NickOHH Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I am working on building a trellis for a landscape project for a customer and am wonder the best way to bend the arch for the top of it with limited gear do have a welder for making a temp jig my original thought was to bend it around a 55 gal drum. Working with a 55 forge can get a decent size heat on but would have to work in stages. How would cold bending be or should I heat. It is 3/8 sq by the way any tips would be greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy k Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 The size mat'l your working with can easily be bent around any form for a trellis by hand cold - your form will need to be somewhere around 10-15% smaller in diameter for allowance of spring back after bending. (this is just an approximate starting point, as every different cross section of metal will vary a bit on spring back) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickOHH Posted May 23, 2015 Author Share Posted May 23, 2015 Awesome just what I wanted to hear! I'm on a time crunch for it so I figured IDE ask before messin around with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkunkel Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I make a form out of plywood/chipboard to bend cold conduit to make an arch. Sawed out what radius I wanted, tweaked a bit for springback and worked for what I needed. Good luck with your project! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 I agree with the wood form suggestion since I this easiest to adjust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted May 23, 2015 Share Posted May 23, 2015 You can bend 1/2 inch round cold by hand. Use a lever if needed. 3/8 inch is easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSW Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 As others have said, wood/plywood is easy to work. If I want a really nice clean arch, I take a scrap piece of 1x or plywood strip and attach it to the base of my 1/2" router with a good spiral bit. Then I screw thru the strip at the radius and at the plywood using the center point of my arch and cut away.It swings around in a nice clean radius vs say cutting it out with the jig saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Coke Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Greetings Nick.How big is the diameter of your circle arch?Draw the arch out on the shop floor for reference . Form up a 1/4 x 1 ... 1/4 of the ID of the circle.. Cross brace.. Clamp the stock on the form.. Heat your 3/8 stick with a torch about 8 in at a time and bend over the form. When you have finished 1/2 your arch just flip it over to complete your arch. You will not have to deal with spring back with this method. One word of caution watch the transition point from the circle to the upright it's easy to over bend .. You can with ease form up the 1/4 in form on the anvil edge .. Total time with this method about 2 hrs. I hope this helps Forge on and make beautiful thingsJim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickOHH Posted May 24, 2015 Author Share Posted May 24, 2015 Thanks for all of your help guys ! Looking forward to trying it out and am probably going to be making more for work as well as a arbor or 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawnJockey Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Do a google image search on "jig for bending tunnel hoops". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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