Next step, bending the edge next to the front fender. I gave the nibbler another try, but it's still a piece of junk.

The side of the running board that connects to the front fender is a straight edge.

The side of the running board that connects to the rear fender has a curved edge. It will take some careful planning to get that curve nice and tight.

Uh-oh. Looks like I didn't leave enough excess on this end. I can't slide it down, because the curve on the backside must be exact. I may end up having to weld a little extra material on to make it fit tight.

The first cut with the reciprocator came up a little short. The green line represents the bend radius for this edge. If you look at the bigger pic, you can see pen marks for a little extra that has to be trimmed off. No big deal.

On the work bench is my new 18" sheet metal bender I picked up at Harbor Freight for $20. It's rated to bend 16 gauge, but it has short handles to pull on.

The metal has a slanted side, so it was hard to get it lined up in the bender. I was worried it might get slightly warped on the sides.

After a lot of pulling, I finally got it bent up in a straight line, but it still needs some hammering. Here it's about half way done.

The test fit up against the front fender looks great! The hard part will be getting the measurement perfect for the rear fender.

Looking good so far. I will have to take it somewhere to have the front side rolled down nice and smooth. If I try to bend it, I'll end up spending hours smoothing out all the lumps. I'll try to get the rear fender side done soon.