Making 10" rings?

[Dave M]

I need to make 4 - 10" diameter rings by 2" by 1/4" . I don't know if it would be easier to plasma cut them out of schd 40 pipe or form them out of flat stock? If I form them out of flat stock I don't have a ring roller, what would be the best way to form a perfect ring? I think I have been at the rest of this project to long and I am over thinking this part.

[MooseRidge]

Can't get up to the forge to check what size, but I have used steel weights (for a weightbench)... come in a variety of sizes and can be picked up CHEAP in many areas.... weld a couple of tabs on the top and a bar for the vise, heat and bend, then weld closed....

[Glenn]

You bending the metal the easy way or the hard way?

If you look at the end/edge of the finished ring, the easy way by bending the 1/4 inch thickness and the ring stands 2 inches tall (think pipe), or the hard way by bending the 2 inch thickness and the ring is only 1/4 inch tall (think big flat washer).

You say "perfect ring". That would suggest a large, properly aligned band saw and a piece of pipe.

Give us some details of the project and the use of the ring.

[Rich Hale]

I have done rings like this from flat stock like you have. stick it in a vise pointing up and star tthe bend I dont close the vise all the way.bend a bit and slide it down and bend some more. You do not have to make a nice circle, Just get the ends so they will butt together and you can weld them. I make them round while cool. The heel of my anvil has a bit of radius on both side. I place the ring across the heel and turn it until a part of the circle that is out of round by being higher than the rest is above the anvil. tap that with a smooth hammer. turn some more and find high spots and tap again. After you do the first one you will find this is not a tough task. Just remember to only hit the parts that come above the anvil asa high spots. Have fun

[Dodge]

As nothing can be truly perfect, the closest you will come is with a roller. However, as you don't have one, Rich's method is about as easy as it gets without building a special jig. Using a bending fork, you could do them cold from the start. You will get slight flat spots at the bends but these will come out when you hammer them round. I have made circles and half circles of several sizes up to 31" diameter using similar methods. You haven't told us what the rings' purpose is. How "perfect" do they need to be? Do they need to be visually perfect or do they need to have mechanical accuracy?

[Jose Gomez]

I don't know how precice your measurements need to be, but 10 inch schedual 40 pipe actually has an outside diameter of 10 3/4 inches and a wall thickness of near 3/8 inch (.365"). Schedual 20 10 inch pipe will have a 1/4 inch wall, but will still have an outside diameter of 10 3/4.

[Dodge]

There are tubing manufactures that make pipe (or tubing) that hold outside dimensions. The company I worked for makes pipe from 1.13" o.d. to 16" o.d. in thicknesses ranging from .049" to .31". They have 10" o.d. with .25" wall. Dunno if you want to go to the trouble of ordering but here is their site; Valmont Look under the "Tubing" link. Hope I get a kickback for the plug LOL

[philip in china]

I have done similar projects and simply got tube cut to size. If you cost your time in at anything more than minimum wage I can't see any other way of doing it!

[Shane Stegmeier]

IF you can find the tubing and have a bandsaw that cuts true, or a power hacksaw, then I would do it that way;-) having tried to free hand 12 diameter rings out of 1/4" by 2" I finally had to borrow a cone mandrel and it still wasn't easy... They may have been 3/8" thick??? I just remember it was hard to get an even heat on them, and they were slightly undersized and trying to get them so that a 12" pot would nestle down tight against the ring was a bother... They look great now, and I do get lots of compliments on them, but what is rotten is that they haven't sold yet:-P... Visually round is fairly easy with a good eye and some patients, but mechanically precise is a pain:-)

[arftist]

Find a welding or sheetmetal shop in your area. Pay them the ten or twenty dollars. If you want them to be "perfect", cut the flatbar 35 7/16", roll, trim off flats at each end, weld, re-roll.

[Dave M]

Thanks for all of the replies. The rings are going to be part of a support for a store display system. I can't go into more detail at this time of what the display is for. The 10" rings have to be round as there will be another piece that will fit into them but the tolerances do not have to be perfect as I left my self some big wiggle room. I did price out having a bigger fab shop either roll the rings for me or bandsaw cut the schd 40 pipe for me either way it would cost about $120.00 and I would have to pass that cost on to the customer, making my bid much less competitive. I think I will use the suggestions that most of you made about forming the rings from flat stock. I am going to take the risk of making a jig for this job because if the store likes my work it might lead to them purchasing more of these displays for me. I may be jumping the gun but last night I drew up full scale prints for this job on my shop floor for the layout. Now lets hope I get the job. As more money comes into my shop I will be looking at a bandsaw and a boss pedestal ring roller. My blacksmith & fabrication shop is part time for me at this time but I am right on the edge of being able to make it my full time job.:cool:

[Glenn]

BP0257 Bending Fork

If your making the rings, make one of these to adjust the rings where adjustments are needed.

[Ten Hammers]

Rich's way works exceptionally well. 30" + 4 times the thickness will be close. Good solid vise and a bending bar ( really 1/4 x 2 ain't that bad ). Start the end and just work around bending the same pull, the same strength. Check progress. Give a try with some 3/8 rod first perhaps. Either way, set a compass or dividers for 5" raduis and mark a circle on the table or cardboard. You now have a pattern. Cold forge the ring ( yes this will be work ). Chopsaw any waste ( perhaps not need to ) and make a good butt joint. Perhaps need to make the joint wide. Tack and MIG the joint. Grind or hotfile ( torch for heat ).. Even up the edges. Rich uses the heel, I use the step and a straight pien. Sometimes you need both heel and step. I make a lot of rings by wrapping on pipe as well. Solution # 2...look the rotors over at a brake shop and find the closest to 10" you can( I believe you said 10" ID you need correct ? ). Wrap a piece of stock around the brake rotor in the correct thickness to equal 10" OD ( let your mind wander, brake rotor, whatever). Use this to form your bar stock for 10" ID. I have also done this frequently. Yes this will shrink fit if allowed to cool and you may have trouble. Bending bar makes all the difference sometimes. Open the vise a bit and strike between the jaws. I am in the process of building a roller ( yeah right 10 year process lol ). Vise works well. BTW, weld a piece of angle to the bottom of the rotor and you have a mount for the tooling in the vise. If you make the rotor fixture, use stock 1/2" wider than the stock you wish to bend. You then have a place to grasp the hot stock with channellocks or visegrips to hold it. I would suggest using a hacksaw to make a starting point and use it for all the rings. Working with pipe ( not needing a specific ID of the ring ) you can grab down the full width of the hot stock and this really makes it nice using vise grips for start and midway. In all honesty, once the tooling is made you can really go pretty fast with a gasser. I once used the bottom of a steel 5 gallon bucket to wrap some 3/16 x 3/4 to start a fixture like I have described. Some call it fabrication but I call it making a living. Whatever works.

[LarryM]

Dave,
This a post I made awhile back check it out. I have built this bender and, it works real nice. The brake rotor idea will work but it is alittle more work. Hope this helps you out. Good luck getting job. Keep us posted on your progress.

Here's the link that was in the other post that I forgot to link you to!!! DUH!!

http://www.bbssystem.com//files/smaug57metalbender_102.pdf

It really makes a nice little bender.

Larry

[Dodge]

Another thought is something on the lines of a hossfield(SP?) bender with a 10" fabbed die, or something like TH suggested above for the stock to wrap around. You would, of course, need to make or find the initial center "die", but then you'd be able to make the same piece every time.

[arftist]

Another way to do this job in a hossfeld is by bump bending, that is make a slight bend, move piece, bend again, etc. I often bend stock this way if it is too big for my roller. A blacksmiths tire bender would be perfect for this also. A handy hardy tool is a piece of plate about 6" long, with a piece of round bar welded to each end, paralell to each other. Ptu your metal on top, hot or cold, and hammer in between, for curving.

[bonds of steel]

im me i can make these for you have a ring roller and a cickle maker. the other thing you can do is make the ring in two halfs and weld them togethr. that how i started doing it before i got the rollers

[Glenn]

bonds of steel
go to the top of the forum page and click on user cp
click on edit profile
go to the bottom of the page, enter your location and save.

We would like to know where in the world you are located.

[bonds of steel]

dang thought i did that just updated, thanks

[Dave M]

Up date. I built a 10" ring jig I have tested it ot on some scrap flat stock and it works good. I will post pictures when I get a chance. Now lets hope they except my bid. I would really like to get going on this project as it will be high profile and could bring more work. Thank you all for your help. I will be fabing up 1 of those benders also.