How to Use:
For use in bending metal tubes, the O’Malley Brass original recipe for Water Soluble Bending Matrix is easier, cleaner, and safer than many other options, such as pitch. No industrial freezers or extra safety equipment is required to use. Simply mix with water, pour into your annealed tube, freeze, and bend. Thaw your newly bent piece and enjoy! Our product is safe to touch and rinse down the drain, or leave it to dry and reuse the powder.
1. Mix powder with water - start with a 1:1 ratio, adding water or mix for your preferred consistency.
- When mixing the powder for the first time let it sit for 20-30 minutes after initially adding water. After this time, the matrix should have soaked up all the water leaving a thicker mixture. Add water/mix as necessary and you are ready to go.
- The bending matrix will work when mixed with any amount of water. We recommend a thin, melted ice cream viscosity for smaller tubes and a more cake batter-like thickness for larger tubes. This is for ease of filling the tube.
- The liquid bending matrix will turn purple when activated with water. We add dye to ensure that the compounds in the premade mix are mixed evenly.
2. Pour liquid mix into your metal tube and freeze for at least 8 hours.
- A household freezer is sufficient, though we recommend setting it to the lowest temperature, taking care not to overcrowd the freezer.
3. Bend - it is important to note that a good bend is more than what you fill the tube with. Proper annealing processes and bending fixtures are paramount to a successful bend.
- Maximum effective bending diameter is 1.0’’ and we have had success with bend radii as small as 1.25’’.
- A large part of bending parts is the fixturing. We can make custom tools and fixtures to aid bending with a variety of options.
Thank you for purchasing our product! Contact us with any questions or feedback.
