How To Fold Curved Lines In Metal Without Fancy Tools

Folding a sheet of metal in a straight line is something, however how does one fold several curved lines into a sheet of aluminum without elegant devices? [John] shows how to do precisely that with bit more than hand tools and a reasonable little persistence. The secret is drilling a lot of small holes along each fold line.

First, a little bit of background. [John] wished to make a curved piece of aluminum as cover that would match the streamlined aerodynamic lines of aBelly Tank Lakester The technique is that there isn’t a single straight line to be discovered, and the fold lines are all curves. How can one do such folding with only hand tools?

[John] discovered that fabrication was possible by drilling little holes the whole time each fold line, then thoroughly flexing as required. The line of holes compromises the metal, imitating a rating line, and permit the needed curves to be made easily. There’s some ending up work and correcting included, however the difficult part of making the real folds is looked after.

One technique that didn’t work was cutting a shallow groove in the metal to develop something like a pre-scored fold line. [John] attempted this and discovered that while the metal does certainly fold along the weakened line, the aluminum tends to break while doing so. When making a line of holes rather, the metal in between each hole flexes perfectly.

This method does suggest the completed part winds up with little perforations along each fold, however the part is installed on the bottom of the vehicle and [John] states that he ‘d need to look rather carefully to discover. A little polishing goes a long method, too.

We have covered many ways to bend sheet metal and while equipment exists to do it extremely well, fantastic outcomes can be had with bit more than basic tools and some persistence.

Watch [John] go through the procedure in the video ingrained listed below, or skip to 7:55 if you simply wish to see completion outcome.