaws to 75mm 100mm ish and place your bar/flat at 90 degs to the jaws and start hammering in the middle of the gap moving the stock forward and back you will soon form an arc and you don't have to bash its brains out to form the arc. Seen a guy on you tube do it just cant find it DOH!

 

[wookie]

I keep things like old brake discs, old bearings, bushes etc (basically anything round) to use as a template to bend steel around, Never cut the bar to length first, it's loads easier as a long length. Trap one end of the flat bar in the vice along with the piece of round steel your using as a guide then just pull it around, it will spring back a bit so it's better to use something a smaller diameter than you actually want, you can pull it and tap the curved bit with a hammer to make it tighter.

I've even bent flat bar on edge which is the harder way to do it, I clamped it in the vice against a brake disc up against the hub bit and then just pulled it round the curve, it wasn't that hard because I had about 8ft of leverage, the hardest bit was trying to not let the bar twist on you.

 

[julianf]

Thank you all - ill have a go at it tomorrow.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

^^ Remember to report back with pics......

 

[Mr Fro]

Its easy over a vice just open the jaws to 75mm 100mm ish and place your bar/flat at 90 degs to the jaws and start hammering in the middle of the gap moving the stock forward and back you will soon form an arc and you don't have to bash its brains out to form the arc. Seen a guy on you tube do it just cant find it DOH!

I've done this on some 4x25 flat bar when making up a tyre bead popper thing. It worked well and I was surprised how accurate I got the arc. The trick is to go gently and take a bit of time - trying to get it done in 3 blows makes something fit for the scrap bin.