List;
For those so interested, I’ve posted five pics of my (unpainted
and almost finished) Sheet-Metal Brake to my Photo Gallery…
You may view them at: http://www.jagsource.org/gallery/album49.
They are on Page Four of this Photo Album.
For you “technical” types, the Brake has a “working” width of 59"
(although the bed is 60 3/8" wide at the “inside”). The Brake features a
totally adjustable (vertical and horizontal) Hold-Down Bar and eccentric
lifts/locks on each end. The Bed is made from a 60" length of 4" “5.4lb”
Channel with an additional 2" channel welded on the back side, for a total
of a 6" depth.
The Bending Bar’s 'business end" is made up of two pieces of 1/4"
plate… one piece is 6"x 59 3/8", the other is 2" x 59 3/8"… these are
reinforced by a length of 2"x2" angle… There is a 0.010" gap between the
Bending Bar and the Leading Edge of the Bed. The Bending Bar “rotates”
perfectly over the leading edge of the Bed and has a travel arc of about 135
degrees. The Pivot Points are 3/4" round stock.
This unit was built entirely out of scrap metal… all Six Hundred
Twenty-Six pounds of it!! The only “new” parts used were the nuts, bolts, a
couple of brass bushings, a three foot length of 5/16" threaded rod and the
two red “hose bib” handles.
The “fingers” were cut from 1/2" plate and are 6" deep… 3" of each
“Finger” is exposed… there are two each of the following widths: 12", 6",
4", 3", 2", 1 1/2" and 1". The Fingers are held in place between two pieces
of 3/8"x3 1/2"x3 1/3"x59" Angle with 3/8" dia Hex Head Grade Five Bolts that
thread into the lower angle.
The “fine machining” tools I used were: A 14" Chop-Saw (borrowed
30,000rpm Die Grinder, a 7 1/4" “Skill” saw with metal cut-off blades, a
3/8" VSR Drill and a ton of various size drill bits from 3/16" to 3/4". I
did break down and buy a 16 speed Drill Press to drill the holes “straight”
… after I drilled 180 of them not so straight ;-}.
It took six months of plotting, planning, scheming, engineering,
designing, cutting, welding, cussing, etc. to get the Metal Brake to this
point. And not much blood was spilled, either (no stitches required!!
although a piece of 1/4" plate flipped up, hitting me in the face, breaking
a chip off my front tooth!! and one Third Degree Burn on my left hand!)…
just enough to “christen” the work ;-}
The plan is to bend my own Parcel Tray, Battery Shelf, Battery Boxes,
etc. for my 120 DHC.
The few “practice bends” (playing) I made produced very “crisp” (sharp)
90 degree bends in 20Ga. metal. I believe this Brake will handle 16Ga. with
ease.
I feel this is a “major” step forward in the nearly three decade
“restoration” of my '53 XK120 DHC.
Charles #677556.from my neighbor), a 5" Makita Angle Head Grinder, a 3" Cut-Off Wheel on a
Excellent job Charles. I can appreciate the amount of work that went into
it. Bad luck about your tooth - if your dentists are as expensive as those
in my neck of the woods it might have worked out cheaper to buy a new brake.
Regards
Len
----Original Message Follows----
List;
For those so interested, I’ve posted five pics of my (unpainted and almost
finished) Sheet-Metal Brake to my Photo Gallery…
You may view them at: http://www.jagsource.org/gallery/album49.
They are on Page Four of this Photo Album.
Len;
The real pisser is that tooth was a new crown that was only a few
months old… my dentist took pity on me and just “filed” it smooth…
although it now has a bit of an angle across the bottom… The price was
right, tho… Free! ;-}
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From: “Len Brighton”
Excellent job Charles. I can appreciate the amount of work that went into
it. Bad luck about your tooth - if your dentists are as expensive as those
in my neck of the woods it might have worked out cheaper to buy a new
brake.Regards
Len
In reply to a message from BISHOP-13 sent Sun 2 Jan 2005:
A very smart piece of kit, Charles
It certainly looks as if it will have no trouble with 16g, one
would hope not with a weight of more than 1/2 ton.
Most of us are really chuffed if we make our own parts but you’ve
made tools to make parts. Congratulations.
Have any listers made tools to make tools to make parts?
Happy new year !–
The original message included these comments:
For those so interested, I've posted five pics of my (unpaintedand almost finished) Sheet-Metal Brake to my Photo Gallery…
–
IMM
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Iain M;
Thanks for your kind words…
I guess the “reason” that I’ve had to make my own “tools/parts” is a
simple one… “Poverty”! I’ve never been able to afford to “buy” what I
need/want when I needed/wanted it… I guess everyone has that “problem”
every now and again…
In the case of my Metal Brake, it started out as a “$50 project” that I
realized, once committed, was not going to work to my satisfaction, so I
“redesigned” the original concept several times before coming up with a
rather complicated and complex piece of hardware that, I believe, will now
do what I want & need it to do.
I don’t know how much the entire brake weighs, I do know that I bought,
and used most of the 600lbs of the scrap metal I bought… I’ve also swept
up a good thirty/forty pounds of cut-off scrap, drill bit shavings, chips
and grinding dust…
One person cannot lift the “Hold Down Bar” with all the “Fingers”
attached… in fact, it’s a struggle for me to lift the Hold-Down Bar with
no fingers attached!! I suspect this component, alone, weighs in the excess
of 150 lbs… maybe closer to 200lbs…
Another “toy” that I’ve wanted since I became a mechanic in '67, is a
small “R&D Lathe”… I’ve read articles where people have built them from
eclectic bits and pieces, and I’ve thought about building one, but I feel
they are as complicated (and as expensive) as restoring a car… and I have
too many of those to do first (I should live so long!).
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From: “Iain M”
A very smart piece of kit, Charles
It certainly looks as if it will have no trouble with 16g, one
would hope not with a weight of more than 1/2 ton.
Most of us are really chuffed if we make our own parts but you’ve
made tools to make parts. Congratulations.
Have any listers made tools to make tools to make parts?Happy new year !
In reply to a message from BISHOP-13 sent Sun 2 Jan 2005:
Charles
That sheet metal brake is one fine looking piece of
machinery. Congratulations on figuring out and fabricating
such a fine example of a very desireable and useful device.
I am just a ‘newby’ to the list, but if I may be so bold as
to suggest a colour scheme, it would look (in my view
anyway) really fine painted in a sort of semi-glossy
industrial ‘Jaguarish’ pea green, or perhaps a kind of
industrial grey perhaps with contrasting semi-gloss black
and/ or matte black trim pieces ? Maybe even a ‘hammerite’
pebbly style surface finish on some parts ?
Your initials or any other text could be a sparkling
metalflake gold lettering ?
Anyhow, I like it. Im sure it will get lots of use. Keep up
the good work.–
Gary
ottawa,Ontario, Canada
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Nice job on the Sheet-Metal Brake Charles, I always believed if you want something done right, you have to do it youself. May I suggest an English Wheel for your next Project? Lot’s of curves on these Jags.
Keep plugging away, you’re doing good.
Regards, Otto M.Otto;
Thank You kindly… and I agree with you… I looked at commercial
brakes (that I could never afford) to get some of the “design” ideas I used.
Had I known how involved this Sheet-Metal Brake was going to be, I doubt I
would have started building it ;-}
Several years ago, Wray (of WES Parts) sent me a picrure of the
English Wheel he had just made… Like his metal work, the machine was a
work of art… I might be able to build the machine, but I doubt that I
could ever learn to use it… That type of work is an Art Form unto itself!
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From:
Nice job on the Sheet-Metal Brake Charles, I always believed if you want
something done right, you have to do it youself. May I suggest an English
Wheel for your next Project? Lot’s of curves on these Jags.
Keep plugging away, you’re doing good.Regards, Otto M.
Gary G;
That You for your kind compoliments and paint suggestions… I do
like the idea of my initials in “sparkling metalflake gold” ;-}
I do plan on making some good use of this brake making pieces to
are “correct” as to thickness and actually fit my 120 DHC.
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From: “gary grant”
Charles
That sheet metal brake is one fine looking piece of
machinery. Congratulations on figuring out and fabricating
such a fine example of a very desireable and useful device.I am just a ‘newby’ to the list, but if I may be so bold as
to suggest a colour scheme, it would look (in my view
anyway) really fine painted in a sort of semi-glossy
industrial ‘Jaguarish’ pea green, or perhaps a kind of
industrial grey perhaps with contrasting semi-gloss black
and/ or matte black trim pieces ? Maybe even a ‘hammerite’
pebbly style surface finish on some parts ?
Your initials or any other text could be a sparkling
metalflake gold lettering ?
Anyhow, I like it. Im sure it will get lots of use. Keep up
the good work.
Charles,
My hat is off to you! That’s quite a bit of machinery. This is the
first time I was able to access your site! You have been busy after
all. My brake was rescued from a high school metal shop being
“converted” to a “computer lab” or dance hall.
All I really needed were the “bolt ons” that the kids make off with when
something that they were familiar with shuts down for good. I made one
of the missing parts (the handle knob for the eccentric clamp) from an
eight ball.
Shop kids were notorious for hitting vise screws with the welder and for
distorting various tools at semester end but the total shut down left
little in good order. That stuff that was valuable went the way of most
“midnite” sales, that is to the insiders. The citizens (tax payers who
bought the stuff) were left with whatever they felt they could recover
after the insiders picked it to bits. The school board was said to have
even paid to have grinders, polishers, drill presses, mills and lathes
taken away! I recovered the bender and a shear that I deem very
important fabrication tools. I also got a bunch of cutoffs and scrap
stock, much of which got used up rather quickly.
Still angers me here, but from your pix out there, it looks like you even
used your “bed rail” (the sky blue piece) for a brace. BTW, bed rails
are notches above hardware store cold rolled, and an accumulation of them
in the scrap bin is a worthwhile keep.
I can pull and rearrange the bending fingers and plates to “miss”
designated areas in the pieces but I have to make engineering changes to
get a “quick step” bend such as that on the sill where the floor
attaches. The same goes for forming a “hat channel” that has the proper
depth and “squats” true!
I really wouldn’t worry about making the parcel and battery shelves out
of heavier stock if you can form them correctly. The weight gain is not
even a consideration if you factor in the strength and flatness. The
slightly thicker stock (next ga. up) also Migs so much better even with
the lighter .023 wire. Minimizes the tendency to “wave” at the pseudo
“spot welds”.
Try to reuse the original “hat channel” braces as you will see what I
mean when you see how long it takes to fabricate them compared to bigger
stuff.
You might revert to using the angle irons and clamps to “fab” up a jig
for shearing a straight line using a sharpened “caulking iron” or other
wide blade tool that you could strike with a mallet.
Again, nice site, great pics.
Regards,
Rick
Rick H;
Thank You for such high praise… Humbly, I feel it is well
deserved as I literally put a lot of sweat, blood, tooth chips and a third
degree burn into the effort ;-}
The primary reason I don’t want to “step up” a gauge in metal is, in
addition to not mating properly, the added weight. Granted, the pound or so
of one piece won’t make a helluva lot of difference, but when one replaces
several rather large metal pieces, the weight tends to add up… and the 120
DHC was the heaviest Jag “out-of-the-box” to begin with. I just don’t want
to make my DHC any heavier than necessary.
As previously noted, I’ll be “experimenting” with the Brake to see
what, and if, it will fabricate the “close tolerance” items like the Hat
Channel, along with any “modifications” I might need to make to be able to
do “close bends” like you mentioned for the sills
On the “shearing” of the metal, I have an electric shear (pistol type)
that cuts fairly straight… I figure I can clamp a length of 1/4" x 1 1/2"
“strap” steel for a “straight-edge guide” and do okay… lacking an “honest”
metal shear
Thanks, again, for your very kind words… they mean a lot to me…
Charles #677556.----- Original Message -----
From:
Charles,
My hat is off to you! That’s quite a bit of machinery. This is the
first time I was able to access your site! You have been busy after
all. My brake was rescued from a high school metal shop being
“converted” to a “computer lab” or dance hall.<Snipped>I can pull and rearrange the bending fingers and plates to “miss”
designated areas in the pieces but I have to make engineering changes to
get a “quick step” bend such as that on the sill where the floor
attaches. The same goes for forming a “hat channel” that has the proper
depth and “squats” true!I really wouldn’t worry about making the parcel and battery shelves out
of heavier stock if you can form them correctly. The weight gain is not
even a consideration if you factor in the strength and flatness. The
slightly thicker stock (next ga. up) also Migs so much better even with
the lighter .023 wire. Minimizes the tendency to “wave” at the pseudo
“spot welds”.Try to reuse the original “hat channel” braces as you will see what I
mean when you see how long it takes to fabricate them compared to bigger
stuff.You might revert to using the angle irons and clamps to “fab” up a jig
for shearing a straight line using a sharpened “caulking iron” or other
wide blade tool that you could strike with a mallet.Again, nice site, great pics.
Regards,
Rick