crude ways of 90 degree bending 1/4 steel

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I am prototyping something and just need to bend some 1/4 steel 90 degrees.I have an oxy torch and thinking about just heating it up and bending it but what about a simple die to bend it over.any ideas?thanks a lot.
Reply:Put it in a vise, heat it, and flatten with a hammer. Or forget the torch and zipcut 90% thru. Bend by hand and weld the outside corner. If you buff it up with a flap wheel, it can look like a brake bend.XMT 350 MPA Dynasty 280DXSuitcase 8RC / OptimaSpoolmatic 30AThermco Ar / C02 mixerAssorted O/A gear
Reply:How wide is it?My name's not Jim....
Reply:Sort of depends on how wide these pieces are and how tight of radius you want. Of course the lengths you're working with will make a difference too. Kinda tuff bending short little pieces off hand without some special considerations."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:Exactly.1/4" thick.  But what are the dimensions of the piece you want to fold?Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Hey pyro,You can do it several ways, including O/A if you want. I use my hyd. press for up to 2"W & anything over that, I do it the "old way" from 30yrs ago like BCRD said...... zip cut it, bend it, weld the cut & grind to contour( if you need the aesthetics). The advantage of the zip cut method is a nice sharp inside corner. Here's some pics....Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Use a cut off wheel and score it about 75-80% of the thickness and maybe even cut all the way through every 2'' or so....Lincoln pro mig 180Lincoln Square Wave Tig 300/wp 20/home built water cooler Victor, Purox, Harris, O/A welding/cutting setupsVintage Craftsman drill pressVintage Craftsman/Atlas 12"x 36'' lathe7''x 12'' w/c band saw Everlast 140 st
Reply:Originally Posted by DemonSpeederUse a cut off wheel and score it about 75-80% of the thickness and maybe even cut all the way through every 2'' or so....
Reply:Originally Posted by yorkiepapHey pyro,You can do it several ways, including O/A if you want. I use my hyd. press for up to 2"W & anything over that, I do it the "old way" from 30yrs ago like BCRD said...... zip cut it, bend it, weld the cut & grind to contour( if you need the aesthetics). The advantage of the zip cut method is a nice sharp inside corner. Here's some pics....Denny
Reply:I am prototyping a lift tool and require 2 90degree peices of 1 1/2 x 14" flat plate. I used the vise and torch to bend them. Its hard to get exact 90s and there is a radius on the inside corners. On my application the radius isnt a problem because the surface they are mating to to lift has radiused corners.
Reply:Hey pyro,Yeah, I made that a while back. I posted the build here on the forum......somewhere. They are fairly easy to make & really work nice. If you had to bend several pieces, or a production run of many pieces, it is efficient.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Another option that hasn't been mentioned is a bending fork. Denny made a real nice adjustable unit he posted up a long time ago that I can't find the link to right now.Mark recently posted up one he made for his bench as well.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=62350The size and shape of the pins will change the inside radius. I've used a piece of rectangular tube to add leverage to flat bar and to try and keep the main length straight. Flat stock is a bit tough to find a good sleeve to fit over the stock. Round stock and pipe works better, but if you have a selection of  short rect tube you can add a round handle to it or weld up a "box" to fit your flat stock and then add the handle. This trick will also work in a vise, but it's often awkward since the piece usually needs to stick up vertical rather than horizontal like with a fork..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:I notch my inside corner and hammer over in a vice.  Then weld if necessary.You can kind of see what I did in these two pics:JoeMiller 140 Autoset (2010)Miller Syncrowave 250 (1996)
Reply:I've bent many things using my vice and a piece of heavy angle iron as a corner to bend over, Lock the two in the vice and pound it over the corner of the angle, Works best for sheet metal but I have done it with 1/4" straps before
Reply:[QUOTE=joebie;572923]I notch my inside corner and hammer over in a vice.  Then weld if necessary.You can kind of see what I did in these two pics:it is interesting that you notch the inside. it would seem to me that you'd need several cuts to kerf out enough material to allow the stock to bend...
Reply:I don't know why, that's just what came to my mind LOLI just do one notch with a angle grinder and a cut off disk.  I think the thickest I have done is around 3/16" maybe 1/4"Those were for seat rails for the seats I put in my car.  They have done well so far. :-)JoeMiller 140 Autoset (2010)Miller Syncrowave 250 (1996)
Reply:I made a bender years ago bend up brackets and such. It will do 1/8" up to about 8" but 1/4" gets pretty tough over about 2" wide. I only use it a couple time a year but it is really handy when I need it. Cut an MGB and widened 11" C4 Corvette suspension and LT1 Chevrolet power & 6 spd. Pictures here:Part 1http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,7581Part 2http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?13,22422
Reply:I slice almost all of it with a plasma, bend on the tabs and weld the outside corner.  I need to leave 1/4" on each end.  Any more and its hard to bend.  This is for wider stuff.  1/4 X 1 or 1/4 X 2" I just heat it and beat it.Slicing it makes for no limit on size.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.