anyone use a sheet metal brake? any cheap ones that work good? I've been looking at getting one but not sure exactly which one to buy. been looking at one from harbor freight that mounts to the bench and is a 30". only $70.

If it's $70, it's probably junk, and there really isn't a whole lot of use on a car for a bender that can only do 30" unless it's a box and pan, and even then you're limited.

I use them all the time. They're not hard to learn to use. Some of the complex locks and whatnot that you can do with them like a hand pittsburgh and whatnot are tough to learn without a teacher.

A good brake will run you $1000 and up used.

There are bench brakes such as the one you suggested, but as to the quality, I couldn't begin to say, since I mostly use large ones, 48" or more.

Tennsmith is a good brand. Pexo. A few others I know of, but off the top of my head can't think of...

Best use for one on a car? Box and pan break you can use to make a battery tray, a recess for a fuel tank, a fuel tank itself, possibly a plenum depending on your design... basically anything with squared corners that isn't too small to fit in the brake.

For a non box and pan break your more limited in what you can do, but they usually do a bit thicker metal. You could do panels for a custom floor pan or trunk pan. Maybe the inside of a door shell, or hood shell, again depending on your design. Technically you could do wheel wells, if you didn't want round radiuses and a trapazoid like shape was acceptable.

Mathius

Angle Iron & a vise can get a lot done.. add in a couple good C-clamps too.. I've made a few things like that... still requires a little fine tuning with a hammer.

I use sheet metal brakes every day. I can tell you that when it comes to sheet metal tools and equipment there is no such thing as cheap that works good. If you want something that will work good you're gonna pay. My personal brake that I have at home is a 48" Tennsmith pan brake that's rated up to 12 ga. mild steel. I bought mine for $500 and that was a STEAL. A new one like mine will run well over $3000.

You also need to figure out what type of metal and what gauge you're wanting to use the brake for. If you buy the cheap one from Harbor Freight and try to bend a piece of 20 or 22 ga. you're more than likely going to spring the leaf since it's probably only rated for 26 maybe 24 ga. at the most. And those are mild steel ratings. If you try to bend stainless in it then the gauge max on the brake will drop. Ex: a 16ga. brake will only bend 18ga. stainless, and it will usually have trouble doing that.

I have a 3n1 cheapo unit from harbor freight and I have made it work just fine. Here is a battery box I made for my kit car

I used to be of the mind set that you always buy the best you can, however I have changed that and now buy what is appropriate. For example I was making glove box holders with my 3n1, so I could use it as a shear as well as a box brake. I made quite a few of the box holders, (they hold a box of rubber or latex gloves on the wall). They were sold into tattoo shops and my 3n1 made them just fine. Now is it capable of bending what Frychkn mention? no, not at all. I think 18 gauge is max, and the AL battery box in this pic was starting to push the limits. Anyways I think it really depends on what you are trying to build. As mentioned before you are wanting to make floor boards well you have to consider size, and then possibly you may need a bead roller as well depending on the overall size and if it needs to be reinforced. So dont over buy on one tool if you really need two to get the job done.

So if i was simply going to make a few panel pieces i would buy the right size brake for the job without spending a ton, then by a shrinker/stretcher along with the appropriate bead roller... then you can do a whole bunch more projects in sheet! But dont forget you also need a way to cut the sheet unless you already have that tool to! I only say that cause i need to add the shrinker/stretcher and bear roller to my shop. But you get the point.

Now throw that all out the window if you can find a real good item used on craigslist, that is usually where I start and the go from there.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the 3-in-1 is a lot more expensive than the one he's talking about and it's a hydraulic brake, like a mini press-brake. Not a hand brake like myself and FYRCHKN are talking about.

Plus, like I said, if you don't have a box and pan brake it can very much limit what you can do. I'd like to see you try building a fuel cell with that 3-in-1. IIRC it's 30" tops. You couldn't do it without a lot more welding than I could do it with a box and pan.

Mathius

well it is not hydraulic. But does have the shear and sliproll. I never purchased it to make fuel cells and if i did I would have been a moron. It was for glove boxes, and it has worked awesome for what I have done with it and need. I agree that I would like to have a bad *** finger brake and shear but I am never was going down that path, maybe now if i decide to upgrade I would. But if you are making a fuel cell I would imagine you would want a notcher anyways?? you to make those 90 deg cuts somehow. At least that is what I used to make the glove holder boxes.

I wasnt shooting your guys advice down whatsoever, I really dont know what he even wants to make so it was real hard to give any advice, I was just sharing my experience. I have a lot of tools in my garage that I have based my decision on that same way, 9 out a 10 it was the best way to go so I could build up my shop, only every once and while am I not able to make something now.

I basicly just want to bend aluminum. Up to .060". I need to make a top radiator cover to hold down an aftermarket aluminum radiator. And I have a lot of other little projects like that for the car also. I have been looking around on the internet for brakes, but they are so expensive. Now, if I was going to be making a lot of the came parts and selling them, I could see a real nice brake as it would pay for it's self in the long run. I would like a 30" brake at least. I have also seen some plans on the internet on building your own brake out of angle iron. This would be cheaper. or I have also seen the 30" brakes like harbor freight carries for around $80. and they have one for $260 that has a stand and goes up to 36".

So you need a brake that will do at least 14 gauge aluminum to bend 1/16" stuff.

Hand brake capacity is usually listed as 3 or 4 numbers. Like a 816 or 1016 capacity brake. 1016 means it'll bend a 10-foot sheet that is 16 gauge or less. The gauge thickness is rated in steel though, not aluminum. Remember if you remove the angle bar, the brake capacity is reduced by 4 gauges.

General rule for stainless is 50% less capacity for bending stainless vs. steel.

I'm just guessing, but I would probably get a brake that will do 18 gauge steel. You might be able to get away with one that will do 22 or so, but I wouldn't want to risk it if it were me. Aluminum can be a pain to bend anyways.

Aluminum is a soft metal and it's not hard to leave marks from the brake in the material. Also some alloys of aluminum will crack before they bend, although for thin stuff you should be ok.

But if all you're making is a radiator support, I wouldn't bother with buying a brake. I'd clamp the sheet between a 2X4 and the edge of my work bench and use another 2x4 or straight edge to bend it. Especially something that thin.

Good brakes aren't cheap.

Mathius

thanks for the help guys! I think I want to buy a brake anyways. any advice on brands or what to stay away from?

I have one of the mini bench brakes, and its junk. You might be able to bend the foil around your sandwich with it. Other than that, its just wasted space.

As for the 3-in-1s, they sell a 40", IIRC, and it does thicker sheets. We have several brakes at work, and we could actually use one for some things. But I think its like $700 or more. Ill stick with our Tennsmith.

If you plan on doing just a few small projects, either hook up with a local car guy who has one, and learn, or just barn yard it. A couple peices of angle, and a soft faced mallet will convince the metal to go where you want it. Even with our Magnabender, our 30" box brake, and the 6 foot Tennsmith boxbrake we have, I still have to barnyard some things. And never underestimate the usefullness of a good vise.

just make friends with a mechanic at the local airport... most modestly-equipped aircraft maintenance shops will have a good quality brake and squaring shear at the very least, especially if they're certified for structure repairs

Yep, yep. Thats what we do. Modest little shop, with some very good sheetmetal tools and equipment. Also look at race car shops.

Some HVAC shops will also have this type of equipment... all of them will have SOME brakes, but not all of them will have brakes that will handle 1/8" aluminum.

Mathius