bending aluminum rub rail.

[Wayne67vert]

I'm in the process of restoring a 1957 Sea Fury runabout boat. I'm installing the aluminum rub rail and have come to a sharp bend I don't quite know how to navigate. Any ideas?

 

[cannuck]

I would approach this by making a wooden press tool that matches the profile plus a few degrees of overbend to allow for springback. Mark the approximate center of the bend, than (assuming you have some excess material on the ends) move an inch or so closer to the final end so when the bend is done you can cut the long end to fit exactly to whatever end is there. I make all of my shop presses with open sides since I do a lot of shaft straightening, and if you are tooled to do that you will need a fairly long mount for the top to allow room for the ends to rise (of course with helpers on each side with aluminum strapped to boards to keep straight and supported. Then bend to limit through ends or move your press out into the open to come at it from the front to rear face and push the bend into the shallow V of the bottom die with matching male top die. I would suggest getting some offcuts or scraps of the profile to practice and test the angle on first.

 

[sqznby]

Check out Raymond Martin, he does some incredible marine fabrication and I believe he sells dies for this exact situation. Not necessarily to buy but to get an idea of what they look like and what they do.
We don't use wood, we use a certain kind of plastic or Delrin type material with a plastic sleeve to bend our anodized aluminum. This is definitely an art form and takes some practice, like cannuck said find some scrap and practice. Then make your marks and go from there. Preferably with extra material on both ends if possible. Even though it looks like you're already at it haha.
The other option would the ole cut and weld method.

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[Wayne67vert]

I made a wood mold of the bend. I heated it with my heat gun and persuaded gently to conform. I used a wood block to keep the opening in proper shape.

 

[Walkers]

I made a wood mold of the bend. I heated it with my heat gun and persuaded gently to conform. I used a wood block to keep the opening in proper shape.

Nice work!