# Home Made Press Brake



## cfellows (Oct 8, 2010)

I managed to complete another item on my todo list today. It's a press brake and will be used with my hydraulic press for bending sheet metal up to 1/8" thick and 8" wide. The top piece is made from 3/8" x 2" hot rolled steel. I milled the sides of the V-shape at 50 degrees so the included angle of the V is 80 degrees. The bottom piece is made from 1/4" x 1" x 1" steel angle. The end pieces are all made from 1/4" thick cold rolled steel.












Chuck


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## rcmadness (Oct 8, 2010)

Nice job Cfellows. Never thought of doing something like that to bend sheet metal. I have the vise jaws that do it but I have not been too impressed with the results I get from it. May have to build one like it and give it a try.


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## Diy89 (Oct 9, 2010)

Effective but simple. One of those "why didnt i think of that" deals. Thanks for sharing!


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## Noitoen (Oct 9, 2010)

Good job. The only thing I would do different would be to use a flat bar stock as base and 2 lengths of angle stock as the die welded to the bar in a "inverted W". It would hold better under the pressure.


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## ironman (Oct 9, 2010)

Very nice Chuck. Can see it being a useful tool. Ray


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## walnotr (Oct 9, 2010)

cfellows  said:
			
		

> I managed to complete another item on my todo list today. It's a press brake and will be used with my hydraulic press for bending sheet metal up to 1/8" thick and 8" wide.



Chuck, I like your idea and clever design but bending 1/8" sheet stock may be a little ambitious unless it is a pretty soft material. How may tons is your hydraulic press capable of? The chart in the link below shows 10.5 tons per linear foot for 11 gauge mild steel. That works out to 7.875 tons for 8 inches. One of the many machines I was "lucky" enough to use was a 14' Cincinnati press brake. Even it would groan when bending 1/8" stock of any length. The lower V-dies on that machine were pretty stout as well. Usually machined from 2-3" square steel depending on the width of the V. 

http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/chart-tonnage/tonnage-chart.html

If you have the power to bend the 1/8" material, you will probably be able to do it with your tool, just don't expect the V-die to stand up for too long. Also, be sure to file the bent edges before bending. A sheared edge will most likely crack using a small radius on the bend die. I'd like to see your results with this tool.

Steve C.

I just found this nifty tonnage calculator.

http://www.accurpress.com/qry/ht_loadcalc.taf?units=imperial&_UserReference=B8439617653006864CB0BC61&_nc=fed895175a546bde2ec8b3b2c67c3dae


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## cfellows (Oct 9, 2010)

Hi Steve, thanks for all the info.

My press is rated at 20 tons. However, I don't expect to bend anything over about 4" wide. I have rounded over the V on the upper part to a radius of around 3/32". The inside radius of the angle iron is probably 3/16" or better.

Chuck


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## itowbig (Oct 10, 2010)

i made one a long time ago same thing as what u show but i welded a 1/2 inch think flat bar on the bottom of thatangle then put same on the sides (i found out the hard way) you must put something on the sides or your angle will flaten out over time :big: and it worked very good but i lost it in my move from Washington to California and a lot of tools too. :'(


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## cfellows (Oct 12, 2010)

Tried out my new press brake today. This is .120" steel. The finished piece is 4" long and 2.25" square.  This part may become the crankcase for a 3 cylinder, compressed air engine. At least that's what I had in mind when I made it up this morning.






The piece really is square. Shadows and foreshortening makes the right side look a little out of square.


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## arnoldb (Oct 12, 2010)

Chuck, that's a dandy tool, and a great result :bow:

I'll be duplicating that soon  Thm:

Kind regards, Arnold


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## walnotr (Oct 12, 2010)

Looks good Chuck! Good job polishing those edges too! :bow:

Steve C.


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## d.bick (Oct 13, 2010)

Simple but effective. What a Great tool
I use a similar top and bottom tool but I have a large fly press to provide the down force. What I have found when lining up a bend line with the top tool is to take a measurement from the metal edge to the side of the top tool before bending. Half of the top tool thickness can be added to this measurement to give you the bend line. This helps repeat accuracy. Especially if you make a note of how much have lost or gained due to bending. A simple chart for your own set up will help in the future. I know you can work out the allowances before hand, but even then I would do a test bend on a bit of scrap.
 Dave Bick


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## cfellows (Oct 13, 2010)

d.bick  said:
			
		

> Simple but effective. What a Great tool
> I use a similar top and bottom tool but I have a large fly press to provide the down force. What I have found when lining up a bend line with the top tool is to take a measurement from the metal edge to the side of the top tool before bending. Half of the top tool thickness can be added to this measurement to give you the bend line. This helps repeat accuracy. Especially if you make a note of how much have lost or gained due to bending. A simple chart for your own set up will help in the future. I know you can work out the allowances before hand, but even then I would do a test bend on a bit of scrap.
> Dave Bick



Great tips, Dave. I have found it's a bit imprecise up to this point. These suggestions should help!

Chuck


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