# Sheet Metal Brake



## projectnut (Mar 26, 2020)

This is a project I've had in the works for a couple years.  I didn't work on it on a daily basis, or even a monthly basis for that matter.  It's been sort of a fill in thing for when I had a few extra minutes to spend in the shop. 

With the recent "social distancing" recommendation I felt it was finally time to put on the finishing touches.  The machine will handle pieces up to 36" wide and is supposed to be capable of bending 16 gauge sheet metal.  I've only done a couple test pieces of 22 gauge since it isn't permanently bolted to the bench.

Here are a few pics:


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## Aukai (Mar 26, 2020)

Awesome


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## brino (Mar 26, 2020)

Turned out real nice!
Did you work from plans or SOTP (seat of the pants)?

-brino


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## projectnut (Mar 26, 2020)

brino said:


> Turned out real nice!
> Did you work from plans or SOTP (seat of the pants)?
> 
> -brino



I found a set of plans for "JRW's Sheet Metal Brake on the internet. It was only 12" wide so I copied the PDF and made quite a few changes for my machine.  Here are the plans I started with:


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## Ken from ontario (Mar 26, 2020)

That's solid brake, well built,  a brake is a very useful tool to have in a  shop specially one with that much capacity even if you don't use it to bend 16 gauge sheets but it's always comforting to know you could if you ever need to.


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## BGHansen (Mar 27, 2020)

projectnut said:


> This is a project I've had in the works for a couple years.  I didn't work on it on a daily basis, or even a monthly basis for that matter.  It's been sort of a fill in thing for when I had a few extra minutes to spend in the shop.
> 
> With the recent "social distancing" recommendation I felt it was finally time to put on the finishing touches.  The machine will handle pieces up to 36" wide and is supposed to be capable of bending 16 gauge sheet metal.  I've only done a couple test pieces of 22 gauge since it isn't permanently bolted to the bench.
> 
> ...


A bend of 16-gauge over 36" is pretty impressive.  I've got a DiAcro 24" brake and have bent up some 16-gauge that width.  I'd lift the bench on that wide of a bend.  Quick fix was a foot rest at the brake that attached to the bench bottom shelf.  Stood on the foot rest when pulling hard.

Bruce


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## projectnut (Mar 27, 2020)

I'm not sure I'll ever need to bend 16 gauge, or even need to do anything 36" wide.  I just made it big enough to accommodate any future projects.  We had a couple 36", a 48", and a 96" brake at work.  The most used one was the 48", mainly because you could do odd shapes that wouldn't necessarily fit on the smaller ones.

I would love to have a 96" one, but it wouldn't fit anywhere on the property, and we don't have the power to run it.  Beside that in my "advanced age" I don't think I could lift anything larger than would fit in the current 36" one.  Even assembling this one started to become a chore.  I didn't weigh it, but I'm guessing it's well over 200 lbs.  One of my mill vises weighs 125 lbs. and the rotary table is in the 250 lb. range.  I can lift and carry the vise, but the rotary table is a real struggle.  By comparison I can't even lift the entire brake.  Thank God for hydraulic tables and overhead hoists.


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## Janderso (Mar 27, 2020)

That brake is awesome. I would love to have one. I have kept my eye on the Grizzly 24" box and pan brake. It has a 20 gauge capacity and runs $400.
I may either make one down the road or buy one. They are essential in a shop.









						24" Pan and Box Brake at Grizzly.com
					

<h1>Shop Fox M1011 24" Box and Pan Brake</h1> <p>The M1011 Pan and Box Brake from Shop Fox is an indispensable tool if you need to increase the strength of sheet metal plates with bends, or you intend on fabricating more complicated brackets, gussets, boxes, or fixtures.</p> <p>When bolted to a...




					www.grizzly.com


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## Ken from ontario (Mar 27, 2020)

Janderso said:


> That brake is awesome. I would love to have one. I have kept my eye on the Grizzly 24" box and pan brake. It has a 20 gauge capacity and runs $400.
> I may either make one down the road or buy one. They are essential in a shop.
> 
> 
> ...


I have that Shop fox M1011 model, you'll like it, I've bent 2"x 4" mild steel brackets (18 Ga) and had no problems ,the one thing I must do to make it more user friendly is to bolt it down to a solid table so when I lift to bend the workpiece, the whole brake doesn't lift with it, it is an easy task though. other than that, I have no regrets.


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