[HH] DIY wire grid wiring ducts

[Tom Metro]

While looking for something else I ran across:

Wire Mesh Cable Tray
http://www.drillspot.com/products/606488/cablofil_cf30_100ez_wire_mesh_cable_tray?s=1

or
http://www.progresswire.com/popups/cable%20tray.html

which is just a galvanized steel wire grid bent into a U-shape to form a
wiring duct. Seems like a good idea. (These are used in places where you
have a bunch of network and telecom cabling, like leading into a wiring
closet or spanning across a computer room.)

But as seems to be typical for the wire management industry, they're way
overpriced. They want about $100 for a 10' section. (Panduit's plastic
wiring ducts are similarly overpriced.)

(I've considered a bunch of other options for substituting commodity
components, like a vinyl gutter. But nothing really fits the task well.)

I'm wondering if a commodity grid panel, like one of these 1' x 5'
gridwall panels that cost $8 each, could be bent into a U-shape to
accomplish the same thing. (The 3" grid spacing might be somewhat coarse.)

Does AA have a bending brake that could handle 5' wide stock? (Could use
4' or 2' stock instead.)

One problem is that bending would kill the finish, unless the panels can
be found with electroplated galvanizing. Most seem to be painted or chrome.

(Too bad you can't just "drive over to China" to pick up materials. Of
course they have OEMs that create the raw stock:
http://www.china-wiremesh.com.cn/Welded_Wire_Mesh.html
US manufacturers only seem to make custom wire grid products.)

(FYI, this is for low voltage wiring so UL and NEC compliance isn't
necessary. Generally not a great idea to bunch together a bunch of high
voltage wires anyway.)

 -Tom