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I will have to wait until I am back in the UK to open the photos.

Lindsayt wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:50 am What tools have you been using to cut and bend the new metal?

Mainly clamps, a vice, hard round bits of anything of the right curvature to bend it over, a bit of steel box section and lastly but not least a big lump hammer

Also made this out of an old gate post.

Lindsayt wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:50 am What tools have you been using to cut and bend the new metal?

Cutting was done with either a metal chop saw with 12" blade or a 115mm angle grinder with 1mm thick cutting discs. If you cut right through in one place as deep as you can and then progress along your marked line it seems to be very accurate and stay straight ( with plenty of practice).

CN211276 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 6:50 am I will have to wait until I am back in the UK to open the photos.

You'll probably find them as boring as woodworm. It's just a 26 year old 4x4 getting bodged to within an inch of its life.

Some more steel cut and inserted. Held on with little magnets until I get the welder warmed up. The grey paint is a special etch primer which can be welded through. You have to remove a bit to strike an arc but it doesn't ignite or contaminate the weld. Had to be done to stop the new steel sheet from starting to rust. It is said that Fords and Landrovers are already rusting when they leave the factory.

With steel that thick and wide, does it take a lot of force or hammering to get it shaped round the wooden former?

I'd also expect a bit of springback. But then I guess we're not looking at ultra-accuracy here.

Some sort of (CNC) flame or plasma cutter would save a lot of time, but cost ££££'s.
Or even a simple and large enough milling machine.

What sort of a welder are you using?

Lindsayt wrote: ↑Tue Mar 12, 2024 1:07 am With steel that thick and wide, does it take a lot of force or hammering to get it shaped round the wooden former?

I'd also expect a bit of springback. But then I guess we're not looking at ultra-accuracy here.

Some sort of (CNC) flame or plasma cutter would save a lot of time, but cost ££££'s.
Or even a simple and large enough milling machine.

What sort of a welder are you using?

The steel bent on that former is 1.5mm. Any thicker and it's too difficult. With that 1.5mm sheet (40cm width) I could bend it with my hands. I can do 90 degree bends in 2mm when clamped between two bits of angle iron in a vice - big hammer required.

There is some spring back bending over the former but I then transferred it over two clay pipes clamped to a bench (positioned the correct distance apart)- bent it slightly past where it needed to be and with the spring back it ends up roughly correct. Experience tells you how far to over bend it.

I have use of a plasma cutter but it's hard to get straight lines. Much prefer the angle grinder. Welder is a small mig, ideal for thin stuff used on car body panels. Arc welders are not suitable at this thickness of steel. I'm not a pro welder but good enough. It will be done by welding small runs and then moving to somewhere else so we don't get too much heat and prevent warping

Moved on to the offside rear arch. In some ways it isn't as bad as the nearside but others it is worse. There are always more puddles to go through on the passenger side but less to wash winter salt away on the drivers side.

Angle grinder has a mind of its own. Some of the floor needed to go too.

It's funny the things you can cobble together as a former for bending steel. Here we have two old drainage pipes sat on a table with 56lb weights clamped between them. A few bits of wood to get the centre height right. Another two 56lb weights go on top of the work piece to stop it moving.



The arch has to follow the plastic arch extension which is sat on top and used to set the gap between the pipes.



Tested it to see if the bends were in the right place and the correct radius. I used a long thin piece of metal. Follows the plastic arch nicely. The pipes allow me to over bend it to account for the spring back.



That's all set up ready to bend another arch with a sheet of 1.5mm steel 150x40cm.

You'll be starting an auto-refurb business at this rate !!!