Scott Styles Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Anyone know what the thickest piece of aluminum is that has been bent. I got some 3/8" Aluminum from Home Depot that I was able to bend a 7" piece of. I'm sure some of you big benders can do better than that. Anyone hit 1/2"? I think the thick bends look really cool. A piece of 1/2" x 7" stock would look wicked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 Anyone know what the thickest piece of aluminum is that has been bent. I got some 3/8" Aluminum from Home Depot that I was able to bend a 7" piece of. I'm sure some of you big benders can do better than that. Anyone hit 1/2"?I think the thick bends look really cool. A piece of 1/2" x 7" stock would look wicked. I've done the 3/8x4". I have tried the 1/2x7 fom the hardware store, but it is 6061 which is tempered and and the 3/8 stuff is like 3031 which is not. the 6061 is quite a bit tougher and still beyond my reach. I think that a 1/2x7 in 6061 may be tougher than a King bastard IMHO. - Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabertosser Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I have done 3/8x6.I cut some down to 4" in 1/2"increments.I will let you know how it goes.As for aluminum it comes in different grades.I haven't tried any harder grades yet but am looking forward to it.Half the fun of this for me is the hunt for different stuff to bend.Maybe we could start a bending stock exchange.Some people have trouble finding stock and others seem to have an unlimited supply.What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honk Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 From a mathamatical point of view u should be able to bend a piece of steel 44% thicker than ur best bend with metal of that length. Maybe I got something wrong, it's late over here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
climber511 Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 A long time back - I found some 5/16" and 3/8" alum - I bent and bent until it was gone and bought another piece - cut a piece - nothing - cut another - hernia - huge differences are available in it. Ask before buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wes Posted December 11, 2006 Share Posted December 11, 2006 I've done a piece of 4.5'' by 3/8ths Al. that was pretty tough, but the 4'' piece I tried was just crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makey98 Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 A long time back - I found some 5/16" and 3/8" alum - I bent and bent until it was gone and bought another piece - cut a piece - nothing - cut another - hernia - huge differences are available in it. Ask before buying. That makes me feel better. I had bought some 3/8" a while ago and bent it all. It was tough for me but mostly just on the crush b/c it was so thick. Then I took a break from bending and bought some more recently and it feels so much tougher, I can kink it but I have yet to finish a piece of it. Must just be the difference in toughness, the first piece I had must have been easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted December 13, 2006 Author Share Posted December 13, 2006 I just can't believe no one has bent a piece thicker than 3/8". My bending is mediocre at best. I'd be suprised if I could bend a blue nail at the moment. Surely the guys destroying all lengths and types of 5/16" steel can do better than 3/8" aluminum? I'm going to see what Home Depot has in thicker stock the next time I'm there. That's where I got the easy 3/8" aluminum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) I just can't believe no one has bent a piece thicker than 3/8". My bending is mediocre at best. I'd be suprised if I could bend a blue nail at the moment. Surely the guys destroying all lengths and types of 5/16" steel can do better than 3/8" aluminum? I'm going to see what Home Depot has in thicker stock the next time I'm there. That's where I got the easy 3/8" aluminum. you would think that but the aluminum can vary quite a bit in toughness depending on its temper. I believe the 3/8 stuff you normally find in the hardware store or home depot is annealed soft aluminum, and the only 1/2 stuff that I've found at the hardware and home depot type stores is 6061 which is quite tough at that diameter. The yield strength figures for 6061 are very similiar to zinc or chrome coated 1018 steel and about 3/4 of the strength of unpolished CRS. If you look closely at the 1/2 stuff it will typically have 6061 inked on it in very light print. - Aaron Edited December 13, 2006 by acorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chuck Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 You want a real challenge, grab some 2024-T4 or 7075-T651 or even Fortal, although it would most likely crack on the crushdown, a lot stronger and more brittle than 3000, 5000, 6000 series aluminums. EDIT: Looking at some material specs, theres a good chance that the easy alum from the hardware stores is 6063 and not 6061, 6063 has about half the yield strength of 6061(22,000psi vs 40,000psi). Also, jumping from 3/8 to 1/2 is a HUGE leap in overall strength, probably like jumping from 1/4 steel to 3/8 steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted December 13, 2006 Author Share Posted December 13, 2006 3/8" aluminum should be 56% as hard as 1/2" aluminum. In other words, 1/2" aluminum should be 1.78 times as hard as 3/8" aluminum. 1/4 CRS should be 44% as hard as 3/8 CRS. In other words, 3/8" CRS should be 2.25 times as hard as 1/4" CRS. The jump for the aluminum is much smaller IMO. This is assuming the difficulty increases linearly with the cross sectional area of the metal. Edit - 1/4 CRS should be 64% as hard as 5/16 CRS. Or 5/16 CRS is 1.56 times as hard as 1/4 CRS. I think someone bending a 6" piece of 5/16" FBBC stock ought to be able to bend a 7" piece of 1/2" aluminum, of the same type as my 3/8" was. What type it was or where you get it, I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted December 13, 2006 Author Share Posted December 13, 2006 This is the part number for 8' of 1/2" 6063 aluminum from McMaster (http://www.mcmaster.com) - 1640T33 $13. It's tempting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted December 13, 2006 Share Posted December 13, 2006 (edited) This is the part number for 8' of 1/2" 6063 aluminum from McMaster (http://www.mcmaster.com) - 1640T33$13. It's tempting. very tempting. At that yeild strength and 7" it would probably be only a bit harder than a red. Somewhere near a big or huge Bastard. Crush on the larger diameter stuff can be pretty tough just because of the diameter. - Aaron Edited December 13, 2006 by acorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alawadhi Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Aaron, where does the 7*3/8 aluminum falls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acorn Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 Aaron, where does the 7*3/8 aluminum falls? If I remember correctly its between a Yellow and Blue. I like the way it bends though, especially on the shorter ones. 4"x3/8 looks pretty cool bent. - Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabertosser Posted December 14, 2006 Share Posted December 14, 2006 I got a piece of 1/2" today out of a scrap bin at work.I don't know how hard it is but I will give it a shot after I get over being sick.I couldn't bend a coat hanger right about now.I have about 3' of it so I can try different lengths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honk Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 (edited) 3/8" aluminum should be 56% as hard as 1/2" aluminum. In other words, 1/2" aluminum should be 1.78 times as hard as 3/8" aluminum.1/4 CRS should be 44% as hard as 3/8 CRS. In other words, 3/8" CRS should be 2.25 times as hard as 1/4" CRS. The jump for the aluminum is much smaller IMO. This is assuming the difficulty increases linearly with the cross sectional area of the metal. Edit - 1/4 CRS should be 64% as hard as 5/16 CRS. Or 5/16 CRS is 1.56 times as hard as 1/4 CRS. I think someone bending a 6" piece of 5/16" FBBC stock ought to be able to bend a 7" piece of 1/2" aluminum, of the same type as my 3/8" was. What type it was or where you get it, I don't know. Ur wrong Scott the "bending resistance" increases quadratically with the cross sectional area or cubically with the diameter, how u like it. U ignored the geometrical moment of inertia. I know this stuff, I'm studying mechanical engineering. Edited December 15, 2006 by honk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted June 16, 2007 Author Share Posted June 16, 2007 Rick, you ever hit that 1/2" aluminum? I've got an 8' piece of 1/2" 6063 aluminum on it's way from McMaster Carr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza Posted June 17, 2007 Share Posted June 17, 2007 Scott ive bent some 1/2inch aluminium [6061] 1 piece cracked i have also bent 1/2inch brass both DO style its fun stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Styles Posted June 17, 2007 Author Share Posted June 17, 2007 It figures you'd bend the stuff that is twice as hard as what I ordered and do it unbraced. That's definitely the best aluminum bend I've heard of. The 6063 I ordered should be much easier. I considered 1/2" brass, but it's $8/ft. I'm going to be taking after this stuff braced, so that's more than I want to spend. The aluminum was about $1.50/ft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ox3782 Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 1/2 inch brass would be sick I cant even imagine it at this point. Brendan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timiacobucci Posted June 19, 2007 Share Posted June 19, 2007 Gazza do you have any pictures of those 1/2" bends? I can't imagine what stock that wide looks like bent that short. Also any breaking? Most of the 3/8" (6063 I'm assuming) I've bent breaks on crushdown. Maybe the 6061 does not break as easy. Though I would have figured the increased diameter forced to bend that short would be more likely to break than the 3/8" I've done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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