How To Stretch Sheet Metal By Hand

Having the right tailor made tools for shaping shrinking and stretching metal you re about to undertake can help you properly and quickly repair damaged sheetmetal and bodywork.

How to stretch sheet metal by hand.

Using protective gloves hold the free end of the metal sheet with one hand and with the other hand use a mallet or hammer to begin bending the sheet down and around the curved radius of the wood form. After all there are only four things you can do to metal. Using the hammer and dolly method a dent crease or dimple can be made smooth again without the use of a welder or body filler. Metal can also be stretched in a similar method by using a sandbag and plastic mallets to quickly stretch metal and make shapes.

Cut it bend it shrink it and stretch it. And again knowing where to stretch metal is more difficult than stretching it because stretching metal only involves making it thinner and thereby laterally broader. Start at one end and slowly work down to the other. Dollies are heavy simply shaped lumps of steel that fit into the palm of the metal worker s hand as he works.

The metal worker finds the dent in the metal then places the dolly on the back side of the damaged area. 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. This forces the metal to be compressed and ultimately stretch. You can do this by hitting it between a body hammer and a dolly or with a planishing hammer or other type of power hammer.

Mark your bend lines. With this method you firmly hold an object behind the metal and hit the other side with a hammer. This is a mechanically operated tool that puts the metal between two flat textured jaws and pulls the metal apart slowly each time the lever or.