Any tips on how to bend a metal patch panel into shape?

Hi guys. I’m doing a rust repair on my car, and need to bend a metal patch panel I cut out into shape. What kind of tools can I use at home to bend it into shape? Im on a budget, so I’d prefer tools that aren’t too expensive. I've tried by hand, but I just can't get it to bend enough (or nicely).

Depends on the bend.  Are you doing angles or curves?  For curves i try and find a chunk of something with a similar radius and form it around that.  For angles if you don't have access to a brake go to harbor freight and get some duckbill pliers.  Or take the piece to the store and tell them you want to test the brake before you commit to buying one then tell them you're not sure after you bend your piece and walk out

there are lots of sheet metal tools, ranging from really cheap to rather costly.

• hollowed out stump and wooden hammer.
• shot bag 
• head
• shrinker stretcher
• shrinking disk  (magical voodoo E36 M3, IMHO)
• bead roller
• english wheel
• power hammer

can you show us some photos of what you are trying to match the shape of with this patch panel?  The higher the crown the more difficulty

I've got a video on how I made my own oak mallet for metal shaping

This was just on Trevs  blog and might give you some idea making a patch panel , 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZG-2nbOJf8

If it is just a straight bend, drop it down into an aluminum picnic table at a nearby park.

Thanks guys! Heres a picture of the area I'm trying to patch. Not enough light right now to take a good picture, so I'm sorry if it came out a little crappy. Its the rocker panel + a bit of the rear fender on a 2001 Miata. Not sure what the best tool would be in this case?

Is that rusted out bit square in cross section?  That is what it looks like to me if I am looking at it right.  If you are trying to make a pair of 90 degree bends, you might be able to clamp the sheet metal between bits of square tubing or angle iron.

That's how we did the door skins and the Top and bottom of the door skins on my Datsun rat rod.

There's video at 1:32 showing this bending method being used to make flanges on our hood.  It probably won't be as pretty as using a brake, but it can be done

No idea what I am looking at in the picture, but in general you are looking to bend, stretch of shrink the tin to make it fit.

Clamp the tin between two pieces of steel and fold over with a wooden block and hammer, Wooden block is so the steel does not stretch when hitting.

You can get a fold started with a sandbag and a wide chisel.  You probably did not know that you own a sandbag. It looks a lot like one of the leather purses your wife has in a closet. Fill it with cat liter.  Or sand. Or sugar. Have a helper hold the tin and use the chisel to get a fold started. Finish with a hammer and dolly. This can be used to make curves that are not perfectly straight.

By the way, shrinking disc rock. You just need to get over the first few panels you are going to mess-up before you get the gist of it. 

Pete

Here's a picture of a repaired rocker.

Looks like a 2-3" piece of pipe or PVC would be your best bet to me. The edge of a table could work, just go slow.

If you are talking the sheet metal, one of the cheapest things you can do is get the repair panel.  Not sure if the price has gone up or not- but when I took my '99 off the road a few years ago,  I got both right and left panels for less than $50 apiece.  

And while people are posting some great suggestions, more years ago, I got the cheap HF body hammers- and while not the best ever, they work and were cheap.  Body hammers are very useful tools to have.

I wish metal brakes were cheaper than they are...

Thanks guys! I'll try some of the suggestions in this thread and report back on how and what worked for me.

Japspec said:

Thanks guys! I'll try some of the suggestions in this thread and report back on how and what worked for me.

Post lots of pictures. I love to see metal shaping stuff

So I'm looking for some advice from all of you. This is an old picture, I've already removed all the rust from it as seen from the picture before. I really just need some advice on how to patch up the inner frame that I cut out. I'm not sure exactly how to do that, as I was anticipating only welding up the outer skin, but that inner frame was REALLY close to the outer skin and I cut it away by accident when I was trying to get to all the rust. Any ideas on how to weld up a new piece of metal to that inner frame? Should I just weld up a thicker piece of metal to the outer portion of the rocker and it should be okay?

Watch a few episodes of Cold war Motors. Scott is always pounding complex new patch panels out with a hammer and some patience. The episode that just dropped a day ago has a little corner piece being made.