Bending Aluminum Sheet Stock

Use scrap lumber to make a brake that is effective when only a few bends will be necessary.

Bending aluminum sheet stock.

Most frequently expensive sheet metal bending tools called brakes are used to bend sheet metal but you can also complete this task without one. Which aluminum alloy bends the best is a a common question customers want the answer to. In this post we ll explain it to you. 6061 t6 aluminum is tempered and notorious for not bending easily.

Get free shipping on qualified aluminum sheet metal or buy online pick up in store today in the hardware department. A bending brake will be best suited for shaping flat square sheets of light gauge aluminum. I used a angle of 5 degrees this is because when you bend the metal you usually want 90 degrees and when you hit 90 the metal will want to spring back a little. I had to bend some aluminum ears on mounting plate for my underwater camera and lights this is how i did it the wrong way a costly mistake and then how i d.

This is a highly technical and potentially dangerous process best left to a professional metalworker. In high purity forms aluminum is soft and ductile. The idea of adding an angle 5 degrees past 90 is so that you can bend past 90 to allow for the spring back. A purpose made brake isn t necessary if you are going to be bending only a few pieces of coiled siding.

Heavy gauge aluminum bars or rods must be heat bent using an acetylene torch and vice. Aluminum sheet metal metal stock the home depot store finder. When you release the handle the bent material will spring back to 90 not 85. From a bending perspective it s always best to bend these parts in an annealed state and then temper them to the correct condition.

Bending sheet metal by hand is a manageable task if the piece of sheet metal is small and thin enough to handle. A siding brake bends aluminum or bendable vinyl siding to the angles you want using leverage from a hinged joint.