Aluminum Trim Bending advise/help

[Keith B]

Found 16' and 20' roof/wall edge trim at RV shop, however, they do not think it can be bent around a radius.. looks much like the trim Grant sells (flat on top, rounded on side; like 1x1/2). Anyway, wanted to work on TD but if I can't "trim" it (aluminum sides, trim, etc.) and seel it then I will scrap the design and start over. I'd like to avoid 8' lengths so I can have a nice seemless roof and trim... any help would be appreciated... Here's a profile of my sides.

[madjack]

Keith, enter "annealing" in the search window and you will get lotssa info...
my technique.....
1) use a propane(or MAPP) gas torch with a large head...I used the pistol grip version from HF
2) VERY LIGHTLY soot a stripe down the piece to be annealed(the whole piece doesn't need to be covered in soot)....remember that you only haveta anneal the part that actually bends...not the whole piece
3) while steadily moving the torch back and forth, heat up a section until the soot disappears...as the soot disappears, the flame turns orangish...keep on moving down the piece as that section is now annealed and will blister or melt if it gets too hot...on an angles, I aim the torch towards the "break" of the angle...a large headed torch will help disperse the flame
4) allow ample time to cool...the aluminum will reharden if you work it back and forth (work hardened)and can be re-annealed if needed...
5) get some scrap and practice...including heating to the melting point...just because...
6) I found that using a bending jig and bending slowly and using a rubber or dead blow hammer along with a hardwood dolly will give very satisfactory results...work on short sections at a time...you can also screw it down and install as you go, using a rubber mallet to "massage" the piece as needed
7) GOOD LUCK and have fun...learning a new skill is always a rewarding challenge
madjack

P.S. I have some pics of the process in my Yahoo picture album...just click the WWW button at the bottom of my reply...

[Keith B]

Thanks MadJack.. I'll go to HF and get one of those torches... I have lots of gas bottles. Hopefully I can find some 1x1/2 or so 1/16" angle... last I looked they had 1/8" but that seems a bit much to me. And you're right, learning a new skill is ALWAYS something I like to do - mine's about a 18"-24" radius on the front, that doesn't seem to extreem?

[halfdome, Danny]

Keith, look at my roll pans at the extreme ends of the bottom of my tear & tongue box. They have that RV trim on them and with Mapp gas & a lot of massaging I got them to make that tight radius. I do have some minor rippling but I got over it. Danny

[madjack]

Keith, we did upto 12" radiuses in places with no additional help(other than annealing)...we did some 4" radiuses using kerfing to help out...I have a partner and we built jigs for some of the very tight radiuses and together, we worked 'em out with virtually no wrinkling...as the TV guy sez..."u can duuuuuit"
madjack

p.s. look in "TonyJ"'s album for a very nice one man bending jig(I really need to remember to bookmark that page)...your 18" to 24" radiuses should cause you no great problems.......MJ

[Keith B]

I can doooooooit... Well, I'm certainly going to try... I just got back from ACE, bought some 3/4 angle and a bottle of map gas... I made a radius, however, I wasn't securing it to anything, just laid it on there and started bending.. I'm guessing it's best to screw it down on top while bending it around, then come back to massage out the down leg. Building a jig sure seems like a lot of work, but I guess if it produces results then I should spend a day and make one ehh.. but I'd have to make 2, one for the front radius and one for the back radius Thanks for the advise guys... this TD stands for "Tedious and Delicate" huh !

[madjack]

Keith, for raiduses of 18 and 24 inches, I wouldn't worry about jigs...used jigs for the 4" radiuses on the doors
madjack