John Kimmel wrote in message ...
[snip]
You shouldn't hydroform the parts however, you should form them by hand.
All you need is a plastic mallet, a ball peen hammer and lead straps
about 1" x ½" x 18" (in addition to the formblocks you've already made.
[snip]

Thanks for the pictures and advice John. I have a curved panel to restore
out of 5052-H32 that I will try this technique on. Where did you get those
plastic ended tools for your air hammer? I've not seen those before.

My gear doors are deeply dished with an uninterupted flange. Very difficult
to hand form since the metal is both drawn and compressed. The examples
you've shown appear to have less compound bends although the 2D pictures
may hide some of the complexity. I've tried forming 2024 before with a
dead-blow hammer and found it work hardening and kinking before the
piece was completed. Perhaps the air-hammer technique will yield better
results.

GaryP