Thread: how hard - exhaust hanger bracket?

hey all,

I had joined up here not too long ago because i wanted to learn to weld aluminium, so i could make small parts for my motorbike. this was something that i'd been interested in doing for a while, but i ended up with my exhaust hanger bracket bent so that put me in need of a new one, and i figured i'd just learn to make it myself since it's a fairly common item to bend/break.

but after some reading and advice i've found it's not quite so easy to jump in and weld aluminium. i will still go ahead and get a small welder to start off on steel etc. but at the moment i have a need for an exhaust hanger bracket...

this is what i had bent:



it's a very lightweight aluminium item. out of interest i thought i'd ask how long it would take a complete newbie welder hobbyist to get to a stage where they could make something like that out of aluminium? or even steel (stainless?)?

there's another simpler design that i found, which seem alot more achieveable:



i am thinking of just getting a cheap cheap welder and making this one out of steel. it needs to be bent to fit the exhaust mount and the frame.

any tips for bending steel? or can you just go straight in and bend it if it's not on too much of a curve?

failing that, if it's still too tricky or i don't end up getting a welder in time, i will just use some really heavy guage wire of sorts.