Scratch & Bash
:
Buildings
Metal Bending For Rib Roofs Made Easy
Nov 10, 2010
By Bob Gentile |
Author
Bio
Metal bending for rib roofs can be challenging because each piece should be the same size. Trying to create this by hand can be all put impossible. I figured what I needed was to come up with a jig that would bend the edges of the rib as close as possible.
|
Metal bending for rib roofs can be challenging because each piece should be the same size. Trying to create this by hand can be all but impossible. I figured what I needed was to come up with a jig that would bend the edges of the rib as close as possible. I do have a metal bender but it was not going to do the job as good as a jig would. So I spent a few hours figuring out what would be the best way to tackle this job. I was getting annoyed wasting aluminum. Aluminum that is 1/32" thick is very hard to fine. I did not want to have any waste or to keep the waste to almost nothing. I knew I had to put my thinking cap on and figure this problem before I lost any more material. Well guess what? I came up with an idea that helped me and I figured it might help others that may want to make rib roofing. My first step was to locate two pieces of metal, with a little luck I found some galvanized flat stock in my workshop. If you have seen my shop, it was not as much luck as sheer determination. Everything is there, the question is just where? 
I cut the flat stock to 15 inches. I did that so that it would be big enough in the event I had to make rib siding for some Large Scale buildings. My next step was to set my square to 3/16" so I could use it for a gauge to scribe a line down the entire side of the metal.
 
The white line is 3/16" from the edge of the metal. I used a piece of styrene 1/16" thick that will go along side the tape. 
I used 1/16" because the aluminum I am using is 1/32". The width of the styrene is not all that important as long as you leave enough room on the other side of the medal as I did on the first side. 
In the photo above you will see that I left a 3/16" space between the first piece of tape I installed. In that space I am going to spray glue a piece of styrene 3/16" wide and I put the tape there so not to over spray the metal. You only want glue at the point that the styrene goes. Do not over spray the glue as you do not want it on that 3/16" inch space at the edge of the metal. Repeat this step on the other side of the metal. I like to used 3M 77 spray glue to stick the styrene to both sides of the metal. I find that it is easy to work with and holds the styrene in place very well. 
Once you have the styrene on both sides 3/16" inches in from the edge of the metal, spray the top of the styrene and install the second piece of medal and clamp them together until they dry. 
Okay hang in there we are almost done make this jig. Once the glue dries remove your clamps and drill holes (two holes) on each end of the metal for the rivets. The size of the holes depends on what size rivet you will use. 
Once you have installed the rivets you can see the opening that will receive the aluminum. 
Now I can start bending the main roof ribs. I made the metal strips 2" wide as you can see on the mill. 
My next step was to make a cap for the two pieces of rib roof at the point they meet. I had some aluminum stock rolls 1 1/6" x 1/2" 
I took the 1/2" wide stock and bent in the bender and it worked perfect. 
Here you can see the results of the rib roof in the photo below.
It took me a half hour to make the bender and it was well worth the time. What is nice is that this bender can be modified for different sizes. Once you are done with the bender and need a bigger slot for bending all you need to do is drill out the rivets and replace the styrene to what ever size you need. If you build and use this idea make sure to post some photos of your project. 
| Rib Roofs Made Easy |
| So Bob, can you walk us thru the entire bending process? I can't make the mental transition from your finished jig to the finished roofing tin. |
| Terry Reitz - 11/10/2010 - 06:44 |
| Outstanding |
| Well Bob, it's clear that you are still alive and well, and making fine railroad structures. Keep up the good work. How's your grand daughter? Is she still interesting in her grandpa's trains? |
| Brad Bennett - 11/10/2010 - 07:58 |
| Rib Roof |
| Bob, a good article. I will give me a new challenge to work on. |
| Ron Hill - 11/10/2010 - 17:46 |
| Rib Roof |
| Bob, great article. Thanks for doing it. |
| Russ Palmer - 11/10/2010 - 18:46 |
| Above article |
| Hi Bob, Nice to see you are still at work on your buildings. I'm with Terry on this one, I can't visualize what you did from the jig to the finished product. Can you explain? Elaine |
| Elaine Haggenbottom - 11/11/2010 - 06:17 |
| Metal Bending |
| Terry and all I will do a follow up on how the bending for the roof looks and how I installed it. Hi Brad nice to hear from you. Russ are you staying out of trouble Gator |
| Bob Gentile - 11/11/2010 - 06:47 |
| Standing Seam Roofing |
| Bob, From "Wood Butcher" to "Metal Masher" you've just about got it all covered. Good "How To" article. The roof looks great and should stand up well out in the weather. Thanks for taking the time to do the article. Watch out for that Bennett fellow! |
| JD Miller - 11/12/2010 - 07:00 |
Top of Page
|
