How to Bend Angle Iron

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Things You'll Need

  • Safety goggles

  • Leather gloves

  • Chalk

  • Vise

  • Torch

  • Sledge Hammer

Image Credit: Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images

A variety of projects will require steel and iron pieces to be bent in a different direction. You may think you will have to cut the iron and weld it at the new angle you want it. This is not the case, even for strong angle iron pieces. You can simply bend angle iron with a few supplies and a torch. Heating and bending iron began hundreds of years ago with just an open flame, but we luckily have torches now.

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Step 1

Put on your safety goggles and leather gloves.

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Step 2

Mark on the angle iron where you want to bend the piece.

Step 3

Clamp the piece of angle iron into the vise. Clamp the piece in so only a 1/2 inch below where you want the bend in the angle iron is flush with the top of the vise. The bend overlap in angle iron will be bigger so you need to allow for a 1/2 inch.

Step 4

Light the heating torch. Hold the flame 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the line you marked on the angle iron. Slowly go back and forth over the line until the iron is bright orange.

Step 5

Push or pull the angle iron to the bend angle you desire. For large pieces of angle iron, you will have to hit it with a sledge hammer to bend it. Reheat and bend it as needed until it is perfect.

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