Hey guys, I have always wanted to take the dive into more detail, I have some laying around for bigger, more expensive stuff. Well, I thought tonight was the night, and have started bending PE. I am running into some issues, I expect I will get better with time. One question, how do you bend some of this into round shapes? Is there a tool set I can buy that will help with it? If you look at the conning tower on the sub in the picture, I think you will see what I am talking about. Thanks in advance!

Paul

Paul,

Here are a few different rolls that might help

http://umm-usa.com/onlinestore/index.php?cPath=21_225

It’s been a few years but I have never had an issue ordering from UMM.

HTH

Hi Paul -

I have never used any of the roll shapes for bending. I usually use pieces of dowel, paint brush handles, small bottles (e.g. prescription bottles) etc.

HTH

Thanks very much guys, both of those suggestions help!

A method I use that works well is to use a smaller diameter round rod than the finished curve you are after and lay the PE flat on a mat or surface that has just a little bit of cushion to it (like the cutting mats) and as you roll the rod over the PE it will start to curl. You have good control over it as you roll back and forwards.

Gives a nice even curve. The harder you press the tighter the radius.

Paul,
All the suggestions above are good ones, but I'll add one more-- sometimes those really tough curves go better after anealing-- that is, heating the PE just enough to re-arrange the atomic structure of the metal which makes the bend a breeze to accomplish. For thin PE railings, I use a small candle flame (I have a stock of small "birthday" candles) on my workbench just for that purpose. But for larger stuff, I use a Bernz-O-Matic butane micro torch (available in any hardware store). For small, thin PE, you don't need too much heat, just pass the PE through the flame for a few seconds, but you need to be careful since too much heat might melt fine PE parts. You can experiment with the ends of the PE frets to see how long to apply the heat to get the hang of it. This process makes your bends easy and simple to make. If you want to toughen up the PE afterwards, put your model with the PE (or just the PE) in the freezer for about 15 minutes-- the cold will restore the original strength. Or, just wait and as the PE goes through normal temperature changes, it should come back to its original strength over time (not always true with cheaper alloys, but usually true for quality brass). I also recommend several pairs of self closing fine tipped tweezers to help hold and bend PE.
VR, Russ