Anyone make a homemade sheetmetal bender?

[V-10 Killer]

I'm planning on picking up some 4x8 sheets of .081" (x3), and .063" (x1) (I think, anyway, it's close) diamond plate aluminum to trim in my benchtop and areas around where my mitre saw and grinder will be shooting debris. But I don't know of any good way to make a 8' long 90 degree bend look good without a heavy duty metal brake. Has anyone made a light duty homemade brake? I thought about using a few pieces of angle iron 9-10' long and hinged together. I could freestand my workbenches and bolt it to them until I get everything just right. Please help

 

[rodnok1]

Problem will be keeping the bend in the middle of the length. Even with angle iron it will be hard to hold it, the angle iron will bend unless it's very thick, then it will flex some anyways. You could heat the alum up to help it bend. Does the place you're getting it from bend it?? Make a template and have them do it maybe.

 

[CJseven]

It might just be easier to mark your bends and take it to a local metal fab shop and have them bend it. I can't see it costing very much as long as they are not very complicated bends. How many bends are you looking at? Maybe 6 or so? even at 10 dollars a bend that's only 60 bucks and the sheets of aluminum cost WAY more than that, if you had to buy them.

 

[TNToy]

It's called a brake. Do some searching on the web and you'll find plenty of plans for brakes.

But an EIGHT FOOT bend? You need to redesign whatever-it-is so that you only need 2 or 3 feet of bent-length and build yourself a brake, make it from multiple pieces, or farm it out to a machine shop.

 

[mulepackin]

I had to replace the nose decking of our aluminum stock trailer. It required 1/8inch 4x8' sheets of aluminum diamond plate that needed to be shaped something like delta rib tin siding. I just gave a local fab shop a chunck of the corroded old stuff and let them have at it. At the cost of the aluminum, I couldn't afford to experiment. They did a very good job.

 

[...dave]

i agree with everyone else so far... bending 8' worth of .08 diamond plate is a job for serious shop equipment. Might be better off cutting & welding it.

 

[V-10 Killer]

Gotta TIG weld aluminum, and I don't have the experience for that. I'll price out having someone in town bend it I guess, as soon as I find someone that can do it. I'd have thought there'd be at least one do-it-yourselfer here that made one work. Oh well.
I'd like to have everything professionally/custom done, from my yard to my workbenches, but sooner or later I run out of funds... "Necessity is the mother of invention"

 

[Steve in Mi]

You are talking about a VERY stout break for what you want to do. It's no surprise that DIY'ers don't have such equipment. Actually since Pete Arnold closed his operation in Midland you will probably have to take your material to Ithaca, MI to have it bent. If you find a place closer please let me know.

 

[Tscott]

Gotta TIG weld aluminum, and I don't have the experience for that. I'll price out having someone in town bend it I guess, as soon as I find someone that can do it. I'd have thought there'd be at least one do-it-yourselfer here that made one work. Oh well.
I'd like to have everything professionally/custom done, from my yard to my workbenches, but sooner or later I run out of funds... "Necessity is the mother of invention"

Actually if you have astick welder you can stick aluminum too. It takes some practice, but it can be done. I have been told it is like tring to stick weld with a wet noodle. If you have a stick welder this may be an option you had not thought of.

Just an idea
Tom

 

[1320stang]

Yeah, I've been wanting a 4' brake and most all homemade plans only go up to a 36" max, usually 24" or narrower.

 

[eschoendorff]

You are talking about a VERY stout break for what you want to do. It's no surprise that DIY'ers don't have such equipment. Actually since Pete Arnold closed his operation in Midland you will probably have to take your material to Ithaca, MI to have it bent. If you find a place closer please let me know.

What's scary is that I actually have been through there

 

[mulepackin]

Actually if you have astick welder you can stick aluminum too. It takes some practice, but it can be done. I have been told it is like tring to stick weld with a wet noodle. If you have a stick welder this may be an option you had not thought of.

Just an idea
Tom

I've stick welded aluminum for quick and dirty jobs. It burns up about 3-5 times faster than steel rod, and very tough to get anything nearly as nice as the TIG. If I want pretty, and have time I'll TIG. Either way clean metal is very important, and I will preheat the area with a propane torch which helps a little. Aluminum oxide melts at a higher temp than aluminum base metal. There is always oxide on the top of the material. So you can be melting away the base material while a shell of AlOx sits on top. You also need to use a stainless steel brush to prep with. Aluminum is tremendous conductor of heat and electricity so the pre heating helps keep some of your welding heat where its needed. Just my $0.25 after alot of frustration and practice.

 

[...dave]

I'd like to have everything professionally/custom done, from my yard to my workbenches, but sooner or later I run out of funds... "Necessity is the mother of invention"

Oh, i know exactly what you mean, i just think you're boned on this particular project With the forces involved, by the time you built something to do the job, you'll have spent more than you would have on having a contractor do the whole thing. And you'll have an eight-foot metal brake taking up space in your garage.

Since i REALLY hate paying people to do work, i'd probably cut the backsplash off, grind a half-assed mitre into both pieces, and mount them separately... fill in the gap with some silicone, paint it silver, and call it a day. But, my workbench is a ten-year-old computer table, so...

...dave

 

[V-10 Killer]

Yeah, I guess I'll just have to have a pro do it then. Unless they want some stupid amount of money to do it.

 

[Willy Victor]

Oh man I used to have access to an eight foot brake in a sheet metal shop but I'm retired now. That machine could bend some heavy duty sheets.

Willy

 

[V-10 Killer]

You are talking about a VERY stout break for what you want to do. It's no surprise that DIY'ers don't have such equipment. Actually since Pete Arnold closed his operation in Midland you will probably have to take your material to Ithaca, MI to have it bent. If you find a place closer please let me know.

I found that Modern Metal Craft on Wackerly road in Midland (almost at the intersection with Saginaw Rd, out towards Sanford) has an 8' brake, and can do it. But I called on a Saturday and couldn't get a quote. She did mention a $65 minimum though. I figure at $10/bend I'll hit that pretty easily though.

 

[Steve in Mi]

I know the business and the family. I wasn't aware they were doing any one-offs on their million plus dollar CNC machines. Maybe they picked up Pete Arnolds press break, great for one-offs and would have been a short haul (~5-6 miles). Interesting.

 

[jmh21586]

Ok, but does anyone have a smaller homemade bender?? I was looking to make one for.......... uhh... I really don't know what for, but I know I'd like to have one. And it's just funner to make stuff than it is to buy stuff.

 

[y20dth]

The guy with the home-made Hummer build his own bender:

http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25748&page=5

Looks fairly simply to duplicate...

 

[A_Pmech]

That bend is going to take a press brake or a large powered leaf brake. In either case, the machine is in the 10,000lb to 20,000lb range.

 

[Mickey O]

I made one a long time ago, it's gone, got a real brake, sold it, that's gone, currently I have a very small store bought HVAC one, I'd like another home made one. On my old one I used a hydraulic bottle jack and a piece of pipe up to a piece of flat steel on a piece of wood going across several ceiling joists so I could use it as a finger brake and to prevent flex, you could use several bottle jacks for wider/longer pieces. But for what you're trying to do I'd bring to a shop with a brake or find a building with large heavy duty doors, bend it in the door and run.

 

[djjsr]

I got a 40" brake from HF. Not homemade but cheap. Works pretty good.

 

[jmh21586]

The guy with the home-made Hummer build his own bender:

http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25748&page=5

Looks fairly simply to duplicate...

I knew I had saw it before but just couldn't remember where.
Thanks.

 

[lilredex]

The guy with the home-made Hummer build his own bender:

http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25748&page=5

Looks fairly simply to duplicate...

Was looking around in the attic here, to check out a few people who haven't been active in a long, long time. This post about a Montrealer that turned an F150 into a Hummer, with INCREDIBLE fabrication skills, some how got past me the first time around, but is worth a second look.

Lots of reading without active pictures.........but, the pictures are here:

http://www.techeblog.com/elephant/photo.phtml?post_key=164259&photo_key=76005

 

[PCO6]

Thanks for bringing this back. I saw it the first time around ... and am amazed all over again!