Homemade Sheet Metal Finger Brake

Homemade sheet metal finger brake constructed from scrap materials.

Homemade sheet metal finger brake. 1 4 inch 0 6 cm steel plate with bracing will enable. Lay the 7 x42 piece on top of the 14 piece with the front edges. I built my 32in. I have clamped a square to the fixed table.

Cut the angle iron and steel plate in sizes listed above making sure edges are square and straight. Hinge was fabricated by welding the pivot pins to the movable section of the table. Select materials that will be strong enough for your needs. I m sure some bright person out there will probably come up with a more elegant way to do this.

Brake using the book called designing and building the sheet metal brake by david j gingery book cost 8 00 and worth ever cent i used scrap materal i had makes nice clean bends on 16 ga. To open the brake first loosen the bolts then insert a large screwdriver between the top and bottom plate at either end. This is a homemade finger press brake. Its also a fun project and you know the out come is going to work no guessing involved.

Two steel blocks were drilled and reamed to receive the pins. The finger is back from the pivot line by the thickness of that stainless steel plate that you see all the way to the left. Finger brakes are positioned accurately using clamps and shims for perfect bends. Homemade sheetmetal brake designed to accommodate finger brakes.

Generally i ll stick the piece to be bent in the vise and smack it around until it s bent. It has a bend length of 62 inches. The most important thing on a sheet metal brake is. To its left is my wide finger which is holding down a strip of sheet metal.

I lifted the movable table and now have my first 90 bend. Simple sheet metal brake. The axis of rotation center of bender to be inline to bending line. Fabricated from steel and hardware.

I love working with metal but i ve always struggled to get perfect 90 bends. Blocks were welded to the fixed part of the table. Since it almost always bends crooked i end up rebending and generally just. Time to try out the finger brake.

I will be used to make. It will be powered by two 20 ton air operated bottle jacks.