Bending Stainless Steel Flat Bar

If it didn t break from the tight radius of the bend.

Bending stainless steel flat bar.

Bending flat material and bars flat sheet plate and bar products can be bent using the press brake or bending machine. Due to work hardening bending should be done quickly. Some over bending will be required to counteract spring back of the bend. As you bend a stainless steel sheet the bend area cold hardens increasing the amount of pressure required to finish the bend.

Of the two ways heating the stainless steel rod is the most commonly used way to. Choose the right steel alloy. This makes bending stainless steel with common hand tools difficult and a sheet metal brake is often required although one technique to bend stainless steel using hand tools works well on shorter length bends. Stainless steel is even harder to bend.

Bar and flat bending of stainless steel round bar flat bar sheet and plate can be bent using a press brake bending machine or ring rolling. When you bend a stainless steel rod mechanically with a press brake you create a bend that has a true radius. Bending it could would work harden it and strengthen it substantially. Most steel bars are either hot rolled or cold rolled.

If doing a big bend i would heat with a torch first. A cold rolled bar is shinier than a hot rolled bar but is also harder to bend. However it does work harden so large bends and repeated bending can cause cracking. Dan i don t know the exact dimensions yet but it ll probably be a 2 x5 flat bar 1 8 or 3 16 thickness i edited the pic.

Anyway 304 is an austenitic stainless steel so it shouldn t lose any strength from the heating. Press straight down with one hand on the end of the metal applying uniform firm pressure to bend it on the line left. Bending the metal when the area along the line is bright orange turn off the torch and set it aside. I think dimensions wise your bending brake will work but i don t know if it will be able to put a clean sharp bend in 3 16 bar you think.

If you do not have access to a press brake your other option is to use an oxy acetylene torch to heat the rod and then bend the heated area of the rod. Brush off scale at the bend with a wire brush.