I started on the windshield channel today. I had a piece of ¼ inch thick 2 inch angle about 45 inches long in my scrap pile, so I cleaned it up and I’ll use it as my former for the channel. Once all the rust was cleaned off I made a small trial piece to see what the makeup needs to be on the bend so I know how wide to cut the sheet metal strip and not waste too much material. I’m using mild steel for the trial and 4130A for the actual piece. I marked the first line 5/8ths back, then in 1/8th inch increments. After the bend it used 3/8ths to cover the actual makeup. So I have 5/8ths plus 3/8ths plus 5/8ths plus 3/8ths for a total of two inches. I’ll cut the strip at 2 ½ inches and trim whatever I need off once all the bending is done.
