How To Shape Aluminum Sheet Metal

Clamp the wood on top of the metal to the workbench.

How to shape aluminum sheet metal.

In it i created this aluminum dome or bowl from a square of about 20 ga sheet aluminum. Using a softer piece of material such as wood as a backer will allow the chisel to push through the metal and prevent wear on the chisel s tip. Go slowly sheet aluminum is very soft so you won t need to use much force at all. How to cut fold sheet aluminium.

For hundreds of years hammerforming has been done over tree stumps or logs which have been carved out to feature bowl shaped tops. I made it at techshop. In the past we ve presented metal shaping articles that showed the average inexperienced joe how to create just about anything from a flat sheet of steel provided he has access to the right tools. Next place the wood parallel and slightly behind the bending line.

Sheet aluminium can be cut without the need for a guillotine or tin snips which tend to deform the metal. Tired of getting fingers cut on sheet metal while using tin snips. Finally bend the sheet up by hand to the angle desired. Check out this video.

Mark your bend lines. Cutting aluminum sheet metal with a hammer and chisel is relatively straight forward line up the edge of the chisel along the line you wish to cut and strike the chisel with a hammer. Now that you know your bend allowance take your protractor and draw a clear line with your marker across the point at which you will bend your sheet metal. Www techshop ws i just took my first class at techshop entitled organic sheet metal safety and basic use.

If you want a sharp 90 bend tap along the crease with a mallet. Then use your bend allowance to draw your second bend line the intervening distance between your bend lines bend radius. Continue pulling up on the handles until your sheet takes on the shape you want. Mark a bend line and place the sheet metal on the edge of your bench.

Hammerforming and planishing are two of the most important and fundamental techniques of custom sheet metal fabrication. Hammerforming aluminum with home made wooden tools. In stock and ready to ship. Hammerforming involves shaping sheetmetal with a relatively soft mallet against a concave surface.