06-06-2015, 12:38 PM
PixMan, you make welding sound like a drag. 
dbreeze, If you have a friend with a TIG welder, they could do that for you in a couple minutes.
What you want to do before bending is called "annealing". It is a process of removing hardness from metal - it could be hard from working (your case) or hard from heat treatment (i.e. the T6 condition).
Different metals have different processes for annealing, and some of them are completely the opposite of the other --- for example, many types of steel harden if you heat to cherry red and quench, but copper becomes dead soft if you heat to red and quench.
For aluminum, there are 2 reliable methods for annealing. First, if you have an oxy-acetylene torch, you begin by lighting the torch with only the acetylene and covering the part to anneal with soot from the acetylene flame. Then, turn on the oxygen and balance to a slightly rich flame, and burn the soot off. Et Viola, soft aluminum.
The second method is to use an ordinary bar of hand soap, and rub it all over the aluminum to be annealed. Use a propane torch to burn off the soap. It'll turn ugly brown first, but will quickly burn off. Once it's clean, it's soft.
dbreeze, If you have a friend with a TIG welder, they could do that for you in a couple minutes.What you want to do before bending is called "annealing". It is a process of removing hardness from metal - it could be hard from working (your case) or hard from heat treatment (i.e. the T6 condition).
Different metals have different processes for annealing, and some of them are completely the opposite of the other --- for example, many types of steel harden if you heat to cherry red and quench, but copper becomes dead soft if you heat to red and quench.
For aluminum, there are 2 reliable methods for annealing. First, if you have an oxy-acetylene torch, you begin by lighting the torch with only the acetylene and covering the part to anneal with soot from the acetylene flame. Then, turn on the oxygen and balance to a slightly rich flame, and burn the soot off. Et Viola, soft aluminum.
The second method is to use an ordinary bar of hand soap, and rub it all over the aluminum to be annealed. Use a propane torch to burn off the soap. It'll turn ugly brown first, but will quickly burn off. Once it's clean, it's soft.