Best way to bend 2.5mm stainless at 90 degrees at home

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Hi all,I need to bend 2.5 mm (just over 3/32 )thick stainless at 90 deg angle all way around a rectangle sheet to make a swarf tray for my small lathe, the folded up sections will be about 30mm high.I am doing this at home and don't have a bender or press, what is the best technique to bend this ?ThanksChelaChelaSydney, Australia - "Knowing is more precious than Having"Kemppi Minarc, 150 VRD- Small but capable- TIG / Stick
Reply:Hey chela,I also don't a brake or have room for large equipment & I use an easy method I've been doing for 20yrs. I layout the material, mark the width & length for the size of base & sides I need. Then I cut out the corners. I take my 4 1/2" cutoff wheel & score the lines. This particular piece was 1/4"(.250) thick & I scored to a depth of .200. I clamped it to my small welding table & bent each side to 90*. Then I take some alum. angle & clamp the inside corners to maintain 90* & weld the outside groove. Just take some pieces of leftover material of the same size & do some scoring too get the "feel" of depth to make an easy bend. It's not hard. Here's dsome 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:Thanks Denny,Apologies if this is a silly question but which side do you score ?Does the score end up inside the container or outside ? ie if you score the top as it sits on the table do you bend up or bend down?  Thanks ChelaChelaSydney, Australia - "Knowing is more precious than Having"Kemppi Minarc, 150 VRD- Small but capable- TIG / Stick
Reply:Originally Posted by chelaThanks Denny,Apologies if this is a silly question but which side do you score ?Does the score end up inside the container or outside ? ie if you score the top as it sits on the table do you bend up or bend down?  Thanks Chela
Reply:For thinner material, and I would include 3/32" with that, you can clamp the piece to a steel table or heavy plate at the 'corner' line and carefully use a ball pein hammer or a small sledge with a block of wood, using many 'light' blows to gradually form the bend over the edge of the plate. With care and practice, the bend will be about as good as one 'broken' on a brake.Also, for very thin sheet, some extra material can be left (rather than cutting out all if the square shown above) to make a lap joint rather than a butt joint.
Reply:Thanks Rustywrangler and old iron2,I will give it a go, not sure how deep i can go with the score - am a bit worried that when i bend it may snap off.Is there any rule of thumb about how deep the score should be ?ChelaSydney, Australia - "Knowing is more precious than Having"Kemppi Minarc, 150 VRD- Small but capable- TIG / Stick
Reply:the few times I have done it, I went half the thickness.Come try it out and stay a while.
Reply:Originally Posted by chelaHi all,I need to bend 2.5 mm (just over 3/32 )thick stainless at 90 deg angle all way around a rectangle sheet to make a swarf tray for my small lathe, the folded up sections will be about 30mm high.I am doing this at home and don't have a bender or press, what is the best technique to bend this ?ThanksChela
Reply:Hey Ed,I do agree that most bending applications can be taken to a shop & bent quite inexpensively, although, some bending with steel & especially aluminum, there are some noticeable asethetics with the technique I use. You cannot get the sharpness of the bends with a brake as you can with the slotting technique. I do have an aluminum blade on my table saw with a special grind to make the "V" groove for those sharp outside corners. I posted it on this site....somewhere. I like the sharp outside corners for the classic/show car alum d/plate accessories I make......again, asethetics. 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:Hi, doing the bend with the metal ground down would indeed give you a sharp edge, actually 2 edges per bend but it would also mean that the metal thickness at the bend would also be less than half the thickness of the plate, so I assume that you are happy with that and just leave it like that? Having a sharp bend also increases substantially the risk that the panel will snap off due to the stress of forcing the metal into that sharp bend. That's why on a break press they usually have a small radius to compensate for that. The thicker the material, the larger the radius.Miller Auto Invision 456 + S-62 wire feederC6240B1 Gap bed lathe16 ft3 air compressor16 speed pedestal drillHafco BS-912 Bandsaw
Reply:Hey Ed,Yes, I agree with you again. After I bend the 4 sides, I run 1/4" beads every 1.5" on the inside & TIG weld the outside corners.....never lost one doing that. Also, the classic/show car accessories are not under any kind of stress, pressure, or weight bearing that may affect those bends. Again....the aesthetics are what a customer seeks & I explain the procedure & ask what type of application is being used. If anything was questionable, I would use alternative methods. You post good points for everyone to query.....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."