How to bend 3/16 inch 6061-T6,T11 Aluminum rod

[plaz]

I am not a professional.

I am new at this and I am trying to make a brass catcher to attach to my gun for my shooting and reloading hobby.

The frame of the catcher has several tight 90 degree bends in it and a few 180 degree bends. I made one at first with very soft very bendable guide wire, but it did not maintain its shape under recoil of the gun and finally broke.

I have to use stronger aluminum rod so I purchased some 3/16 inch
6061-T6,T11 aluminum rod. I find this 6061 impossible to bend by hand around a bolt in a vise and I need some good advice.

Questions:
1. I understand there is a way to heat the rod to soften it so as to bend it more easily. If so I would like to know how to do this with my propane torch?

2. What kind of device should I make to bend this rod?

3. I want the rod to be strong again after I finish bending it. Will it regain its strength in time through aging or do I have to use another procedure to regain its original strength?

4. What procedure should I use to regain the original strength of the material?

I sure would appreciate the help of those of you out there. Thank you very much.

[Geof]

You can anneal 6061 with a propane torch. One way to test the temperature is to heat the rod in the region you want to bend and every so often take the flame away and press a piece of pine wood against the hot part. When it is hot enough to char the wood slightly you are hot enough. Now you can quench it in water and it will be soft, or at least a lot softer.

However it is not really possible to get back to the original state. Alluminum alloys do increase in temper with age but at room temperature it is a very slow process. You could try holding it in a cooking oven for several hours at around 350 degrees F and see if it makes a difference.

[ligito]

Originally Posted by Geof You can anneal 6061 with a propane torch. One way to test the temperature is to heat the rod in the region you want to bend and every so often take the flame away and press a piece of pine wood against the hot part. When it is hot enough to char the wood slightly you are hot enough. Now you can quench it in water and it will be soft, or at least a lot softer. However it is not really possible to get back to the original state. Alluminum alloys do increase in temper with age but at room temperature it is a very slow process. You could try holding it in a cooking oven for several hours at around 350 degrees F and see if it makes a difference.

I'd like to watch someone holding it in a 350 degree oven.

I saw a video about annealing aluminum by applying the flame until the aluminum is all black and the applying the flame and burning the black back off again.

[Geof]

Originally Posted by ligito I'd like to watch someone holding it in a 350 degree oven. I saw a video about annealing aluminum by applying the flame until the aluminum is all black and the applying the flame and burning the black back off again.

The all black method is possible but it is done most easily with an acetylene torch burning with no oxygen. This creates a lot of soot which deposits on the cold aluminum; then you turn on the oxygen and apply a hot flame until the aluminum becomes hot enough to burn off the soot. You can do the same thing by wiping oil on the aluminum and heating it until the oil smokes.

The pine wood method is less messy.

And I will remove the ambiguity regarding oven tempering; ...put it in a cooking oven and leave it their for.....