How To Shrink Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

How can you go about shaping metal with hand tools alone.

How to shrink stainless steel sheet metal.

You have to adjust your mind to the concept that when you hammer on sheet metal with a steel hammer onto a steel dolly or anvil that you will expand or increase the surface area by thinning the metal. Here s a technique that was often used years ago and is still used today of how to shrink metal on a body panel after it has been damaged and stretched. This restraint creates high residual tensile stress that causes the weld to act like a stretched rubber band with the workpiece holding the ends figure 1 for this reason when the clamps that hold the workpiece are removed the base metal is allowed to move or spring. Get free shipping on qualified stainless steel sheet metal or buy online pick up in store today in the hardware department.

A lot of people think sheetmetal work is the hot rodding equivalent of rocket science. The weld wants to shrink as it cools to room temperature but is restrained from doing so by the adjacent cold base metal. Using hand tools and machines. These shrinking discs work well on steel stainless aluminum brass and may on some other metals.

Some shrinking can occur with only room temperature cooling but is greatly accelerated and multiplied by cooling with either compressed air or water squirt bottle or rag but water generally tends to provide quicker cooling. In this very short video i will show you how to repair shrink sheet metal and stiffen body panels the easy wa. There are many ways to shrink. I have identified 14 distinct ways to shrink.

Follow along as i demonstrate how you can begin shaping metal with hand tools only.