Here’s a longish video explaining how you might bend up some stainless steel rod to make fender struts. A similar process could be used to make a sissy bar on a chopper or bobber.
Supplies needed:
- Stainless steel round bar for the struts (I used 6mm for this project, I’d use 10mm or 12mm for a sissy bar on a chopper).
- Stainless steel flat bar to fashion some mounting points (I used some 6 x 30mm flat bar).
- Welding wire to make templates of the strut shapes quickly and cheaply.
- Tape for masking/protecting bike surfaces.
- Piece of tube, approximately 10mm in diameter, to act as a spacer on the tyre to hold the strut/fender at the correct height off the tyre.
Tools needed:
- Measure and marking gear (rulers, tapes, Sharpies, acetone for cleaning)
- Angle grinder for cutting and shaping
- Welding machine – I used MIG to weld the former pieces to my bench, and TIG to weld the struts to their mounting points
- Oxy/Acetylene heating set to heat the bar for bending
- Files and a Dremel for shaping and forming the mounting points
- Buffing wheels and polishing compounds (check my article+video on polishing metal)
Got any questions? Just send me an email and ask.
