How To Shrink Stainless Steel Sheet Metal

The weld wants to shrink as it cools to room temperature but is restrained from doing so by the adjacent cold base metal.

How to shrink stainless steel sheet metal.

This restraint creates high residual tensile stress that causes the weld to act like a stretched rubber band with the workpiece holding the ends figure 1 for this reason when the clamps that hold the workpiece are removed the base metal is allowed to move or spring. Here s a technique that was often used years ago and is still used today of how to shrink metal on a body panel after it has been damaged and stretched. There are many ways to shrink. Using hand tools and machines.

In this very short video i will show you how to repair shrink sheet metal and stiffen body panels the easy wa. And forget about shrinking metal. Follow along as i demonstrate how you can begin shaping metal with hand tools only. These shrinking discs work well on steel stainless aluminum brass and may on some other metals.

Need a fix for oil canning auto body panels. You have to adjust your mind to the concept that when you hammer on sheet metal with a steel hammer onto a steel dolly or anvil that you will expand or increase the surface area by thinning the metal. Some shrinking can occur with only room temperature cooling but is greatly accelerated and multiplied by cooling with either compressed air or water squirt bottle or rag but water generally tends to provide quicker cooling. How can you go about shaping metal with hand tools alone.

I have identified 14 distinct ways to shrink.