heat bending stainless sheet metal

[reinhardt]

i have a piece of stainless sheet metal approx 1/16" thick that measures approx 2'x3'. I want to break the sides so i have a 1" lip all the way around, giving me a pan. it is for a charcoal tray inside my grill.

i am thinking clamp a piece of angle iron to the edge of my bench and clamp the stainless to it. then heat the stainless w/ a propane torch and bend it.

will the propane torch get it hot enough, or will i need an acetylene torch?
i'm not concerned with discoloring the metal w/ it going in a bbq.

i wish i had access to a break.... ugh.

 

[s_ontario]

no

find someone with a brake

 

[Professur]

To heat a line 2' long hot enough to matter you'd need a line burner. Besides that, you're better to bend it cold anyhow. You can do it with your lump of angle iron, tho. Clamp the angle over the edge of your bench with the sheet over it ... with the line you want to bend on at the 90. Then start hammering. A little at a time will get it there.

But you're probably well ahead if you just find a shop with a brake and pay them the couple of bucks to do it right.

 

[reinhardt]

blah blah blah, do it right they say.... if i can knock this out in my garage for free, i will do the extra work. it doesnt need to be pretty, it's a charcoal tray. anyone have anything positive to add? maybe tell me what i wanna hear? lol!

 

[s_ontario]

if it doesn't need to be purdy then just line cut it cut 3" leave a inch repeat bend it re weld the cuts

 

[gorilla]

Heating stainless won't help you bend it, it will just warp it. you can bend it between two angles but you will have trouble making the last bend. Don't beat on the metal with a hammer beat on a block of hard wood and spread the force out a bit. Good luck.

 

[Stick Figure]

I just used a few scraps of angle to build a brake ........

Not ideal but it works.... I've seen much better versions for a press, but i don't have one of those at home either.

 

[rsanter]

if you have a work bench then clamp the piece to the work bench with the amount hanging over that you want to bend
get a hammer and a block of wood and start working that part over the edge bending it little by little untill you have the bend you want

bob

 

[reinhardt]

i bent the sheet metal up using a couple scrap pieces of angle clamped in my vise and a bfh. worked good. pulled tension on the metal w/ a block and tackle meant for hoisting deer carcasses. hooked the hoist to the sheet metal and then down to the work bench. pulled some tension on it and then beat it w/ a hammer. worked great. some hammer marks on it, but hey, it's a tray for my bbq. doesnt have to be gorgeous, just functional.

 

[Jack Olsen]

If it doesn't need to be pretty then it doesn't need to be complicated.

Poor Man's press brake:

 

[reinhardt]

If it doesn't need to be pretty then it doesn't need to be complicated.

my point exactly! i started this thread to ask if i should take the time to heat it first, would that make it easier? it quickly escalated to over complicated. so i did what any good american would do, i got the biggest hammer i have and beat the piss out of it. (the metal, not the hammer)

 

[DHS]

Pics of finished job?