[Backyarder]

If you know a printer you can ask for some old used plates. They are made from .030 aluminum. Makes a nice top for telescoping cover. Plates for offset printing come in lots of sizes, the biggest we have at work is 48" x 60".
If you know someone in the print industry or even feel like stopping by and asking you may be able to get a hold of a few.

 

[BeeMoose]

I was thinking about those plates the other day and using them such as you did. My neighbor works at the local paper. Was going to ask him if they are still available here.

Those covers look very nice. Might I ask how you made your bends so crisp?

 

[Backyarder]

I routed a 1/16" relief in a board and cut an angle to it (so I could overbend the corner a bit).
Then mirrored it with another piece with no rabbet. Stapled the two together.
The bender for the short side just has to be cut short enough to fit between the long sides.
Make the rabbet as deep as you want your sides to be.
A picture to help my weak description.

 

[Colobee]

Nice. Most of mine are probably 40 years old, and aside from a few hail dings still look a lot like those. Neat idea and pic on the bender!

 

[Cleo C. Hogan Jr]

Very nice job, Backyarder. Nice setup for an inexpensive bender.

cchoganjr

 

[Colobee]

It's been cloudy and rainy here for almost a week. 'Not much to do but build some new supers, and do odd things like count how many of those wonderful tops I have sitting around unused. Many are sitting under and over empty super/bc's and spare equipment, (doing a fabulous job). About another 40 of them are sitting in a forlorn stack, begging me to put them back to work.

 

[Backyarder]

I was wandering the tools aisle at Lowes today and saw this neat little tool. It isn't long enough to bend a top in one shot but the price is right and should work for bending nice clean angles.