Compact brake/bender

[Hood]

I have previously made a very basic and quickly lashed together folder for doing small bits and pieces and it works but is not ideal.
I don't have much spare room, in fact I have zero spare room but...
I am needing something that will fold 5-6mm Aluminium and maybe 3-5mm stainless and was thinking of something like this.

I was wondering if anyone has used one or know of anything similar?

Yes I know I could easily make something but that would take time and time costs money and I don't have a lot of spare time anyway.

 

[Brad93]

A one metre pressbrake is what you want. Something like that will just wind you up every time you use it. Gotta be some cheap machines up your way. I'm watching an auction in Lanarkshire at the minute and machines aren't making any money.

 

[Hood]

I would love a proper brake but no room and I mean absolutely no room @Tangledfeet will testify as to how cluttered my workshop is.
I need something that can be lifted easily so I can store someplace and be pulled out when required.

 

[Brad93]

I would love a proper brake but no room and I mean absolutely no room @Tangledfeet will testify as to how cluttered my workshop is.
I need something that can be lifted easily so I can store someplace and be pulled out when required.

Outside with a tarp

 

[8ob]

That three in one thing I have uses the top roller and cam via link arms to raise/lower the crop/bender. Simple way of getting even pressure on the tooling.

 

[Brad93]

Bit on the sharp end but I've seen these for about £2000 in the past.

 

[bricol]

5mm stainless is going to need something pretty rigid and properly engineered!

 

[highseas]

A one metre pressbrake is what you want. Something like that will just wind you up every time you use it. Gotta be some cheap machines up your way. I'm watching an auction in Lanarkshire at the minute and machines aren't making any money.

same! i can feel a cross border raid with a flatbed wagon coming on

 

[Hood]

Outside with a tarp

Outside doesn't have much more room but even then it would last a few weeks before it started to rust away. The waves crash over into the container out the back during the winter, I am only about 20ft away from the sea

 

[Hood]

5mm stainless is going to need something pretty rigid and properly engineered!

Aye, would just be small widths, maybe 100mm at most. I can manage 3mm in the absolute crap hand bender I made and it is rubbish.

 

[Hood]

That three in one thing I have uses the top roller and cam via link arms to raise/lower the crop/bender. Simple way of getting even pressure on the tooling.

View attachment 304805

That looks a fair bit more substantial than the ones you see from your normal Chinese resellers.

 

[Robert Weaver]

I have this...

Claimed to be for a standard press, but needed a few tweaks. Fits in a 10ton Clarke press and seems fairy robust. Not professional but does the basics.

 

[Paul.]

Aye, would just be small widths, maybe 100mm at most. I can manage 3mm in the absolute crap hand bender I made and it is rubbish.

For 5mm stainless you will need a vee width of at least 8x plate thickness, so at least 40mm, for that vee width the tonnage requirement for mild steel is 400 tonnes per mtr, stainless will be higher, so for your 100mm strip is 40 tonnes,
The wider the vee the less tonnage required but the bend radius will increase, it really is a job for a proper machine, something home made is not going to do it,

 

[8ob]

it really is a job for a proper machine, something home made is not going to do it,

Ye of little faith

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Ye of little faith

That doesn't look like stainless though?

 

[Hood]

I have this...
View attachment 304823

Claimed to be for a standard press, but needed a few tweaks. Fits in a 10ton Clarke press and seems fairy robust. Not professional but does the basics.

View attachment 304824

Aye, saw them and thought they would be good but bit more than I wanted to spend and the press I have needs a new pump so that would add to the cost as well so...

For 5mm stainless you will need a vee width of at least 8x plate thickness, so at least 40mm, for that vee width the tonnage requirement for mild steel is 400 tonnes per mtr, stainless will be higher, so for your 100mm strip is 40 tonnes,
The wider the vee the less tonnage required but the bend radius will increase, it really is a job for a proper machine, something home made is not going to do it,

Thanks for the info, know nothing about tonnage required so looks like 5mm would be a it ambitious I can easily bend 3mm on the folder I made but think probably only about 75mm is the widest I have gone but I suppose folding may be a different thing.

Ye of little faith

Are you @gaz1 in disguise

 

[8ob]

Are you @gaz1 in disguise

Sussed . That's floor standing but could easily be knocked up in a bench mount, dont know the tonnage but it will bend 1/2" thick ms plate the full width of the tooling without a problem. Its flattened a few v blocks and squished the tooling a few times so I need to do a bit of research on the correct v`s to use. Wasnt a complicated build.

Gaz

 

[Dcal]

I made a sort of press brake fixture to bend a bit of stainless for a stove I was repairing.
Not much use to you I know, but I can only agree with the comments on bending stainless.
I've a 50t press and it had no chance with 5mm stainless until I made a part cut through the plate.

Stovax Riva Repair

I've a Stovax Riva cassette stove that's built in to a wall. It's in a room that doesn't get used all the time so hasn't had a huge amount of burning but it must be over 10years old. It's been great and gives little trouble, I get the chimney cleaned once a year and the only maintenance it has...

www.mig-welding.co.uk

 

[Tangledfeet]

I would love a proper brake but no room and I mean absolutely no room @Tangledfeet will testify as to how cluttered my workshop is.
I need something that can be lifted easily so I can store someplace and be pulled out when required.

Funnily enough I didn't see the notification that you'd mentioned me; I was just about to testify to the high degree of organisation, cleanliness and adherence to all relevant H&S legislation on display in your midden workshop!

No wonder Max hides away under a bench; being a collie he's probably deeply disturbed by it all - if you just left him to it he'd have it sorted, organised and labelled in no time.

 

[Hood]

Funnily enough I didn't see the notification that you'd mentioned me; I was just about to testify to the high degree of organisation, cleanliness and adherence to all relevant H&S legislation on display in your midden workshop!

No wonder Max hides away under a bench; being a collie he's probably deeply disturbed by it all - if you just left him to it he'd have it sorted, organised and labelled in no time.

Max only hides when fly Fifers visit, even the honorary ones