Work Shop Talk - 3 in 1 shear brake roller simple mod

Does anyone have one of these 3-in-1 machines and find it useful? I like the idea, but have heard some horror stories on the quality of these things...
 
I have had a HF 30" 3n1 for 3yrs+ and have found it very useful. But mine was bought in '98 and stored on the original pallet never used before I bought it. Nothing was adjusted and it still was packed in cosmoline so as you always have to do I took it apart, cleaned it, scraped off the paint where it shouldn't have it like on the sliding surfaces and adjusted it up. Which the "manual" doesn't describe in detail.

So as with all things HF if you are a good repairman, if it was decently made without casting flaws and was not owned previously by somebody with no clue or skills and used it improperly I find my 3n1 handy. And lightyears ahead of tin snips and putting stuff in a vise and beating it with a hammer. 18ga and thinner which it was made for it does a nice job. But it was not made for cutting or forming thicker stuff and one of the must have's for the larger machine than Jim's is a handle for both sides so you put even pressure on both sides of the machine when pulling it through. Mine came with two handles. Mine also came with a full size square stop already. It's not as good as a dedicated stomp shear, brake and slip roll. But it cost me 1/10 of what those 3 dedicated machines cost and takes less than 1/4 room they'd take up.

The problem with horror stories they often get repeated by folks who have no actual experience with something and our brains are funny. One bad review has more weight that hundreds of good reviews. But there is no doubt there is a percentage of all Chinese machines that have problems. But the trick is understanding what's bad and operator error. My shop is full of used HF machines bought cheap from guys who couldn't get them to work and I fixed them and or modded them to work as intended. YMMV.
 
C-Bag said:
The problem with horror stories they often get repeated by folks who have no actual experience with something and our brains are funny. One bad review has more weight that hundreds of good reviews. But there is no doubt there is a percentage of all Chinese machines that have problems. But the trick is understanding what's bad and operator error. My shop is full of used HF machines bought cheap from guys who couldn't get them to work and I fixed them and or modded them to work as intended. YMMV.
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Agreed 100%, what makes an operator a bad operator is their inability to recognize the tool/machines' limitations and go beyond what was designed for. that 3-in 1 shear/slip roll/ brake is a perfect answer for a small shop or limited work space.
I would love to own a small manual press brake, and although I don't have much use for a slip roll machine but if I find a deal, I'll buy it in a heartbeat.
Just bought a 12" plate shear after wanting one for years, these tool do not need to be used everyday to justify their cost, all it takes is those special occasions/projects when they are the right tool to use, that's when you'll have big smile on your face .
 
I've often thought about some kind of 3n1 list of mod's thread as its ripe for that kind of thing. One of the mod's I did that has a bunch of potential is I took off spring loaded hold down for the shear as it obstructs seeing the shear blade and doesn't really hold the material that well. I usually use my c-clamp vise grips to clamp the material as it works so much better. But the holes in the shear for the hold down are perfect for mounting a easy on and off table for the brake. This helps a lot to hold things. I also am contemplating some kind of foot power mechanism. It can be a challenge to hold the sheetmetal and then use your hands and keep everything in line.
 

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I like the idea of a thread related to all the mods on metal forming and shaping tools.
C-Bag said:
also am contemplating some kind of foot power mechanism. It can be a challenge to hold the sheetmetal and then use your hands and keep everything in line.
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Where I worked years ago they had 10 foot long HACO shear with foot operated hydraulic hold down, it gave me the idea of using some type of pneumatic cylinder to replace the plate shear hold down but then I thought it would be an overkill for a 12" shear.:apologize:
 
Jim Dobson said:
I've made hundreds of items with mine.
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I think the hardest thing to gauge with all these tools and giving recommendations is what is somebody else going to use it for? Obviously it was just what you needed Jim. Like Ken said, I don't use mine everyday but when I want to make a metal box or housing or sheetmetal mount I can make it look like want it to look like. Not the beat up facsimile I had to settle with for the 40+years before I got the 3n1 by hand forming.

I hope to get to the point where I've made hundreds of items with it too.
 
Ken from ontario said:
I like the idea of a thread related to all the mods on metal forming and shaping tools.

Where I worked years ago they had 10 foot long HACO shear with foot operated hydraulic hold down, it gave me the idea of using some type of pneumatic cylinder to replace the plate shear hold down but then I thought it would be an overkill for a 12" shear.:apologize:
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So I've been around stomp shears and hydraulic brakes and finger breaks but was never able to use them myself. So I'm not familiar with the details. I'm much more a pneumatic than hydraulic guy. I don't need the pressures hydraulic's run at and don't need the complication, mess or the expense. And even a small 1/2" pneumatic cylinder at 120psi can mangle you good if you don't pay attention.

I could see how a pneumatic hold down that was independent of the shear so it didn't add to the force necessary to pull it through would be handy. But the metal bar that came with my 3n1 was spring loaded to the shear. And because it was just a ground bar it wasn't "grippy". Even when I cranked up the pressure on the spring I didn't feel like it clamped the work as good as my C-vise grips. And the springs added to the pressure it took to pull the shear through. Especially doing a full 30". And with any shear is seems if you go slow like pulling through by hand, the work wants to shift and squeeze out . I think that's why they call it a stomp shear because you stomp it and it goes through fast. But I've never gotten a good look at the mechanism between the the foot bar and the shear head.

What was on the bottom of the hold down on the HACO? Just metal, or some hard rubber feet or?
 
I'm really into old model and toy steam engines. They are only small and being able to fabricate bits and pieces for them out of ali, brass, copper and steel is a real bonus and beats tin snips and bending in a vice (what I used to use).

The brake and shear are easy to use and operate.

Now the roller. The roller can be frustrating to use to get the roll that you want to end up with as its all done by feel. There's nothing to dial in so to speak and it takes a bit of guessing and fiddling around to get just right. Before I try rolling expensive plate like copper/brass I practice on sheet metal that I get from the local tip from the sides of washing machines and other white goods that have thin steel etc there's a limitless supply.

The more I use the roller the more I start to learn how it works and for me there was a learning curve.

This is the smallest 3in1 that is sold in this configuration and then they make a couple of sizes bigger. For car work etc you'd really need a bigger one than what this one is. Its very heavy as there is a fair bit of cast iron but its limited to a 12" cut.
 
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