[TheForge] Shower rod

[A Vida]

I would opt for stainless any day.  Far better wear resistance than 
aluminum.  Aluminum can be anodized, but once the oxide layer is worn 
through, the metal beneath is to my eyes a dirty and nasty medium not 
fit for the application in question - but that is only my personal 
feeling about it.

As for bending - never bend anything hot if you can do it cold.  That is 
just my opinion as well.  As for how well it comes out, that depends 
partly on the ratio of the bend radius to the tubing diameter.  Wall 
thickness also has an effect on the outcome as well, but to be honest I 
have never observed it carefully enough to be able to give any useful 
advice on that factor.

Given the typical tubing dimensions for such a rod, I would think that a 
plywood jig should do the job. You will probably have to bend to a 
radius smaller than what you need to account for the elastic portion of 
the bending.  Bend more length than you need so you can trim the ends 
off, which almost invariably remain much straighter than the middle 
portions of the bend.  It varies, but I would count on as much as 
perhaps 8" per end that you may want to trim.  This should not be rocket 
science, so I would not sweat it too much.  What you really want to pay 
attention to is consistency of the radius, that the round cross section 
of the tube is not overly distorted, and that the finish of the tubing 
is not marred.

Mark Novak wrote:
> I've got a job to bend a shower curtain rod for a customer. Since the 
> rod is going to get scratched by the curtain rings and exposed to a lot 
> of moisture, I'm thinking of making it out of stainless or aluminum 
> instead of powdercoated steel (my usual medium). Any thoughts? How 
> difficult is it to bend stainless or aluminum? Can I do it cold?
> 
> Thanks,
> Mark
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