Work on my 1st gen tray and tailgate will necessitate a rather large sheet metal bender. Big ones are quite expensive, so I'm making one

The main ingredients are


a 6m length of 10mm thick angle iron (100x70mm) i got this used from a construction company and cut it into 2m lengths on site so i could 1. lift it, and b. fit it in the back of my truck.
This works out perfect as i wanted 180cm of usable bend

Then some 20mm ID pipe and some 20mm OD steel rod to make the hinges.
and some small rectangular box section to make an a frame on the clamp and gussets etc

i will also need some nuts and bolts, some kind of handle, and maybe some scooter or motorcycle springs to help lift the clamp section off the work piece


i figured on 10cm of hinge each end, and marked it out so the pipe would sit on centre with the corner




hinges on, admittedly a poor job. a drop saw would be nice to have, but i make do with an angle grinder.


I cut a V into the hinge area and laid down a lot of beads, i probably also want to do the other side and grind flat. But 1 side can support the length of the whole thing, so maybe its strong enough. Amazingly perhaps the hinges also work smoothly



The clamp section will go something like this, i may need to grind the leading edge to get a nice crisp bend
and this way i can make the most of my bending angle



will tap and thread a grub screw into the hinge so the pin doesn't fall out. I really want to be able to break this thing down - as you can see it takes up my whole bench - and its very heavy and awkward to move even in sections