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American Bender Project #3 - Arcs & Circles |
The third bending project in our series is the bending of arcs and circles, using
the feed-along or chord dies. This method allows for very fast and
accurate bends. The tooling required for this project is: · U-pin · Two square bending blocks · Flat Pin · Die for desired radius |
Project #3 - Arcs & Circles |
(September, 2005) |
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Picture #1 shows a feed-along or chord die, with a few of the more common bends. The
dies come with two radii and are available in 1" to 2 1/2" thickness. The
one used for this project is a 5" radius. |
Picture #2 shows the basic set up of the bender. The material is fed from the left, between
the square blocks and the die. When the swing frame is pulled,
the material is forced against the die, forming a chord of a circle. The
material is fed in small increments - an inch or two at a time - until the desired
arc or circle is reached. |
Click on the images for a larger view. |
Project #4 will deal with bending with special round dies. Any comments, suggestions
or questions on our projects would be appreciated. |
Read our DISCLAIMER |
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Picture #3 shows a bend approximately half completed. When bending material cold, there
will be some spring back, so choose the die size accordingly. Heating
the material will eliminate spring back. |
Picture #4 shows a circle nearing completion. We have found that by using material slightly
longer than needed, we can cut at the overlap and end up with a perfect circle. |