Backyard sheetmetal forming

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maddog

Here he comes to save the day!
Joined
May 13, 2007
Messages
864
Location
SFV Southern California
I need rocker panels and some other sheet metal things but have never tried to shape any sheet metal before.
I have spent some time on a couple metal forming sites and decided to give it a try.
First I built a stand to hammer on that can hold hammers as well. It was so heavy, I put wheels on it.
Then I found a stump and carved a couple divits in it. (I am gonna put wheels on that too)
Then I found some round things, polished them and made them mount on my stand.
Then I went to buy some 20g sheet metal. They were out. Then the guys says "do you want the bendy stuff?" I said whats that??

He said body shops and race car body fabricators like it because its easy to form, welds well and doesnt crack.:eek::D I bought a sheet.:D Aparently it is part aluminum. Does anybody know about this stuff? What is it called? It didnt cost much more than just plain 20g.

I made a tucking fork and have been practicing making tucks with that and the stump. Once the tucks are made you hammer them down, shrinking the metal. Its quite easy.

I also cut some pie cuts and welded them up and hammered them too!
Tig weld is much easier to work with but mig works too.

I have $0.00 invested so far and I can form sheet metal!!!

I am going to get some plastic hammers and the wheels for an english wheel and I will build the frame.

It was much easier than I thought. Here are a couple pieces I have been practicing on. I am also making the rocker panels for the Topolino(not shown).

All the steel used in my hammer stand (except for the hammer rings and dollys) were scrap from my shop neighbor. He does structual steel. If anyone in my area needs any really heavy metal, let me know. The price is right, free.
 

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I like it.I seen some of that stump forming on the web before.Beats buying the shot bags.Keep the tech stuff going.I like these kind of threads.Lo Buck stuff that can be used quite often for doing forming.That is great idea.

What are those 2 90 degree things sittin on the stump?

Wheel axles for the stump??
 
I use an oak 6x6, and carved it out with a torch and grinder. Old ball hitches work well for ball dollies. Welcome to the world of metal shaping! Fun and addictive.
 
Bonehead is excatly right. You can get some heavy metal object, do a little grinder shaping, sand it, polish it and bang metal on it.

The bent thing on the stump is a tucking fork. You slip the sheetmetal into it and twist. It creates a wave in the otherwise flat sheetmetal. Then you bang the very edge down untill its flat then work your way into the sheet chasing the bubble till its flat. It forces the metal to shrink into itself and creates a cup in the surface.

Do a search on youtube "tuck shrinking" you wont believe how easy it is.

The large divit in the log is also for creating tucks.
 
Bonehead, can you add to this? What kinds of dollies and things have you made to shape sheet metal? Got pics?

Anyone else? Please show your stuff.
 
Save your money on the plastic hammers. They really arent heavy enough to move much metal. Instead, make some of your own. Old caps off oxy, argon etc. bottles work great. You can find a small short handle sledge and reshape the end. Also a baseball bat made into a hammer works well.
I have an assortment of plastic hammers that were given to me, and they are all still pretty new. I wish I could trade them all for more wooden hammers.
Congrats on taking the plunge and trying it yourself! You not only save money, but you will have years of fun making neat stuff.
The best place for info is www.metalmeet.com.

Tim @ www.irrationalmetalworks.com
 
Save your money on the plastic hammers. They really arent heavy enough to move much metal. Instead, make some of your own. Old caps off oxy, argon etc. bottles work great. You can find a small short handle sledge and reshape the end. Also a baseball bat made into a hammer works well.
I have an assortment of plastic hammers that were given to me, and they are all still pretty new. I wish I could trade them all for more wooden hammers.
Congrats on taking the plunge and trying it yourself! You not only save money, but you will have years of fun making neat stuff.
The best place for info is www.metalmeet.com.

Tim @ www.irrationalmetalworks.com

Metal meet is a huge site. Very helpfull. I am looking for an old baseball bat. I understand they make great hammers. Thanks, I will save my money on the plastic ones.
 
For some reason I am having trouble loading pictures....

Anyway, people think I am crazy for owning 4 working anvils. But they all have something different going for them. The real work horse anvil is the 250 pound. It has a nice hardy hole and I have made a lot of attachments to drop in. Look for an old handle from a pipe threader. It has a long shaft and a ball on the end. Ball hitchs work well too. Small sections of railroad iron. I use a tucking fork that I built into a table. Also a smaller set goes into the anvil. I have a huge collection of hammers, ball piens and flat faced. Sometimes a hammer handle works better than the head. I made patch panels for a friends jeep cowl off my big table with the help of a 2X6 and a deadblow hammer. It is nice to have all the tools but the best is just use your head, (not to hit the metal with). I'll put some more in here later, and try to get some pictures to load then.
 
I forgot, was the sheet metal, called SK or maybe AK Steel? A stands for aluminium, and S is for silicone. The K is Killed. It is an addition of materials to steel with a heat process in manufcturing.
 
metal shaping

I have a 2' long rail road rail works great with lots of shapes. top is rounded, sides tighter curved shape, throw it on its side for V shapes, etc.
I had a 4' piece but I think it got away from me some how. must of grew legs
Good luck. shaping stuff is a blast!
 
I have several "anvils" My favorite is a chunk of D2 that is 6x8x12. I have home made dollys that I use most. The old sad iron makes a nice flat football shaped pounding iron/dolly. I also have a sction of 4" round stock about 18 inches long. A friend and I mad our own 5' pan brake but I left it with him in Texas. I have plans in my head for an easy to build slip roll.
But most of the time I still just try to find a donor panel with the right shape that I need.
 
The homemade tools are some of the best. I made a pretty nice slapper out of oak. I glued two 1" thick pieces of oak together, then shaped it on the bandsaw with a nice rounded face (sorta looked like a bench broom with a rounded face where the bristles would go). Glued some leather on it and it was good to go. Was great for bending material over edges and forms without marring it up. As mentioned oxy bottle tops with a handle welded on work great for a hammer to use with a shot bag. Made one of those too, just heavy roughed out leather and hand stitched on three sides. I just used Sand as it was a low buck deal and I couldn't afford the shot at the time. You can get some pretty good results with some pretty cheap stuff.

Regards,

Rev. D.
 
I use nothing but the clean ones, no grease or any other stains on them. I have actually run into hickory, cherry and apple wood pallets.
 

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