Bending Stainless Steel Flat Bar

Bending the metal when the area along the line is bright orange turn off the torch and set it aside.

Bending stainless steel flat bar.

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. Choose the right steel alloy. Bending flat material and bars flat sheet plate and bar products can be bent using the press brake or bending machine. 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.

However it does work harden so large bends and repeated bending can cause cracking. Stainless steel is even harder to bend. 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. Most steel bars are either hot rolled or cold rolled.

As you bend a stainless steel sheet the bend area cold hardens increasing the amount of pressure required to finish the bend. If doing a big bend i would heat with a torch first. The stronger the steel the more the bend will approximate a v while the weaker the steel the more the bend will look like a u. Some over bending will be required to counteract spring back of the bend.

Of the two ways heating the stainless steel rod is the most commonly used way to. 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. Anyway 304 is an austenitic stainless steel so it shouldn t lose any strength from the heating. If it didn t break from the tight radius of the bend.

The work should be executed as quickly as possible due to work hardening characteristics of stainless steels and a degree of over bending is necessary to counteract the springback of the bend. Due to work hardening bending should be done quickly. Press straight down with one hand on the end of the metal applying uniform firm pressure to bend it on the line left. 304 is a relatively ductile stainless and will bend to some degree.

Bending it could would work harden it and strengthen it substantially. Brush off scale at the bend with a wire brush.