tin bending help

Greetings again.

I'm contemplating some of the build tasks for my roadster. I am giving some thought to a track roadter nose, but as the body is all steel I think the nose and hood should be steel also.

I've done some hammerforming, and have the plastic mallets, sandbads, etc. My quiestion is has anyone here made their own sheet metal nose, or possibly recomend a book that may cover it??? I'm thinking it would be easier to form it in two sections, then weld them together. I am certainly open to suggestions.

Dave: I've never done it, but I just bought a book at Barnes & Noble yesterday called "Sheet Metal Handbook" by HP Books. It doesn's specifically go into a track nose, but it does discuss using a wooden buck to form things like that.

In one of my old rod magazines there is an article on just such a project, and I think the guy built a male buck and formed the metal over it. One of our sharp members will probably be able to tell you the magazine, or others with similiar articles. One of the magazines, I think Street Rodder, had a series called "Professor Hammer", and he did these sorts of tasks.

Dave , build a wood buck in the shape you want the grille to look like and build it ( the grille ) in 4 sections , Aluminum would be easier to use , just anneal it and form to the buck , then weld it altogether .
I think with using either metals you will need the help of a English wheel and a planishing hammer to get it alll smooth . Not unless you want to spend hours metal finishing with hand tools .
Good luck

Spray

Dave, Spraytech is right. The wood buck with holes in it for clamps. I have JUST the book for you that shows you JUST how to make a front nose for a roadster.... Metal Fabricators Handbook by Ron and Sue Fournier.

Spray Tech, it'll have to be dingin' and pingin' for me!!! I do know a guy with an English Wheel, maybe we can swap out some work or something. I've made some wood forms for panels and stuff, should be able to form one up for a track nose too, I guess.....

Shawn, thanks for the heads up on the book, that's about the only sheet metal book I don't have. Better go find it, too.

I'm with DW on the aluminum idea. The book Don got is by Ron Fournier. He's also written a few more. If I remember right one of them had a chapter where he showed how to build a track nose. An Amazon search might be good.

Bob, it is the same book I mentioned. Good info for beginners and not so begginners. No problem Dave, I am just trying to catch up on helping you out for all the times you have helped me out. Don't bother counting though, I doubt I will catch up. :p

I know aluminum would be easier.....but then I've never done anything the easy way. I'm thinking I would probably have to do it with 20 ga. Heck if it was easy, everyone would be doing it!!!! Thanks a bunch for the input, guys.

Hey Dave ,
I just had a brain fart here , but what about making a cone out of metal , with just a slightly smaller opening you need at the rear of the grille shell and hammer form it to the size and shape to your needs , and then the front area for the grille you can cut any shape & hammer form the hole to your desire .

May be more work then you want , but like I said ,it was a brain fart .......LOL

Spray

you may have to do it in many more pices with steel like said.a power planshing hammer would be a good to have. a forming head .fender maker # mfh01 may work good for this from fournier enterprises inc.3003 aluminum will work the good for this i have been told and have made oil pans and gas tanks out of 3003 aluminum and works very good soft. you could howl out a wooden tree stump and beat it in to it. steel will be harder to stretch and shrink the steel in to that shape with out some big tools like a wheel or power hammer i have beat steel but not a track nose

hmmmm. yup I can see where that would work Spray Tech..... That might be the way to go.

It would be nice to have all the big tools, Pat. Not sure I do enough metal work to justify it.....

Dave, IMO (not saying to not listen to the others) I would just get that book I said about. It has pictures or each step and helps out a lot to understand how to do it and get the actual picture of the process in your head. I would mail you a copy of the pages but I think you would be better off with the whole book because it has more to offer even though the other stuff doesn't deal with front noses or nothing but they will help still. Helps understand how to shape, etc. Definetely give this thing a try.

Allready ordered it, Shawn. Still not up to a lot of physical labor, so reading and studying is a dang good way to pass the time. Thanks again for the heads up on it...

Dave have you got a farm machinery junk yard in your area? I have found many cowlings and guards that work great for this type of fabrication. I"m not and feel you are the same when it comes to creating some masterpiece, I'll use what ever it takes. I prefer to use steel, because of my skill level in forming. Ron Fourniers books are very informative. Show us some pics of your progress.

Hey, dang good idea M !!!! Any excuse to go visiting a junkyard is a good one for me. After I read your post, I was thinking how nice some of those old tractor radiator covers looked. A nip here, ping and ding there, resize the opening.....could just work very well. Dang good though, got to go look!!!!!

Dave- have you got a torch set? Clamp your metal sheet to the working table- 26 gauge steel- and take a small rose bud and heat your metal in circular paterns. Hold the rose bud 8-10" away from the metal as you go. Try to get the heat even in your metal as you heat it by moving at a steady rate until you see the metal start to sweat- NOW it is ready to bend into your basic shape. Take hold of it with welding gloves, release your clamps, and bend it to form- hold it for 20 seconds to allow the metal to cool and set.
When the "sweat" appears on the metal you have just released the molicules to re-structure- you only get one shot to do this because it gets brittle more & more as you do this, so once by hand- twice is hammer.
Don't heat the metal to glow- only enough to get the oil inside to release.

I DONT KNOW HOW MUCH THIS'LL HELP BUT I CAME ACROSS AN ARTICLE IN JANUARY'S STREET RODDER ABOUT HAMMER FORMING A DEUCE GRILL. THEY DO IT W/ ALUM, BUT HEY, ITS STILL METAL

Yup, saw the article....Might be the way for me to go!!!!! Got to get my pickemup done so I can get back to the really fun stuff......