What would you recommend he use? I'm always up for new reading material. They may have more to offer but their price structure isn't really friendly for small companies to 'browse'. I saw one link a member here posted for an out of print SAE handbook for off-highway equipment and I think they still have a magazine on the topic but that is all I'm familiar with. Input everything into the bend allowance formula: BA angle × (/180) × (radius + K-factor × thickness). Obtain the characteristics of your material (thickness and K-factor for this specific bend). The SAE, from what I have seen, has very little in the way to offer. To calculate bend allowance: Obtain the properties of the bend (bend radius, angle, and method used). I'm not sure what other specs to refer to regarding bolted/welded steel fabrication. The AISC code is oriented for construction but all the materials are used in many other industries that lack their own spec/code book, so the numbers are a good starting point for a relatively cheap ($350) book. Calculate the maximum deflection (hint: a must be >b to use equation correctly). AISC can be valuable for people doing steel fabrication of heavy equipment, like myself, because about 95% of the steel we use is structural shapes (channels, beams, angles, bar) and structural plate (ASTM A26, A572 Grade 50, A656 Grade 80) that is burned and formed. Calculate the maximum shear stress developed.
