Posted: 10/18/2010 2:37:53 PM EDT
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I have given up looking for products so I am making my own. I have a 36"x2"1/8 thick bar of steel. I want to bend it into shape and have the following tools. 1. MAPP gas torch 2. Ball peen hammer 4. 6" vise 5. sawzall w/ metal blades 6. grinder 7. 1/2 drill w/ metal bits Is it good/okay to clamp it into the vise and heat it up to bend it? |
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Quoted: depends on the strength you need out of it when done. I need to bend it at a 90 at booth ends. Will the heating and bending reduce the strength of the steel too much? I will guess that the amount of force will be under 300lbs and it will be lag screwed with washers into three 2x4's at either end. |
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Quoted:
depends on the strength you need out of it when done. Do some studying first. The word "Steel" is a catch-all word for a huge variety of metals, all of which start out as iron. These metals have many different characteristics; treating one kind of steel the same as another will give vastly different results due to these chemical differences. In general, overheating steel will make it brittle and easily broken. |
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Quoted: Quoted: depends on the strength you need out of it when done. Do some studying first. The word "Steel" is a catch-all word for a huge variety of metals, all of which start out as iron. These metals have many different characteristics; treating one kind of steel the same as another will give vastly different results due to these chemical differences. In general, overheating steel will make it brittle and easily broken. It is just the steel that they sell at Home Depot. I may not need to heat but rather beat the shit out it until I get the form that I need. |
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How accurate do you need the face-to-face dimension to be when you are done?
What bend radius is acceptable in the finished bar? What are you doing with this thing? How did you arrive at the 300 lb force figure? How is that force directed relative to the bar and the 2X4's? What's holding up the 2X4's? How many lag screws will hold it up? In what configuration/pattern will the screws be installed? |
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Quoted: How accurate do you need the face-to-face dimension to be when you are done? Whatever the interior of the window is. What bend radius is acceptable in the finished bar? Close is close enough. What are you doing with this thing? Window bar that sits in between the window and the PVC kinds. How did you arrive at the 300 lb force figure? Just guessing here. How is that force directed relative to the bar and the 2X4's? From outside the window/home pushing in and then pulling out. What's holding up the 2X4's? The house. How many lag screws will hold it up? One maybe two on each side. In what configuration/pattern will the screws be installed? Linear  |
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I would put it in the vice, put some heat on the area you want to bend, and then lightly hammer/pull it until you get the shape you want.
It is approx 1/8" steel, but it would still be easier to form when its hot in my opinion. Just need to make sure you have a square or something to help keep it at 90 degrees. |
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Quoted: Where do you live? I can either help you bend it or help you cut and weld it. Thank you! I am in the Northern Dallas suburbs just off of the tollway. I ended up beating it with a four lbs. half sledge that made the 90 bends okay. Not perfectly straight but it does fit the uneven construction of the window in question. I used my grinder to smooth off the rough edges and will use the drill to cut the holes. I have changed the idea from lag screws to the longest philips driven screw. This way I can use two screws and recess the head to allow room for the PVC blind. |
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Quoted: l_____________lGood deal. I still can't figure out what you are doing but it's done. This is what the bar will look like. Put it inside the window area and make sure that the blind will slide between it. Screw two recessed screws on each side into the frame and 2x4's. Painted glossy white to match the color of the window. It is meant to blend in as much as possible to the window and slow down any aggressor. There will be five of them on this vulnerable window so it should slow them down. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
l_____________l
Good deal. I still can't figure out what you are doing but it's done. This is what the bar will look like. Put it inside the window area and make sure that the blind will slide between it. Screw two recessed screws on each side into the frame and 2x4's. Painted glossy white to match the color of the window. It is meant to blend in as much as possible to the window and slow down any aggressor. There will be five of them on this vulnerable window so it should slow them down. Ok, I get it now. You're putting burglar bars inside the window's reveal. Now your answers in blue make sense. 
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| Given the methods avab to you, I don't know if you're going to be able to get an exact 90 degree bend. Of course, you never know until you try. I know putting it in a vice and bending it will work, but you might want to try with a smaller scrap piece to see if using that method will achieve an acceptable bend for you. |
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Quoted: Given the methods avab to you, I don't know if you're going to be able to get an exact 90 degree bend. Of course, you never know until you try. I know putting it in a vice and bending it will work, but you might want to try with a smaller scrap piece to see if using that method will achieve an acceptable bend for you. I was able to get it to bend but it was not that easy. Even though I marked with a square and positioned it in the vise with it the bar still did not come out square. The whole piece was only $5 so I didn't care if I fubar'd it. After some messaging I then drilled the holes and used a slightly larger bit to recess the screw heads. Unpainted it is fugly but it will blend in. Next I am going to use acetone to clean it and then paint it. |
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Quoted: Where did you buy your metal? If you bought it in a big box you got taken. I got 18 feet of 11G 1 inch square tube for 16 and change from McKinney Pipe and Steel on Monday. It was just some 1.5 inch flat bar steel 3/16 for $5 at Home Depot. A round trip to Mckinney and back would cost more in gas than its worth. Thanks for the lead on the company though. |
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Quoted: When you bend steel, you need to mark it the thickness of the steel smaller. Your steel will "grow" whatever the thickness is.Quoted: Given the methods avab to you, I don't know if you're going to be able to get an exact 90 degree bend. Of course, you never know until you try. I know putting it in a vice and bending it will work, but you might want to try with a smaller scrap piece to see if using that method will achieve an acceptable bend for you. I was able to get it to bend but it was not that easy. Even though I marked with a square and positioned it in the vise with it the bar still did not come out square. The whole piece was only $5 so I didn't care if I fubar'd it. After some messaging I then drilled the holes and used a slightly larger bit to recess the screw heads. Unpainted it is fugly but it will blend in. Next I am going to use acetone to clean it and then paint it. EX: If you wanted a 5 inch leg on a piece of 3/16" flat bar, you would mark it at 4 13/16". My 3 cents |