hem 48" steel without a brake

   / hem 48" steel without a brake #1  

rus_geek

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Sep 11, 2008
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327
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Poniatowski, WI
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Bobcat CT225
I'm installing two 4x10 sheets of steel into the corner behind my wood stove as a heat shield to reduce clearances. I would like to hem (or otherwise protect myself from) the 48" edges of these panels. Any suggestions of how to do this without a massive brake or other large-scale tools?
 
   / hem 48" steel without a brake #2  
May or may not work but use the cutting edge of your bucket, if its over 48" and still straight, and a piece of angle iron as a die for the first bend then roll the edge over with a soft hammer and use the bucket to finish the bend. You will need several blocks of wood handy and a few clamps to keep everything aligned for the bends. Crude but worth a try, you will need someone to help for sure. As long as its thin sheet metal it should bend easily.
 
   / hem 48" steel without a brake #3  
If it is light gauge sheet metal, a pair of duckbill pliers will work but it won't be as professional looking as a hem made on a brake. The secret is to form the bend with small moves, and don't smash the fold, leave a little hollow spot there.
 
   / hem 48" steel without a brake #4  
I'm installing two 4x10 sheets of steel into the corner behind my wood stove as a heat shield to reduce clearances. I would like to hem (or otherwise protect myself from) the 48" edges of these panels. Any suggestions of how to do this without a massive brake or other large-scale tools?

What thickness you are working with? Sheet steel will radiate heat from the stove to the wall so make sure to leave a air gap between wall and steel.
 
   / hem 48" steel without a brake
  • Thread Starter
#5  
24 gauge galvanized, and I'll be putting a one inch air gap behind it, along with air gaps top and bottom. I have a couple pieces of large angle iron, but I'll have to check if they're straight...
 
   / hem 48" steel without a brake #6  
A old bed frame is the ticket for a die. I like the fel idea too
 
   / hem 48" steel without a brake #7  
24 gauge galvanized, and I'll be putting a one inch air gap behind it, along with air gaps top and bottom. I have a couple pieces of large angle iron, but I'll have to check if they're straight...

Home depot has bar folds in their sheet metal dept, A bar fold is basically two pieces of steel sandwiched together with a 1/2" opening on one side and a 3/8" on the other for hemming or bending sheet metal. 24 ga is will be a bear but can be done. Another way is to pop rivet your angle on the ends which will protect the ends and give some rigidity to the sheet and assist with a air gap depth.
 
   / hem 48" steel without a brake #8  
We used to use a old chevy oil pump shaft to roll the fenders on race cars. You can buy metal forming pliers made just for what you want to do. If you have a old set of vise grips, just get a couple of pieces of flat bar and clamp together. Then weld flat bar to vise grips and you have a ready made edge bender. If you bend it a little at a time until you get it bent over 90degrees, you can take a hard plastic mallet, rubber hammer, ball pein, body hammer, etc and hammer the bend flat giving you a folded edge. Just dont try to hammer it flat in one pass, just tap it down going end to end until you have it all the way flat. Hitting the folded edges hard while bending will result in metal stretch and a wrinkled finish.
 

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