Epcofabrication

Found this today when I was searching for plans to make a sheet metal brake to start on a camping trailer..

here is the PDF file..

http://www.ch601.org/tools/bendbrake/brakeplans.pdf

eighty5yota

could be improved on BIGTIME that guy obviously didnt know how to weld..

Epcofabrication

Very true.. but it's a good start.. He's an experimental airplane builder (no welding required) just pop rivets.. ;-)

TinMan

millerwelds has a good design under their projects list. it is on my to do list.

eighty5yota

if i was building an experimental airplane.. (unless its a model) id wanna weld atleast a COUPLE seams lol


i like the idea.. i think im gonna scale it down and beef it up .. ive been bending in my 4 inch craftsman pro vise.. it gets the job done..

Epcofabrication

Nice! TMCorbin, I like it but it has an interesting hinge that you have to fabricate though..

here is the link.
http://www.millerwelds.com/interests...bending-brake/

TinMan

It is a bit of fab work, but will be good experience for a hack like me.

rjfortuna

Hey, thanks for these links...

I have been thinking of building a metal break for the shop. A combination of the 2 of these is probably what I will go with. Thanks so much. I might beef it up and add a 10 ton air assist hyd jack I have laying around to the apparatus. Bet that would bend about anything I want.....

Think I'll just blow holes through the top piece of angle iron and weld all thread to the bottom of the holder and use wing nuts to secure it, or perhaps lug nuts and use the 4 way (using correct allthread) to secure it. Would make the change out to reset the rig much quicker.

Oh, and just get some heavy duty hinges from the store and weld them on. Or perhaps fab one up with ID/OD similar pipe. Would probably be real strong.

Perhaps pad the holding apps with thin felt to avoid scratching some of the rubberized coated metal I have to fab for a skidder.

Actually, I have a heavy metal table I use for bending pipe using the acyt. torch I made a long time ago. I can do away with the bottom part of the holder and just weld on the allthread to it and the break piece. (just thinking out loud here.)

Heck I can probably make this in 20 minutes with the crap I have laying around. So cool.

Neat, simple project. Me likie alot.
Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks Thanks.....
RJ

Epcofabrication

RJ you'll have to share some pictures when you finish your brake.. I need to build a table before I start on mine..

Tony

rjfortuna

I'm going to try to knock it out tomorrow, they will be phone pics as I have misplaced my digital camera in my black hole of a life somewhere. But I will try.

Should be a quick project I think. Have a big heavy steel table and will do away with most of the fabrication.

Ok, not probably in 20 minutes, but I bet under an hour.

RJ

rjfortuna

Ok. $40 dollars of scrap later my material is home. (this includes the materials for the metal break and 2 other projects. )
Ok. as requested here are some pics of the metal break I made, and the project I was foaming at the bit to do after the metal break was done.

I just set up a photo bucket deal for the pics so as to not jam up the yotatech server...

http://s883.photobucket.com/albums/a...metal%20break/

. It should be self explanatory looking at the pics.

It worked above my expectations. In hind site I should have gone with a piano style hinge for it, but this bent a pretty serious piece of flat metal, which I used as a front skid plate. Which can be seen mounted on the front of the truck in page 2 of the album.

From birth to abortion with the skid plate mounted on the truck the total project took me ( including fabing the skid plate and mounting it, the piece I used for a skid plate was already the right size, all I had to do was bend it, drill the mounting holes, and mount it.(It was scrap some one gave me. Allready rubberized. Neat)) around 2 hours give or take 15 minutes.

I'm probably going to remove the skid plate when it gets warmer (it was snowing on me doing this project) and drill some holes in the skid plate in a matching grid pattern with the ones down the side (I dont know if you can see them) to assist with air flow.

And another improvement will be some felt, gorilla glued to the top and bottom of the securing mounts, and to the part that is hinged and bends and slides as it scratched my free rubberized metal...!!! HAHAHAHA)

Anyway fun little project.

(OH just cut and paste the photobucket link in ur browser and it'll take u to the photobucket folder. )

And I need to rig it up to work with a bottle jack, or floor jack bcause I hurt my back bending that skid plate into shape. Ugh.

RJ

Epcofabrication

Looks nice(simple yet effective).. I need to get mine going..

rjfortuna

Simple is usually the best answer. Thats what my signature means.

Occam's Razor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor

TinMan

Yeah I like it. Did you make the hinges? Or are they just some heavy hinges? Also what did you use for a lever on the brake side?

rjfortuna

I just bought some heavy duty hinges where I bought the scrap metal. Like 4$ a pair.

I just used some solid channel I had laying about for the handles.

I'm probably in the project like 10$.

Hurt my freaking back tho. Its killing me. Need to set it up to work off a floor jack or something. Another day's project. The only thing I have to bend in the near future is some aluminum sheeting, and that should be nothing after the skid plate I bent.



It works. Thats good enough for me.