Bending with limited tools

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How would you bend this?  I don't have OA, or anything else that special.  I estimate the metal is 3" x 1/8" (speaking of the outside curve of the window well cover).The cheapest way I can think of doing it is to build a jig and use a bottle jack to bend it.  What are your ideas??? Attached Images
Reply:Is it flat stock or angle? You might be able to bend the angle with a 2 pin setup fixed to a rigid table and bump bend it in small increments. The simplest way would be to cut the radius corner from flat plate and then weld the vert on if it is angle like I believe. You cound then weld the corner to the straight sections..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:It is flat stock.... Not sure I understand what you mean on your bending method you described....I thought about what you said on cutting out the bend, but I don't have a plasma cutter yet.
Reply:If it's flat you won't be able to bend it easily the way I was thinking. That was more for angle. I'll look and see if I can find a pict of the method though just so you understand.To bend flat in that manner against the strong side will be tough. A roller with full supporting dies might work but that won't be easy to build unless you have acess to a lathe to fab the dies.If you take a flat bar and then cut a series of kerfs almost thru the stock it will bend like you want. Then you have to go back and weld up all the pie shaped wedges that opened up and grind it all  flat again. The only other easy way is heat, either with a forge or torch. You might be able to build a poor man's forge with some firebrick and one of thos big propane weed burners and get the stock hot enough to bend and then pound it back flat. It will want to buckle as you bend it..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:Good luck trying to bend material like that without the proper tooling. Something like that is fairly easy if you have a three roll, um, roll, and it can support it on the top and bottom of the material while it forces it around the  center roll. The other way I could think of to make it would be weld some pieces to a table and heat it and form it around an inside die of some kind, with the material supported between the table and some kind of overhead support. Think lots of little L shaped brackets welded to a table. Since you don't have OA equipment that's kind of out of the question. You can form stuff like that on a shrinker/stretcher, but those machines only work on sheet metal (to my knowledge). Other than that all I can suggest is cut angled pieces and weld them together like has been suggested.Sorry I wasn't a lot of help, maybe someone else has a better idea.
Reply:cut the corners out of plate and weld togetherwith some flat stock and grind smooth
Reply:jdh239 where are you located at? You might find someone here thats nearby with a torch and willing to help out for a few bucks. Add it to your User CP so we always know in the future as well. If you are near by we could probably work some thing out..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:that's what i was thinking... cut it.. i can't see anyone bending that cold... or hot, really..if you're not livin on the edge, you're takin up too much room..
Reply:Bending 3"x1/8" stock the hard way?  Is that even possible?  I don't see how you'd do it without some pretty serious distortion.I can't imagine why you wouldn't cut that out of 1/8" sheet.  It's cheap, and all you need is a jigsaw.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:Strange, thought I had set my location..... guess not.  Set now.  I was thinking about making many of these, and was going to pick up a plasma cutter some time; however, it didn't occur to me to cut it with a jig saw.  The more and more I think about it, I have to agree.  I think the originals were cut and welded, and not bent.  I agree with you, there would have to be some serious distortion.Thanks everyone.The Lord has declared, "This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"  Moses 1:39Link: My name is John, and I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.-- ColdCreekWorks.com --
Reply:Well, doing more than a few is going to start to get old with a jigsaw.  But a bimetal blades are pretty cheap, and you could cut a set of guides (inside radius and outside radius) out of a piece of plywood to speed things up.Jack OlsenMy garage website
Reply:If I was going to make more than a pair (one window well), I would seriously consider a pattern and a plas cutter.  Or if I didn't have the funds for a plas, I would have them cut by someone else on a CNC table.  I've gotten a few qoutes for parts lately and if they are simple, it's not as expensive as you might think.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Boostinjdm has the right idea. Find a CNC laser, plasma, or waterjet and have them cut if you need more then 1 or 2. I did a quick run in the waterjet software, they would only be about $7 a piece including material to have made.If you cannot convince them, confuse them.         Harry S Truman
Reply:As much as I love to build stuff some things are out of my abilities and it is cheeper to buy what someone else already makes.  Can you use two 22.5 degree miter cuts and square off the corner instead of round?Dan
Reply:If you have a torch then cut it with that. A circle cutter could be used to cut the curves. It would be easy and fast.
Reply:Originally Posted by BobIf you have a torch then cut it with that. A circle cutter could be used to cut the curves. It would be easy and fast.
Reply:I will be making one of these once my son is old enough to run around the back yard.  I just know he will fall into the hole where our basement window is.
Reply:Aint no cheap way to do this.I have done it hot, and cold.Its perfectly do-able both ways, IF you have the tools.Hot, I heat in my propane forge, then use my hossfeld bender with the angle in edgebending dies.Then you still need to fine tune it, hot, with a hammer, on the anvil.Total tool cost, new, somewhere around $3000 to $4000.Cold, I use a powered angle roll, mine is an Eagle, made in Italy. The dollar has dropped a LOT against the euro since I bought mine- a new one now is around eleven grand.Even then, its a multiple pass operation, and there is a fair amount of distortion that must be tweaked out.The best cheap answer is cut it from plate.Oxy-acetylene, plasma, or a big bandsaw. or pay someone else to cut it.