Paying the price of not pre-stretching the beaded area enough. You would have seen how big the bulge was in the previous post, but it needed more. Note the T stake I made that suits the bead that I will hammer over to stretch it. What I did get right though was carefully working the very first bed side I made so I can now use it to build the tailgate.
I started stretching over the stake just using a panel hammer, but it leaves the surface rough. I switched to using the chaser instead and can see on the top bead how much better it comes out.
I have now worked the right side and only done some on the left so far. Takes hours as all have to be stretched equally right along the whole length so they match each other and stay straight and level. I am not going to worry about getting it perfectly flat in the middle of the panel between the sets of beads, as that will be cut out later for the logo to be welded in.
I am trying to see if I can do a full closed rectangle for the bottom frame rather than just plug welding it to a piece of box tubing. Hammering down on the timber offcut away from the new fold to start with. In this case centred over the previous fold.
This fold I couldn't complete as it hit the support legs. My welding bench is made from two different sized old barbeque plates. Where the top plate stops short is very handy for finishing and crisping up folds. I hammer the bolster into the corner and the fold increases.
Hammer my flipper with the mallet to remove any dents from all the hand folding work.
All nice and square and smooth ready for the last and hardest fold of all, to close the rectangle.
I packed the area inside the fold with lengths of flat bar as could not buy it in the dimension I needed. I have been hitting it upwards to bring the last fold over from the bottom.
I made this makeshift bolster to help bring the fold over as the normal one was too tall and I risked hitting the top roll in the panel. I also used this to hammer along the fold line over the rubber mat before I started. This helps the fold start better and keep it from moving off line.
Came over really well and it is sitting there fully closed without any clamps or even spot welds yet!
I folded up the ends with a recess for where the cable stays will go later. Another 'Z' section sits over the top of the side flange and comes down onto the face to make it 50mm-2" wide. Same setup as the factory tailgate has. The centre is cut out ready for the WO logo. Have to wait to see what it came out like in the next instalment when I have time to weld it all in!
I was holding my breath a bit on this one hoping it would all workout in the end. 
