build diary

November 5, 2004: Closer.
I've made a number of improvements to the various tools involved. Lots of annealing with a propane torch (and a certain amount of melted aluminum due to an acetylene torch) was the start. I also tighened up the tolerances on my bending tool which seemed to help a little and added a clamp to hold things in place - but what helped most of all was putting a metal shim on the side of the form. See, my channel was 1/2" x 1/2" x 1/16" wall. If you do the math that means there should have been a 3/8" gap - like my form - but it was actually more along the lines of 1/16" greater. This gave the aluminum the opportunity to squish inwards. Removing this option seemed to make a big difference. It's still not perfect but it may be enough to accept for the time being. One tip from a successful builder was that his channel was 5/8" x 5/8" x 1/8". Perhaps the thicker wall is less prone to buckling. I might give that a try as well if I can find it at a hardware store this weekend.

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