Metal Roof Bending Tools

Metal buildings have many components, each needing a particular level of expertise. Depending on the style, a metal roof can require a particular knowledge and tools to complete. As part of the roofing system of a metal building, the siding used may need crimping, bending, splicing or interlocking with another panel of siding or to the underlying roof structure. Bending requires certain tools in order to be successful.

Metal roofs have many advantages over traditional shingled or tiled roofs. If properly coated, a metal roof has the ability to resist fire and many types of damage, and it lasts a very long time---up to 40 to 50 years in many cases. Metal roofs are labor efficient, durable, flexible and, if installed properly by knowledgeable contractors, are economical because they are ordered by the piece and cut to exact lengths.

One of the many reasons to use metal roofs is the durability and strength of the sheet metal. Bending something of this nature can be frustrating without the correct tools. Sheet metal is metal formed into thin panels that can be cut and bent to form many shapes. Metals used for roofing include copper, tin, aluminum, and steel. The thickness of metal is referred to as its gauge. The gauge will tell you what tools you are likely to need when bending or forming the roofing materials. The higher the gauge number, the thinner the metal.

Here are some hand tools for bending roofing metal: -Tin edge jaw tool - creates upright beads in double-seam roofs; -Sheet bending jaws - come in a variety of widths and depths and are used to create a continuous bend; -Twin seam folder - creates accurate lock-seams; -Square seam folders - helps when bending or closing beads at extreme angles, either horizontally or vertically; -Closing tongs -- closes lock seams and gusset plates; -Two-hand edging seam -- for working horizontal seams and shifts.

Factory-formed sheet metal comes into contact with bending machinery before it reaches a job site. A crimped-style roof as well as a snap-together roof require channels to be bent into the metal for the installation to work properly. The machine needed to perform the bending is known as a press brake. Press brakes can be large and computer operated or small and hand operated. The press works by placing the sheet metal between two parts, the upper being used to press the metal into the lower, which has a V-shaped groove for the metal to conform to. In larger machines, the capacity to bend is performed metrically at 25 tons to a meter of length.

The press brake is not the only type of bending process for roofing metal. The process of bending in order to create detailed channels can be performed by roll forming, stamping and incremental sheet forming.