welding techniques

Any pointers as to how to bend a piece of flat bar into a circle? I have gas setup and wondering if their are any jigs people have or tips. thanks
PS. i need it for a project that the circles resembles wheels.

don't know what size of circle you need, but an old wheel might be a good "jig"..... tack your bar to the wheel, heat the bar, and pull it around as you heat it.......a big truck wheel could be used if a bigger circle was needed..-cut it loose from the wheel jig when done...
-just a thought........are we on the same page?

exactly what i was thinking as well. Just wanted other input as to how others would go about the task. thanks..

I was thinking of getting a piece of steel pipe tacking it and then heating and bending.

Send it to me Just built a roller and havent done anything with it yet. I draw the circle size i need on my table and heat and tack as i go following you line.. worked good for me for years

dont understand what you just said.

I have a ring roller too, but before I had that I used old farming steel wheels to roll strap iron into circles. I just used visegrips to hold them down. What Annamel was saying is draw the circle on the bench, heat and tack,and bend the strap until it follows the line all the way around, cut off the tacks, and you will have a circle.

gotcha thanks guys i will pribably start next week let you know how it goes.

can you make a circle with a bender or is it just a 90 degree?
i was looking to get the bender at HF im not making anything crazy but from what i hear it is a useful tool to have in the shop.

Thanks to everyone who replied. i ended up tacking one end to a piece of pipe and bending the bar around it. It worked flawlessly. im not sure how to post pics but if I did im sure you guys would be proud. thanks again

Countryss said:

can you make a circle with a bender or is it just a 90 degree?
i was looking to get the bender at HF im not making anything crazy but from what i hear it is a useful tool to have in the shop.

Click to expand...

I am glad you got it figured out, but I missed this question. Yes you could, but it would not be a great circle, a bunch of bends spaced evenly. The closer you put the bends the better the circle. I look at it like this: I can make a circle on the anvil by making a series of small bends until I get the basic shape, and then finish it with a hammer. So you should be able to use a bender the same way.

Is it the same to put a radius in say 1/4 round stock or is there an easier way? Im getting ready to close my trans in. I was gonna frame it with quarter inch round and skin it with 18 gauge. The trans opening is a v shape. I thought about doing it in arches 5 inches apart. Might be easier to kinda box it in with the sides angled in towards the trans. If I boxed it, what would be an easy way to get a good angle? Im really not good at laying this stuff out.

If you are just using 1/4 round you should be able to shape it around anything. A tree, a curb, a wheel, ( an anvil) just find a shape you like on a pretty solid surface.