How to bend 1/8" or 3.1mm aluminium stock into a motor mount for your RC plane

[@honestinsincerity2270]

Can we just all take a moment to celebrate goddamn aluminum?? That lightweight shit has a working profile similar to wood but is stronger than anything growing in the ground. Damn amazing material!!

[@californiamonster8877]

its so good they blanket the earth in it #chemtrails

[@bobroberts3891]

Curse much?

[@mikeripley3266]

get some clamps before that drilling becomes a lawnmower blade

[@sierraecho884]

I remember watching this video about 9 years ago, good old times. Thank you. precipitation hardening is what happens with AL.

[@tronskifpv]

thank you! I went looking for how to bend aluminum thinking I would apply what I learned to making a motor mount. I never would have guessed someone made exactly the video I needed lol.

[@lannyscrivner1569]

Thanks to you I was able to make my headlight mounting bracket. I used liquid rosin flux where I wanted the bend and as it heated it turned black then it started to disappear like the soot from the candle. I saw the orange flame you mentioned too. Having no propane torch I used a creme brulee torch. Took awhile but it worked.

[@jorgenj1]

Very technical way to bend the aluminum, excellent explanation

[@wink9970]

"Bob Ross" of metal working. I like the video, learned for sure, but very mellow!!

[@voltoman]

I made two motor mounts today using the information I learned in this video, thanks!

[@godisone1009]

Nice demonstration..!! 🌹👍🏻😇

[@wiliiamamey5967]

Good Video yep I just attempted to bend some 1/8 aluminum about 30 minutes ago and it broke... oops. Now I will try your method. Thanks for the info!!

[@tylermcbride2807]

Could you have a 0inch inside radius and what is the reason the inside radius is the same measure as the material thickness thanks I'm just curious.

[@TubeAngst]

Thanks MrDabrudda. I just so happen to need a motor mount for my 3D profile plane I'm building. Now I need one of those step drills too. Oh, and one of those metal benders from Harbor Freight. And leather gloves. And aluminum, 3mm. I'm gonna go take a nap first.

[@MrDabrudda]

If you can find aluminum 90 degree angle stock large enough at HD or Lowes it would speed things up in making the mount.

[@flyingcatfish]

Pardon my ignorance but, couldn't you have achieved a sharper bend by hammering the heated aluminum once it was in the vice?

[@AlessioSangalli]

Why would a sharp bend be desirable? A larger radius is better if it fits

[@danrecords3267]

Worked great, made some brackets for my motorcycle

[@oldaxehead655]

Cant you heat it with a heat gun? Mine says 1050 degrees fahrenheight...

[@408martian]

Just what I needed! Great vid!👍🏽

[@Harlanmote]

I go to the Ace Hardware down the road and buy a 4ft piece of aluminum 2inx2inx16th thick and just cut out what i need lighter and i don't have to do all the heating and bending. I have been making motor mounts for flying wings for the last 5 years and they are thin enough that you can bend them to get the thrust right. I can get 24 motor mounts from just 1 4 foot piece.

[@MrDabrudda]

That is exactly what I did. The Lowes and HD were I use to live didn't have that size of angle stock. But I found a Lowes that had 2x2 angle and I cut it on my chop saw.

[@Harlanmote]

An easy fast way to do it man...

[@kirbylee57]

You could lick that piece of aluminum five minutes after heating it, it would also be just as hard as it would the next day. If its 6061T6 or any temper al, heating weakens it almost 50% . Steel wont get cherry red with that torch you got if you held it on there wide open till your ran out.

[@stefanocorbetta940]

you should bend the plate to an angle little bit higher than 90 degree to avoid the elastic return of the metal: 2 or 3 degree more could be enough!

[@MrDabrudda]

Putting hot aluminum in cold water may warp and distort the aluminum and it might make the aluminum brittle. www.croucher.us/water-quenching

[@THEfromkentucky]

+MrDabrudda Depends on the severity of the temperature difference. Aluminum loses heat much quicker than steel, so by the time you bend it and then quench it, the aluminum would have cooled off significantly.

[@SolarBurrito]

Thanks for the info. I bent some 1/8" aluminum without heating it. Bent fine but I didn't have a hole in mine. Thanks for the heating info, will try that next time. DOes the heat help it stay bent?

[@MrDabrudda]

+SolarBurrito Not sure about the heat helping it to stay bent. Heat helps prevent the little cracks in the aluminium from forming.

[@davidrichards3605]

Nice bracket, not done it myself but pros in this area tell me as a temperature indicator you can also use permanent marker ink and bar soap (carbolic I think) - nowadays of course we use a low cost infra-red digital temperature meter, easy, accurate, no guessing.

[@victordipersia]

and what would that temperature be though...?

[@TrailBoundco]

Why did you put the hole in the middle of the bend?

[@MrDabrudda]

To relieve stresses in the bend.

[@RAIDFIX]

Good that you're using a metric imperial ruler?

[@rollandelliott]

with that giant hole in the middle you effectively have two approximatley 1" wide strips and any one can just bend that by hand in a vise no need to anneal and weaken it by doing so. I'm assuming it is 6063 alloy. If it is 6061 alloy then you'd need to anneal it.

[@MrDabrudda]

PhotoBooth biz Not really. Thick aluminium will crack.

[@rollandelliott]

there are four common grades of aluminum 3003, 5052, 6063 & 6061. ONLY 6061 would crack without annealing. I know because i've done it. There are actually around a hundred different alloys but the above 4 are 99.9% of what you will run into.

[@dennisgarber]

@@rollandelliott great information. I am basically making an aluminum stool with the lightest possible thickness of aluminum possible, using bridge tricks. I am new to aluminum. My research has told me to choose 5052 because it bends and welds, but is rigid. 6061, not so much. What is this 6063?

[@jeffedwards615]

I’m using ⅛” x 1” copper bar stock, and bending it 90 degrees. Do I follow the same procedure you’ve listed here?

[@MrDabrudda]

Yes, exactly

[@jeffedwards615]

Thanks! I will do so.

[@racingrivals8934]

This is exactly what I wanted to see

[@emusoda]

What is that divot making tool? Where can I get one?

[@MrDabrudda]

+emusoda It's a center punch which is spring loaded. www.harborfreight.com/spring-loaded-center-punch-621.html

[@-Turtl3_]

Is it possible to cold bend thinner aluminum pieces? I wanna bend 2017A T451 but without loosing the tempering on it. What do you think would be the maximum thickness that could be bent without heating if I just want to achieve a 40° angle?

[@MrDabrudda]

Aluminium can get brittle when bending. Not sure what thickness that would be forgiving. Best to heat it and bend it from my own experience.

[@Keeping-It-Real-55]

Thanks for sharing. Look at the skull at 12:10 into the video.

[@ammarali5134]

can i buy a pre-made one somewhere?

[@MrDabrudda]

Probably would be cheaper to buy thinner metal from a hardware store and bend it yourself or buy aluminium 90 degree angle stock that is big enough to make a motor mount.

[@Rookzx14]

Thanks for the fascinating video. About how many pounds of force would you say it took to bend that when it was hot? I only have a small suction mount vice and if it takes over 5 lbs of force to ben the 27mm wide x 1/8" thick piece I have, I might need to buy a bolt down vice.

[@MrDabrudda]

Rookzx14 It didn't take a lot of force to bend the hot aluminium. I have a vise that clamps onto the edge of the bench from harbor freight.

[@Rookzx14]

MrDabrudda yup. I went to HF and saw that one. I went all out and got the big blue multipurpose vise that rotates. $70. That should handle a lifetime of vise needs, though that one you have looks great for use with a drill press. Thanks.

[@Syncere20]

Thank you

[@MrDabrudda]

You're welcome

[@tkeeg]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@jp7017]

Nice video! Great tutorial...thanx.

[@konforzone]

What type of aluminum did you use for this process?

[@MrDabrudda]

Not sure. Bought it out of the Home Depot metal bin.

[@jburns47]

Great video with lots of useful info. Thanks. Pay no attention to the “nattering nabobs of negativity” :-)

[@MrDabrudda]

Thanks, will do!

[@jburns47]

MrDabrudda Thanks partially to your video. Aluminum table leg repair. Key ingredients were drill press and bench vise and wooden curve template. Was going to use torch and bend & hammer to shape on a sawed wooden template but wound up not needing to saw the template or heat the aluminum. Took a chance and used pliers to gently and repeatedly bend the aluminum piece almost to approximate shape. Discovered that tightening the bolts did the rest of the bending. Thanks.

[@jburns47]

Would add a photo of finished work but a usually easy task seems not possible here via iPhone 😳🙃

[@billyeast6819]

watch your fingers/hand ! clamp before you drill.

[@rabindranathramsarop]

very good where did you learn this from?

[@MrDabrudda]

I took metal shop and welding in high school

[@jimcatanzaro7808]

Use map gas be done in 3 min

[@lavithhcm]

I don't want to be an ass but I don't really get this.. you spend like what 30min to bend it into the shape. There's one called aluminum angle extrusion which are widely available in 3mm thick and will do the same as what you have achieved.

[@MrDabrudda]

lavith.hcm I went to both Home Depot and Lowes that day and neither had the size of aluminium angle stock to fit the motor mount.

[@MrDabrudda]

PhotoBooth biz Not every town has a metal shop/store and Home Depot or Lowes doesn't always have large aluminium angle stock available. I have to use what I can get my hands on.

[@rollandelliott]

not ever town has a home depot and lowes either , but if they do, then....... they probably have a welding store. I live in a small town, and have no problems finding stuff like this or you can jus buy it online.

[@bridwellworkshop]

+MrDabrudda I think these guys are missing the point. The point is you can bend aluminum easily and properly by heating it to a certain degree. Thanks for the video and tips.

[@basstrammel1322]

Since this metod can be used for bending aluminum in general, not JUST RC motor mounts, you're an ass.

[@johnsauren4730]

nice idea... but not everybody has a torch at home... i preffer to buy me a aluminum angle profile 50 x 50 ..... much much easier ...

[@lancelotlalla7561]

Dutch RC Planes South Limburg I do the same use angle aluminium

[@michaelandrew2821]

Lancelot Lalla

[@HYEonDEATHROW]

Thank you. I didn’t know the correct wording.

[@glenmccall4571]

can this D2826-10 1400kv Brushless Motor work with this1500mAh 3S 11.1V Lipo Battery with a 7x8 prop and a 40amp esc

[@2150dalek]

Interesting.

[@lorenzogarcia468]

How long did it take you to heat the aluminum?

[@MrDabrudda]

About 10 minutes with a propane torch. If you use MAPP gas torch it would take less time

[@zeeshanaliaawwssmm]

Just curious about your drilling machine. Drills nice and easy. What are the specs for that thing.

[@MrDabrudda]

It is a drill press from Harbor Freight. www.harborfreight.com/8-in-bench-mount-drill-press-5-speed-60238.html

[@freshcaughtbass]

that is way overkill....the motor's thrust plus the mass of the aircraft can only exert a few pounds of force on the motor mount

[@MrDabrudda]

+freshcaughtbass Of course 1/8" aluminium stock is overkill. But Home Depot and Lowes didn't have aluminium angle stock large enough for this motor mount. But at least you know how to bend thick aluminium without cracking it.

[@Andrew82688]

It would be so much easier to just buy a piece of 2 inch angle and cut off the length you need

[@MrDabrudda]

Andrew82688 yes it would have been easier but Home Depot didn't have that size in stock.

[@dannyford9454]

Hello all, I have a quick question. Would it be quicker to just plunge the aluminum bracket into cold water, rather than letting it cool off by itself? Great video by the way! Thanks for the help! -Daniel:)

[@RGplayer101]

It would make it brittle.

[@shutdahellup69420]

lol i just use old gift cards or spare pcb board.. drill 4 holes, hot glue to plane and put some big strips of tape across the fuselage horizontally and vertically... more than enough for 2212 motors :)

[@brianshangar7129]

I have a better solution. Buy an aluminum angle.

[@MrDabrudda]

You comment has been stated a dozen times on this video. Read the comments...but I'll say it one more time...Home Depot nor Lowes had angle stock in this size.