An introduction to Sheet Metal Work

摘要

Let me admit from the outset, that my skill level at this game is many miles from expert, but over the years, I have become exposed to, and involved in, various aspects of the subject. Back in the late 60s and early 70s, our crowd were regularly 'fixing up' rusty cars, and the tools at the time were limited to tin snips and oxy acetylene welding kit. In the mid 80s I was involved in managing a small precision sheet metal works, so gained some insight into the industrial processes involved. Moving forwards again, my interests have turned to rebuilding old and rusty classic cars. It is frequently possible to buy replacement panels but at a cost. A substantial amount of hard earned cash can be saved if parts or repair sections can be made in house from sheet steel. The workshop kit has been gradually built up over many years, and relevant items will be discussed. It should also be noted that when working with a machining process, (leaving plastics aside) the workpiece is usually dimensionally stable, and you can remove a specified amount of material to achieve a required dimension. This predictability holds true for sheet metal while flat, and reasonably so for two dimensional forming. However when creating three dimensional curves, without the luxury of heavy press equipment, it is very easy to introduce distortion which can play havoc with the intended shape and precision.