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  1. #1
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    Default Bowed flat bar straightening.

    Hi, I am making a welding table with flat bar strips for the top, however I did not think that my flat bar would not be flat. I have cut the 130x6 bar into strips but each one has a slight bow how do I remove this before welding? I don't have any type of rolling machine and only have a blow torch for heating if that is what is required. Thanks in advance for any help.
    Cheers, Stu.

  2. #2
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    I assume its bowed across the thick section otherwise you could just jump on it....
    You could weld a series of small beads along the convex side of the flat bar to induce an opposing stress. This may help straighten.

    The amount of weld at each point and the spacing will need to be worked out by trial and error.

    Simon

    Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  3. #3
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    6mm will straighten up easily, just work out where the bow is with a straight edge, set it up on blocks and give it a few hits.

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

  4. #4
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    Default

    Or put a decent center support bar in the table and sit the flats on top with the ends curved upwards. The ends will be easy to pull down and and clamp for welding.
    The middle will be solidly supported without having to weld it (which would likely make the flat bow a bit anyway)

    Steve

  5. #5
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    130x6mm is getting up there to bend in a vice etc, I'd take Steve's advise, or other saying use a sledge hammer between something decent.

    I'd use my press, but doesn't it sound like you have one.
    If you have some spare steel laying around it would be easy enough for this project to build a small one out of a 1-2 tonne bottle jack. Even a sissor jack would work.
    This way you could play with it to get it as strait as you desire.
    Using Tapatalk

  6. #6
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    Lay the steel on the concrete floor and panel beat along the inside edge of the curve, you dont have to belt the hell out of it just lots of firm taps around the inside radius of the bend hitting it flat with the face of the hammer so you dont dent it and check with a straight edge as you go.

  7. #7
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    Default

    Here is a simply knocked up tool that can be used for straightening or bending flat, shs and round tube.
    Just add blocks of wood where required.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  8. #8
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by simonl View Post
    I assume its bowed across the thick section otherwise you could just jump on it....

    Good point - we have yet to hear from the OP if the bow is "across" or "along" the strip.

  9. #9
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    Default Thanks

    WT 6.jpg

    Thanks for the reply's, woodworking is normally my thing so I would have just run it through the thicknesser . From the image you can see what I was trying to achieve, standing on it was probably the answer just didn't think it would be that easy. I have since welded the bolts on one side (teaching myself to TIG weld) and I think the problem is slightly worse. I will weld the rest today and see where I am once it's bolted down. Thanks for the help.

  10. #10
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    Default Pic 2

    WT 9.jpg

    Don't know how to rotate this image.

  11. #11
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    You have to save the image without the image specific data/properties ie delete the EXIF data.
    Normally done in an image processing app.
    Anyway I did it for you this time.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    You have to save the image without the image specific data/properties ie delete the EXIF data.
    Thanks for the edit BobL. Unfortunately, because I am as old as the hills (Now imagine a bloke with a look of complete horror on his face) the above quote may as well be written in another language.

  13. #13
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stoobydale View Post
    Thanks for the edit BobL. Unfortunately, because I am as old as the hills (Now imagine a bloke with a look of complete horror on his face) the above quote may as well be written in another language.
    By my reckoning I'm 15 years older than you . However, I taught film based photography as far back as the 1970s' and then digital from the 1990's onwards.

  14. #14
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    I'm older than most trees too but even so I found this fellows explanation of what you can do to manipulate metal informative.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1XPDzunbY0

    Robert

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stoobydale View Post
    WT 9.jpg

    Don't know how to rotate this image.
    Hi Stooby

    The easy way to get rid of the EXIF data is to edit the picture !
    Rotate it as required and then crop the edges off then save it.

    The EXIF data contains the information about the camera orientation when the picture was taken, the forum interprets that data to put the picture the same way up as the camera was when the picture was taken. There is a host of other data recorded there as well.

    For instance my dash cam records the GPS coordinates along with the video.
    Best Regards:
    Baron J.

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