My Next Project - A Metal Brake

Mark_f

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I have been wanting a sheet metal brake for quite some time , but they are expensive and won't handle anything very heavy. After searching off and on for a couple of years, I settled on the one designed and built by J. R. Williams. The only thing I would change is I want it to be a finger pan brake. Well I found out that a fellow had built this same brake but redesigned it as a pan brake and the plans were featured in the Home Shop Machinist magazine in 2008 over three issues. This is a 24" wide brake and very heavy duty compared to most. Sooooo...... I called HSM and ordered the three back issues of the magazine and am starting to gather the materials. The following is a photo from the magazine. Of course I will probably add a few of my own customization to it as usual.
MetalBrake002.jpg
MetalBrake003-1.jpg
These photos are what I will be building or very similar. I plan on doing a full write up of the project if anyone has any interest in it. It is not exactly a machine shop machine but is a very useful tool to have. I believe it will be a lengthy project ( at least a few months). If anyone has any suggestions or knows of a better design, I would like your opinion and input.
 
Im subscribing! This is one of my "2DO" projects.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker
 
Mark,
That will be super useful in the shop.
I'll be tuned in to your build too.
-brino
 
Mark, That is one heavy piece of machinery. It looks like you could bend 10ga. with it. I built a brake years ago from oak with a steel edge where the bend took place. It served me well for thirty five years of bending 16 ga. aluminum.I used it to bend some 1/8" steel strap and for some 16 ga stainless. It groaned but held up.

That 1/2" plate will take a lot of abuse. If there is a weak link, it appears the bend lever is light compared to the rest of the design. I would also go longer rather than shorter. I know from experience that there will be a project requiring a longer bend.

I looks like a fun project.
 
In that photo, it appears he went longer than 24" for the length of the brake. The JRW brake was 24" which I kind of plan to stay with. I also see he has made fingers at 1", 1 1/2",2" ,3" and 4" with duplicates of some. I plan to do this also to cover all widths. I also agree the handles are too short. I'm getting old , so l plan to make the handles maybe 18" instead of the 10" in the JRW prints. I was also wondering if for the bending platen , which is 1/2" thick , if a 1" square bar was added to the front edge making the bending edge 1 1/2" high instead of 1/2" high if there would be any advantage.

The magazines won't be here for about three weeks HSM told me, so I am just gathering materials right now. The steel for this thing is going to run around three hundred dollars using all cold roll which is what I am trying to find. It is scarce around here. I'm going to the scrap yard today to see what they have.
 
In that photo, it appears he went longer than 24" for the length of the brake. The JRW brake was 24" which I kind of plan to stay with. I also see he has made fingers at 1", 1 1/2",2" ,3" and 4" with duplicates of some. I plan to do this also to cover all widths. I also agree the handles are too short. I'm getting old , so l plan to make the handles maybe 18" instead of the 10" in the JRW prints. I was also wondering if for the bending platen , which is 1/2" thick , if a 1" square bar was added to the front edge making the bending edge 1 1/2" high instead of 1/2" high if there would be any advantage.

The magazines won't be here for about three weeks HSM told me, so I am just gathering materials right now. The steel for this thing is going to run around three hundred dollars using all cold roll which is what I am trying to find. It is scarce around here. I'm going to the scrap yard today to see what they have.
That's a nice looking bench brake and should work well. Like you have noticed, the bending platen is too thin in my opinion. With it that thin, you tend to get too much marring of the material.
 
That's a nice looking bench brake and should work well. Like you have noticed, the bending platen is too thin in my opinion. With it that thin, you tend to get too much marring of the material.

So you're saying if I make the front edge thicker, the bends will finish better?
 
So you're saying if I make the front edge thicker, the bends will finish better?
Yes, when you are so close to the bend, the forces are higher at the point of contact. Imagine a very small edge compared to a platen that is the same size as the material itself. There won't be an impact line on the larger surfaced platen.

When forming material and avoiding damage, you want as much support and control as you can reasonably get.
 
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