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Very poor man's bend jig - lol

171K views 259 replies 126 participants last post by  Sprat 
#1 ·
Ok, I can't even believe this worked. I made it with some 1" angle and 1 1/4" bars from lowes. :headspin:
 

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#28 ·
Sorry to resurrect an old topic, but I'm about to try this method and just would like a little clarification before I start beating on stuff. So,

1) if I understand this right, there is bar sandwiched on the top and bottom of the flat, correct?

2) To bend the sides, you position the sandwiched flat over the angle pieces, and hammer the exposed bar down into the angle brackets. How do you keep the flat stable during the first few hits?

3) I'm really unclear on the top rails. how do you keep the flat bars near the top? Is it just held in by the tension of the angle pieces? Also, where do you hammer on this (I assume you don't hammer the flat)?

Again, sorry for all the probably very stupid and obvious questions, but I'm having a hard time wrapping my brain stem around some of this. Thanks a heap!!
 
#30 ·
Great! Thanks!
The only part I'm worried about (in part 2) is not getting the flat to go inside the angle parts straight. I know it's only a 1mm gap on each side, but it still bugs me.

I wonder if getting a few more bolts and expanding the two bar stocks APART and then hammering the rails over would work. Hmmmm... May have to try that. That way, you could match the angle of the top of the receiver. (I realize the preceeding sentence probably made zero sense. I'll post a pic if it works.)
 
#37 ·
Grasshopper

Great idea! I'm going to try and make one. I got all the material tonight.

When you bend over the top rails how much do you bend over? I'll measure it out but would like to check it against what you did.

Also did you hammer it all the way through when bending the flat?

Thanks
 
#39 ·
A suggestion for doing the top rails: cut an oak or maple wedge to match the slope of the top rails and use it to back-up the bar stock you'll be folding the top rail over. You can slide the wege right or left to adjust the height, and shim one end or the other to get the angle perfect. It'll also help to keep the metal bar from dropping into the receiver while you're hammering. Worked very well for me, and I didn't need three hands to get it aligned and clamped in the vise.
 
#43 ·
I wonder if you could put a bar under the jig , say under the trigger hole, and the front part of the mag opening, run a bolt thru the holes to either go thru the bars, or thread them and use them to pull the flat down into the jig, at the very least it would put pressure on the flat so it would stay centered starting into the bending movement ?
This is the first jig that I have understood so I will have to make one----that means another kit, will it ever stop??????????????????
 
#45 ·
update

My friend beefed up the jig using 3" angle and made it longer so we could add a bolt past the front and back of the 1/4 inch bar stock to give more support to the front and rear of the flat. He also made a jig of angle iron to bend the rails first. Really added alot of stability during the bending process. He has a press and that helped alot! We did 3 last night that came out excellent. :cheers:

Check it out!
 

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#48 ·
has anyone made a bending jig using the above method?

the reason i ask is because I used 4" x 3/8" angle iron (big fu#kin' stuff) in only supported it at the ends with (3) - 3/8" bolts on each side.

My first attempt at bending a flat showed evidence of the jig bowing in the middle causing the middle of the receiver to be slightly wider than the front and back closest to the bolts.

I have since added support 3/8" bolts throughout the jig (slightly below where the male die bottoms out) and have had perfect bends.

Just wondering if anyone is noticing bowing with thinner, smaller angle iron.

Regards,
Caspian
 
#49 ·
I'm in the process of making one of these jigs - when I'm finished, I'll let you know. I'm concidering making some triangular shaped peices and having them welded in the middle where you described the problem with bowing. Also, I believe that the original called for using 1/4" angle - the extra thicknes might make a diference. BTW, I like the 'Busa signature pic - I have a '01 with a little work done to it. Great minds think alike:thumbup1: .

Pit Bull






Caspian45 said:
has anyone made a bending jig using the above method?

the reason i ask is because I used 4" x 3/8" angle iron (big fu#kin' stuff) in only supported it at the ends with (3) - 3/8" bolts on each side.

My first attempt at bending a flat showed evidence of the jig bowing in the middle causing the middle of the receiver to be slightly wider than the front and back closest to the bolts.

I have since added support 3/8" bolts throughout the jig (slightly below where the male die bottoms out) and have had perfect bends.

Just wondering if anyone is noticing bowing with thinner, smaller angle iron.

Regards,
Caspian
 
#50 ·
Pit Bull said:
Also, I believe that the original called for using 1/4" angle - the extra thicknes might make a diference. BTW, I like the 'Busa signature pic - I have a '01 with a little work done to it. Great minds think alike:thumbup1: .
Pit Bull
I used 3/8 which is thicker than the plan on page one (1/4). That's why i had concerns of bowing. my stupid jig weighs 25-30 lbs. it's solid, but i can't sell it b/c i couldn't afford to ship the damn thing. :)

I'll have to come clean. I'm a wannabe busa owner. i have a Bandit 1200 but want to step up to a busa once i get some bills paid off.

caspian
 
#51 ·
o.k., looking at the plan on page 1 and having build myu own jig i would suggest adding 3 cross support throughout the length of the jig along the bottom.

you could use 1/4" x 1" flat stock which is cheap and 6 bolts. all in all, it would add another $5 to the cost of the jig. it would also guarentee that when you come down with 12 tons of pressure the jig won't bow out.

my $0.02

caspian
 
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