[brucer69]

i started building a sheetmetal brake 3 days ago. i used the plans from my site somewhat and added to them as i went..
i also made the clamp plate spring loaded for easier operation,also designed it as i went..
i need a little smaller spring, the ones in the last pic are some i had laying around and just stuck them in there to test it.

i've taken some random pics as i progressed through the build, hope you find them useful...

the biggest problem i had so far was positioning the hinges, took me 4 times of tack welding them and testing. The hinge pins have to be centered with the 2 pieces of angle iron, and also level and square... if i would have known how much of a pain it would have been to locate them i would have machined the hinges with locators on them before hand...

i'm not completely done with it, i still need to add some adjusters for clamp plate forward and back spacing for metal thickness, and the handles and a stand...

building a brake is not a quick and simple job... it is a fun one though..

i'll add more pics as i go.

[brucer69]

here are a few more pics

[brucer69]

and the last few pics so far.

[brucer69]

i got most of the stand built today...

when i put the angle iron across the the 2 legs at the bottom i spaced them out 16 1/2 inches apart so a cinder block would fit between them, just in case it wanted to tip i could add blocks for weight on the bottom of base..
actually dont think i'll need any blocks after i got it together somewhat...

i just have the brake clamped to the stand for now, i'm going to make some mounting brackets and bolt it on..

after i got the stand made i think i might make a small fold out table/bracve to help hold up a somewhat longer piece.. i think that would be a nice addition..

[brucer69]

i added the 2 angle pieces in the center, below the brake...

i still need to add the bending handles and the casters...

i went ahead and just welded the brake to the stand, dont think i'll need to be taking it off for any reason... when i added the clamp springs i had to notch the hinges so they would go past 90 degrees..

heres some more pics...

[pepi]

what size material you bending or plan on?

[brucer69]

18ga max... might try 16ga.

[freeskier]

this is a great lookin setup, im sick of the vice trick. have you tried it on 16 ga. yet? thanks

[brucer69]

Originally Posted by freeskier

this is a great lookin setup, im sick of the vice trick. have you tried it on 16 ga. yet? thanks

havent got a chance yet..... i just bought a mill so i got side tracked with some odd and ends stuff and the mill... i should be able to try it in a week or 2

i'll let you know