Bending aluminum

[2old2fast]

A friend gave me a bunch of alum. bar stock . It's 3/4 x 5/16 - 2024 T-4. I've been wanting to build "top irons" for some time now & this seems to be appropriate material , lightweight & ridgid. ? is , do I need to anneal it before bending ? Test pieces show that it bends fairly easily & holds the shape, but if I try to correct a bend [bend it back" it wants to crack, so if I anneal for bending , do you think I'll compromise the ridgidity so much as to make it too soft to hold it's shape ?? I know there are some sharp "metal guy's" here so I'd appreciate any comments/info .
thanks dave

 

[T-Test]

I've always annealed thick pieces of aluminum to bend and never had any problems, BUT on a structural piece, I would mill them.

 

[EX JUNK]

There are two ways to anneal aluminum. One is to cover the piece with the soot from a carbonizing flame from gas welding torch and then set the torch so that you just burn off the carbon. Or you can cover the piece with "carpenters" chalk and then burn it off. Either system allows the aluminum to be annealed.

Jim

 

[Francis Blake]

What Jim said, this way you can avoid getting it red.