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Build a Roller Action Bending Brake
Plans for a Versatile Dual Action Sheet Metal Brake
| Sheet metal work can be either fascinating or frustrating
- it all depends on the sort of a bending rig you use to do the job. In
most home shops, metal bending is done in the simplest possible way; the
work is clamped so that it overhangs the edge of the bench and is then
hammered with a mallet to produce the desired bend. |
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Cookie sheets, flower pots and a garden lantern
are just a few of the projects that can be turned out on this sheet-metal
brake. Bending is simply a forming metal over a suitable mold.
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| For occasional basic jobs there's nothing wrong with
this method, but there's no denying that the results are crude and the
types of bends that can be made are limited. The man who takes his shop
work seriously won't be satisfied with such primitive techniques. He'll
want a heavy-duty metal brake capable of making clean, precise bends, seams
and coves. |
Get a restored copy of these Roller Action Bending
Brake Plans with 16 Pages of Enhanced and Enlarged Figures and
Illustrations and Searchable Text.
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Figure
1. Roller Action Sheet Metal Break assembly.
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| The machine shown on these pages really fills the bill.
Its design departs from conventional sheet-metal brakes by employing a
steel roller instead of a bending leaf. This feature extends the versatility
of the machine greatly because the roller can be worked both downward and
upward, providing exceptional latitude in project design. By using the
proper forming block or mold, you can bend sheet metal to any angle, make
radius bends, reverse bends and seams.
The machine's construction is rugged enough to permit
bending 20-ga. sheet iron the full 18-in. width of the table, though material
of this size and thickness will require the aid of a mallet to "sharpen"
the bend. Lighter metals and narrow widths of heavygauge stock, can be
bent easily. |
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It's no trouble to dado the shelf grooves in the
sides of the frame if you make cuts while the stock is still square, before
band sawing it to shape.
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For example, 1/8 x 3/4-in strap aluminum can be bent
sharply with a single stroke. A 4 x 8-ft. sheet of 3/4-in. plywood will
provide enough material to build the frame and table. Both the table and
the two sides are constructed by gluing two pieces of plywood together.
The double thickness of these pieces, plus the bracing effect of the shelves,
which are attached with glue and screws to the sides. assures rigidity.
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The side members of the frame are brought to their
finished form with a bandsaw. Large work is easier to handle if you rig
up an auxiliary table as shown.
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| Lag screws are used to attach the table to the frame,
making it a simple matter to remove the table for replacement. To ensure
accuracy, both side pieces should be clamped together and drilled at the
same time for the pivot shaft. A 2-in. square steel plate, set into a snug
fitting recess chiseled in each side piece, serves as a bearing for the
shaft. The top of the table is faced with a piece of 19-ga. sheet steel
attached with countersunk F. H. wood screws. The bottom is covered with
20-ga. sheet steel. |
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Metal cutting saw make short work of a tough job:
Cutting the 14-ga steel tabletop. If you lack this tool, a sheet metal
shop can do the work for you.
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| To begin with, you will need only one clamp block, shaped
as shown in the drawing. You will have to bend the sheet metal cover by
hand, but after that all your bending can be done on the machine itself. |
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The sole plate for the clamping block is 14-ga
sheet steel. The leading edge of the metal should be ground to a 45-deg.
angle and finished with a file.
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| The roller may be made of cold rolled steel, though you'll
find that hot rolled steel costs less and is as serviceable. Use your lathe
to remove the scale and true the ends; then, if you have a tool post grinder,
use it to grind the surface. Otherwise, careful filing while the work rotates
in the lathe will smooth the surface sufficiently. |
Get a restored copy of these Roller Action Bending
Brake Plans with 16 Pages of Enhanced and Enlarged Figures and
Illustrations and Searchable Text.
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|
Figure
2. Bending Brake Frame assembly details.
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| The holes to be drilled and tapped in the ends of the
roller must be perfectly centered. Two oak bearing blocks with 1/2-in.
bronze bushings are fastened with screws to the steel angle sweep. A machine
bolt passed through the bushing secures the end of the roller and allows
easy removal should the roller require refinishing. |
Get a restored copy of these Roller Action Bending
Brake Plans with 16 Pages of Enhanced and Enlarged Figures and
Illustrations and Searchable Text.
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|
Figure
3. Clamp, Table and Shelf sides assembly details.
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| The counterpoise should weigh about 45 pounds. A concrete
cylinder will do the trick or you may prefer to use barbell weights. The
springs are a standard item. They are 16-in. long, 1-in. outside diameter,
and are of 12-ga. wire. Stretched to a length of 22 in., they each provide
a 25-pound pull.
In the Conclusion you'll learn how to put the brake through
its paces.
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To ensure bends square with the edge of the metal,
check placement of the work with a tri-square held against the beveled
hold down block used in most bending.
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| With its main beveled clamping block, plus additional
bending forms of special shapes which are used either in conjunction or
separately, you'll be able to make just about every bend possible with
your new roller-action sheet-metal brake. It's simply a matter of selecting
the proper clamp block or molding form. |
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Radius bends up to 3/8 in. can be made by bolting
a 3/4 in. hardwood board (with top edge rounded) across front of brake
and bringing roller downward.
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| After you've done that, just keep in mind the golden
rules of brake operation: Make square bends by bringing the roller downward
and bending the metal over the edge of the table; use a downward motion
for bends over the molding forms, and finally, for bends formed with the
clamping block, bring the roller upward. That, in a nut shell, is about
all you'll need to know in order to be able to do basic work, but let's
consider a few fine points:
Metals, particularly in the heavier gauges, tend to spring
back slightly after bending. You can compensate for this by bending the
work about 5 deg. more than is desired. The easiest way to do this is to
bevel the forming block an additional 5 deg. or you may prefer to increase
the bend by simply tapping it with a mallet.
Large work that exceeds the capacity of the clamp blocks
can be handled by using a little ingenuity. A long rectangular tube, for
example, can be made in sections. A worthwhile precaution when working
with soft metals is to slip a piece of paper between the roller and the
metal to prevent marring.
As is true in any shopwork, nothing can replace actual
experience. In working with your brake, you'll soon work out your own setups. |
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Single hem is made along edge when two sheets
of metal are to be joined, or to eliminate a Sharp edge. A double hem is
made to provide additional strength and add to a finished look.
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Molding Forms Simpilfy Tricky Bends
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Forming a Box with Soldered Corners
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Forming a Box with Riveted Corners
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Alternate method of forming lap corner box. Here
ends between corner tabs are clamped first with beveled hold-down block
for downward roller action.
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Sides of box are bent up around same hold-down
block with upward sweep of the roller, then corner tabs are bent over ends
with, mallet, for fastening.
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Recessed form is a versatile accessory. It can
be used to construct boxes and bend narrow channels.
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Upward movement of roller combined with a 90-deg.
recessed bending form produces precise channel.
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