Chromium and nickel give stainless steel its stain resistance and attribute to the hardness of the metal. This added hardness increases the amount of force needed to place a bend on a stainless steel sheet. As you bend a stainless steel sheet the bend area cold hardens, increasing the amount of pressure required to finish the bend. This makes bending stainless steel with common hand tools difficult and a sheet metal brake is often required, although one technique to bend stainless steel using hand tools works well on shorter length bends.
Marking the Bend
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Step 1
Measure and mark the bend location along one edge of the stainless steel sheet with the tape measure and awl. Place a second bend mark on the edge of the stainless steel sheet parallel to the edge you just marked.
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Step 2
Put on your safety glasses.
Step 3
Center mark each bend location by setting the pointed end of the center punch on each mark and hitting the back of the center punch with a hammer.
Making the Bend With a Sheet Metal Brake
Step 1
Push the clamping leaf handles away from you to raise the clamping leaf.
Step 2
Slide the marked stainless steel sheet under the clamping leaf, align the two center marked bending locations with the pivot line of the lower bending leaf and pull the clamping leaf handles toward you to lock the stainless steel sheet in position.
Step 3
Pull the bending handles of the bending leaf up to bend the stainless steel sheet.
Step 4
Lower the bending leaf and inspect the angle of the bend. If you need to increase the bend, repeat step three until you have reached the desired bend angle.
Scoring and Bending a Stainless Steel Sheet
Step 1
Align the straightedge with the two center marked locations on the stainless steel sheet, draw a line along the straightedge with a permanent marker and remove the straightedge from the sheet's surface.
Step 2
Attach a .040 thickness, 4.5-inch abrasive grinding wheel to the 4.5-inch angle grinder.
Step 3
Put on your leather work gloves and face shield.
Step 4
Score along the permanent marker line with the .040 abrasive cutting wheel by starting at the point the line intersects the edge of the stainless steel sheet nearest you and working across the sheet. The scored line must be at least one-half the thickness of the stainless steel sheet. You must avoid cutting through and ruining the sheet.
Step 5
Pull toward one side of the stainless steel sheet toward the score line with your gloved hands to bend the sheet.