What Did You Buy Today?

[wachuko]

Press brake for the 20-Ton press… that is the other thing I have on my wishlist…

SWAG 20 TON Finger Brake Heavy Duty DIY Builder Kit

Heavy Duty 20 TON Finger Brake Press DIY Builder Kit Press Brake kit comes un-assembled, you do the final assembly and welding. Designed to fit the Harbor Freight 20 ton hydraulic press Item # 32879 & 60603. Press brake kit includes an adjustable back stop for accurate and repeatable bends. The...

www.swagoffroad.com

 

[pontiac428]

I thought I would copy the SWAG brake until it became obvious that I could build a better machine from the ground up that works like a hydraulic brake should (more like a brake and less like a press). I decided that 24" would be wide enough, famous last words. Dollar for dollar, DIY is better than riding someone else's coattails and paying them for the idea.

In fact, don't buy anything but metal and consumables. Everything else comes at such a premium...

 

[wachuko]

I thought I would copy the SWAG brake until it became obvious that I could build a better machine from the ground up that works like a hydraulic brake should (more like a brake and less like a press). I decided that 24" would be wide enough, famous last words. Dollar for dollar, DIY is better than riding someone else's coattails and paying them for the idea.

In fact, don't buy anything but metal and consumables. Everything else comes at such a premium...

Do share when you get to it…

 

[pontiac428]

Do share when you get to it…

It's just some rough solidworks sketches at this point, but I'll have my BOM ready for order in another week or two.

Right now Langmuir is 100% up, so the press brake is next. I am budgeting up to $1k in steel, way cheaper than a real machine but more versatile than the simple gee-whiz SWAG kit. Budget includes gooseneck, punch bend, and air bend dies, all cut into fingers for the needs of the job.

After the press rake, I will use the plasma, mill, and lathe to make a rotary draw bender based loosely on JD2 and Baileigh's offerings, with a hydraulic power pak to run that so it's not bolted to the floor. I can make up to 24" diameter dies, but I think I'll start with 12" in 1.5 box and round tube, making others as needed. I may make this a vertical bender instead of a horizontal bender, take advantage of those 12.5' ceilings...

I like tools to make tools. Rolling my own is the only way to ensure it comes out right. Do you remember when people thought it was crazy to try and sell water in a plastic bottle? And now they're selling us kits at the price of actual tools, that we already have the tools to make! It's a vicious cycle of consumption.

 

[Firstram]

After the press rake, I will use the plasma, mill, and lathe to make a rotary draw bender based loosely on JD2 and Baileigh's offerings, with a hydraulic power pak to run that so it's not bolted to the floor. I can make up to 24" diameter dies, but I think I'll start with 12" in 1.5 box and round tube, making others as needed. I may make this a vertical bender instead of a horizontal bender, take advantage of those 12.5' ceilings...

Vertical is so much easier to use. My JD2 Mod 32, the stand is also the storage crate.

 

[woodchucker]

what's going on with that table? The legs are not perpendicular, the one closest to you looks like it is leaning, and the farther away one is mounted at an angle?

 

[Firstram]

They are quickly built temporary tables that we build for each job. They end up in the dumpster or donated to anyone that wants them when we wrap. Dragging them around the shop is hard on the legs!

 

[wachuko]

I am sh** my pants... but I did it! I can't even look at my wife in the eyes... She is going to know that I did something...



My first reaction was to blame @pontiac428 for this... but that would be wrong... Had I order the table with the Hypertherm 45XP, then it would have definitely been his fault hahahahahhahahah.

 

[woodchucker]

Jamie, you better have fire retardant pants ... You are reminding me of someone lately.

 

[Eyerelief]

I am sh** my pants... but I did it! I can't even look at my wife in the eyes... She is going to know that I did something...

View attachment 456562

My first reaction was to blame @pontiac428 for this... but that would be wrong... Had I order the table with the Hypertherm 45XP, then it would have definitely been his fault hahahahahhahahah.

Everybody listen up! This is a P.S.A.! If you party with Newman the hangover is blinding!! See Jamie’s last post..
Jamie Sir, I am humbled by your intestinal fortitude.