How to bend flat bar into a circle?

I need some suggestions on how to bend flat bar stock into a circle.

I am going to make a deck ring for my rotary cutter, (aka-bush hog) so it does not have to be perfect. I will then weld the ring to the bottom of the cutter. Keep in mind that I do not have a torch.

The flat bar is 12.5 feet long x 3 in wide x 1/4 in thick. The resulting circle should have a diameter of approximately 4 ft.

Hopefully this will keep the blades from ripping the deck open when I hit unseen obstacles (rocks and such)!



This post was edited by pburchett on 11/01/2021 at 04:52 pm.

Find a local metal fab shop,they will be able to roll it for you,I think I could do it in my shop. I
bought a bender but I haven't tried it yet.

The thickness didn't come through.

If it's 1/4, you can probably do it,3/8 is going to be tough, 1/2 best take it to a shop and have it rolled.

You'll need something about 3 1/2 ft round to wrap it, an old wheel, something you don't mind welding the end to, then weld an extension to the piece and start wrapping.

Be careful, that's a lot of stored up energy if something breaks or it gets away!

If you can get it close, start tacking it in place, correcting it as you go.

I agree on the Fab shop.
If you put a complete circle around the cutter, that may not work real well.
It works best if there is an opening in the front, to let the material in the cutting zone,
and an opening on the rear the let the cut material out.
You might be ahead to line the flat sides/back with your metal, and make it replaceable.
I've never seen one of those cutters that wasn't all beat to pieces, some worse that others.
Just my 2 bits worth.

Use short pieces. Bend each one slightly. Weld in place making a somewhat circle around the deck.

After looking at your pic again, I (Just me) would line the sides and back
with your flat iron, just bolt it on and replace it as needed.
Maybe use grade 8 bolts so they don't wear out too fast.
Again, just my opinion.

What is the big advantage of a circle as opposed to the way it is now built? Are you creating more of a problem than it needs to be?

That will not work, soon as his blade flex up it hits the opening , Go look at a new heavy duty bush hog brand or land pride brand. They have the circle he is attempting to bend. The circle in back or smaller than the end of the blades , does not affect cutting at all just protects the top or deck of the cutter. Will make the deck stouter but the circle cannno have opening or the blade will rip it off.

Yes it is 1/4 inch thick.

No shops here with the capability of bending the metal.

I had a hard time even finding the metal locally. Most places here that sell steel have to order what you need. The one that had the most equipment was limited to a shear, a brake and a few chop saws/band saws and one ironworker.

The joys of living in the middle of no-where!

I agree with Crazy Horse. You are
overthinking it here. I have beat the heck
out of mine for ten plus years and it is a
little rough, but works fine. Don't see an
advantage of a ring.

I think I could make a circle on my vertical beam wood splitter.

Pburchett where are you located? Without a shop near by use something to wrap the flat bar around. A drum, large tire, tree, etc. Anchor one end and go. Slip a cheater pipe over it for extra leverage. It will bend easier than you think. Do watch for it to have some stored energy. It doesnt have to be a perfect circle so lots of little bends done with a vice would work.

So it is a wear bar above the blades for them to rub on?

Had a hard time understanding the end goal here, or why a rub bar would be needed. Are new machines built so flimsy that everything flexes that much?

Never seen anything like that, but I dont see much new equipment.......

Paul

I have rolled 3/16 around a wagon wheel / 1/4 might be tough, I just welded the end to the rim and rolled it out

At that thickness it would be a simple
job with a hammer & an anvil, but you
probably don't have a good 'ol blacksmith
anvil at hand?

What ever process you decide to use, first cut a template out of cardboard or thin plywood to use as a gauge and monitor your
bending progress.

If you have a really stout vice, mounted to a stout bench, find a block of heavy steel (inch thick or more). Drill thru for
2 rods about 3/4 or 1 diameter and insert them into the block. Leave 3/8 or 1/2 between the rods. Leave 3 of the rod
sticking above the block, and weld the other ends. Clamp this in the vice, and use it to slowly make numerous small bends in
your flat bar. Check frequently against your template.

Just clamp it to the end of a barrel and roll it on the ground holding it down and tight. Will be a bit small though it will open easily if needed. Or tack it to a tractor rim and roll it around to bend it. All ways mentioned will work some easier than others. I have also had 2 blocks spaced apart and with a hammer bent steel to make rings/circles or curved pieces.

If you were close by, I could do it for you. I have a set of 48 in. plate rolls. It would take about 10 minutes or less.

What DO you have access to as far as tools?

If you tell where you are someone will be able to tell you where to take it to get it rolled. Once you get it rolled rather than welding it to the underside of your deck weld some brackets to the rolled piece then bolt it to your deck so that you can easily remove it when it doesn't work.

Yes and yes in sever cases the blades will hit the deck so this bar stops that and to so extent makes the deck stouter.

(quoted from post at 19:48:28 11/02/21) Yes and yes in sever cases the blades will hit the deck so this bar stops that and to so extent makes the deck stouter.

Click to expand...

Curious about this as I need to do some repairs on my old bush hog this winter. Where exactly is the ring positioned in relation to the tips of the blades? I assume its back towards the center a ways from the blade tips, not out beyond them. If im understanding the purpose correctly. And the width of it should place it just above the blade in normal circumstances? A picture of one installed would be great.

Try to find a blacksmith shop.

You will end up with a mower the width of your ring. And you will need a discharge
port?

(quoted from post at 17:59:37 11/01/21) I need some suggestions on how to bend flat bar stock into a circle.

I am going to make a deck ring for my rotary cutter, (aka-bush hog) so it does not have to be perfect. I will then weld the ring to the bottom of the cutter. Keep in mind that I do not have a torch.

The flat bar is 12.5 feet long x 3 in wide x 1/4 in thick. The resulting circle should have a diameter of approximately 4 ft.

Hopefully this will keep the blades from ripping the deck open when I hit unseen obstacles (rocks and such)!

Click to expand...

I don't see where anything has been hitting the deck.

(quoted from post at 17:59:37 11/01/21) I need some suggestions on how to bend flat bar stock into a circle.

I am going to make a deck ring for my rotary cutter, (aka-bush hog) so it does not have to be perfect. I will then weld the ring to the bottom of the cutter. Keep in mind that I do not have a torch.

The flat bar is 12.5 feet long x 3 in wide x 1/4 in thick. The resulting circle should have a diameter of approximately 4 ft.

Hopefully this will keep the blades from ripping the deck open when I hit unseen obstacles (rocks and such)!

Click to expand...

I don't see where anything has been hitting the deck.

Just got home to read some comments:

I think I will try Steve@Advance, grizz02 & caterpillar guys suggestion first. I have a section of pipe form a gas line that I will attach the bar to and try forming it around that. I dont think the bar will form completely snug to the pipe so it might just be the right size. If it is too small it should be easily open up to the correct size.

I am short on tools besides a few hand tools (grinder, drill, saw, hammerand a welder. The deck ring looked like a good solution to the can opening of the cutter top, but I wondered if there was a better way to make the circle out of the steel.

Some things I didnt think of was using the log splitter, which I do have (thanks Duner Wi)

Maybe the vice jig would be more precise (thanks Pete in Holland MI) I didnt think of that.

Paul ask, Are new machines built so flimsy that everything flexes that much I dont know what the problem is with this machine but I have used it 5 times and the deck (11gauge) is rough. Of course all the materials on it came from china. I have made sure the 90HP gear box, blades and stump jumper are tight. One possible down side is that the blades are only 3 inches wide. I am thinking of going with 4 inch wide blades as they might not flex as much. Another possible issue is that the blades are about 1 inch higher than the bottom of the side bands so they tend to dig into everything.

Ozlander didnt see where anything had been hitting the deck--- I got that photo from the web and it is a new unit. Mine looks just like it but beat up a little.

Here is some examples of the deck rings on heavy duty cutters as TimWafer wanted examples. I did notice the one on the Land Pride was octagon shaped. That might be easier. I dont know if it would be any better than the round one though as it has eight corners that might give the blades enough bite to tear it off.

If this dont work it was worth a try and I can grind the welds back off and buy a better cutter.

Those rings reinforce the deck sheet, but don't add much to the denting of the skirt material. to do that one needs to plate the locations where impact is
happening with structural steel A36 or AISI 1040 of 1/4 inch bolted on. Jim