I have wanted to bend the corrugated metal I have been making into a curved shape but it would always kink when bent. I tried different ways of bending it and found, by accident, that it will bend easier around a object better if it isn't real solid and has a little give to it. The exception to that is when making culvert around a one inch dowel.
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| I used a piece of 1" dowel rod to bend my culvert around. For a larger culvert use a water bottle or something similar to bend the metal around. What ever you use should have a little give to it. I use a stick to hold the metal against the dowel rod. |
Keeping a good grip on the wood strip,metal and the dowel rod, press down on the flat surface enough to bend the metal but not crush it, and roll the dowel over the metal letting it form to the shape of the dowel rod. | After getting a half way through the bend check to see that the metal is still straight and continue till you have formed culvert. | Through trail and error I found four inches of metal would be enough to form the culvert on a one inch dowel. Even a little under won't hurt just squeeze the sections together.When finished these pieces would make a nice light load for a gondola or flat car. |
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| I cut a piece of vent pipe eighteen inches long to use in making my larger bends. I have used it to make curved metal for sizes up to large Oatmeal boxes. | I pop riveted the seam together, then used a screw driver to open the joint. | Opening the joint gives an area to insert the metal to be bent, eliminating the need for a stick to hold the metal. | I'm holding the vent and metal against a piece of Plexiglas as my wife mans the camera. This shows how I roll the metal on a flat surface. |
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| After the metal is bent around the vent, remove metal piece and turn it around and place the other end into the slot. notice in the picture how the metal is straight. Hold the piece and roll again so the piece will have an even curve through out it's entire length. | This shows how the piece looks after both ends have been rolled. | Shown is a piece of plastic drain pipe that the metal piece will be used to cover. | By pushing down on the piece it will snap around the drain pipe making a snug fit. This works as well with a large diameter , like a Quaker Oats Box or PVC pipe. |
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| With the work piece on the drain pipe measure to see how long the next piece will have to be. Allow 1/2" extra for making two joints. One over and one under. | The seams need to be dressed up to make things look better and more realistic. | Using the trusty Pizza cutter, run it along the inside of the work piece to add the look of rivets or bolts. | This gives a finished look to the seams. |
In Strasburg,Pa there is a water tank in the yard next to the station it has a sectioned top and I thought it would be nice to duplicate and use as a tank or silo top for a model.
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| You will need a couple of tools to do this work. Metal cutting tool, Spline tool, pencil and compass, jig board, and a hand break tool. | For the purpose of showing how to make the top I'm only making eight sections here. I'm using a thin piece of material here but heavy metal is worked the same way. You want to layout your work piece as shown using a compass and rule. |
Cut your piece out then using the compass draw another circle about 1-1/4". This will be needed as a guide later on. | If you are trying this project I am presuming you have used a jig board before, if not check out Metal Roof and Siding Jig. on my home page. |
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| Line up one of the lines on the work piece with a groove and work the metal deep in with the spline tool. Make sure there is enough metal to grab with the hand break later. | Turn the spline tool sideways and flatten the metal against the jig so there will be a sharp bend at the base of the grove to grip with the hand break.. | When all ribs are made it should look something like this. | Next use the hand break to squeeze the ribs. Turning the jig board on edge helps, then lay the work piece on it to squeeze the ribs. Use the circle made earlier as a guide when doing the ribs. Don't squeeze the metal inside the circle. | When finished the top should look something like this. Use a stick to further flatten the work piece in between the ribs so it will lay evenly on the tank, etc.. |
This type top doesn't have to be made in one piece it could be made in 1/3, 1/4 or 1/2 sections and spliced together. To see how to splice the sections check out Rib Roofing or Siding on my home page.