Which steel bends easily?

[kzullick]

You might want to try welding rods

[Olle]

Originally Posted by kzullick

You might want to try welding rods

I have already looked for welding rod, but haven't found any in metric dimensions yet. I might talk to my buddies in Sweden and see if they can find some for me. I have used it for other projects in the past and it's pretty nice to work with, the only problem is that some types contains too much nickel to blue well.

[Olle]

Ok, this should hopefully make the process more obvious…

Here’s the tool, a contraption of milled steel, drill rod and screws:


…and here’s the blank, with the ends turned down:


The head has a cap that you attach with two screws, this is what’s holding the blank and supposedly keeps it straight between the two 90 degree bends. You can see that the tool is pretty small, so I had to use 4-40 screws. I have also inserted pieces of hardened drill rod to make the tool last longer:


The bearing surfaces inside the tool are filed down to a roundover, this makes the tool a bit smoother to work and prevents gouges on the outside of the loop:


I insert the blank in the tool and tighten the screws…


…and it’s ready to press:


The head comes out the other side:



The cap comes off, and the loop is done:


…and here’s a few prototypes: