Re: *** Metal Bending tools

Matthias Melcher wrote:
howy wrote:

Hello,

I have noticed some cheap *** metal bending brakes for less than $200
floating around. Does anyone have any advice/experience with cheap (a
few hundred bucks) tools for cutting and bending *** aluminum (less
than 0.25inch thick)?


Aluminium is tough to bend. 0.25" ist quite thick and I doubt that any $200 tool will survive bending it.

I am bending 1mm aluminium (1/25th inch) on one of those cheapo $200 breaks similar but more simple than this one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=43353

and it works fine. I would guess that 2mm, maybe 3mm is about the max it will do without falling apart. Make sure that you have stops if you need prcise bends (this one does not) and that you have various die sizes for complex bends (this one does).

Harbor Freight also has a 24" brake, which we used on Team Overbot.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45877

If you don't need the big size, that's a nice little one.

Incidentally, you can't put a right angle bend in 0.25" ***
for most common aluminum alloys. They'll crack. Steel, yes;
cold aluminum, no.

This bender, for narrow stock up to 2" x 0.25", will bend
mild steel with no problems. It's kind of a pain to set up,
and must be anchored to a solid, heavy bench, but one of those
was used to make most of our steel brackets. It does both
right-angle and roll bends.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38471

The cheap combo bender/shear/roll things aren't very good, and
lack adequate guarding.

John Nagle
.