Harbor freight bending brake 18"vs30"

[90zcar]

Which harbor freight bending brakes do you guys have. Only reason I'm asking is do you think the 30" is capable of bending a 25-30" wide piece of 20g sheet metal or at that width does it become a little too much for it to handle.
I have used the smaller 18" one and noticed wider pieces of 18-20g would start to strain it a little.

Also what do you remember paying for yours? The 18" is $37.99 and the 30" is $57.99




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[rsanter]

Doubt it. I had a similar one years ago. It was worthless
There are some DIY plans for ones that will work better than that one

Bob

 

[arrowhead]

I just picked up a 30" with a 20% off coupon. I tried bending a piece about 18" long of 18 gauge. The parts and pieces are just not stiff enough to bend it. But it was worth getting as I can weld up some reinforcing on the clamp and bending bars to stiffen it up and add some permanent clamps at the ends and I think it will work just fine for my needs.

 

[90zcar]

I just picked up a 30" with a 20% off coupon. I tried bending a piece about 18" long of 18 gauge. The parts and pieces are just not stiff enough to bend it. But it was worth getting as I can weld up some reinforcing on the clamp and bending bars to stiffen it up and add some permanent clamps at the ends and I think it will work just fine for my needs.

Yeah. I'm wondering if it's better to build my own or just get this one and modify it to suit my needs


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[90zcar]

Well I was over at my local hf today. I will not be getting the 18" unit as it is TINY!
Was most likely going to get the 30" one but they didn't have any in stock. I will go over this weekend. Looks like a nice unit for the price. I may add a piece of angle iron to the top clamping plate for more rigidity and most likely run a bolt down through on each end instead of using c clamps.


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[Corndoggeh]

I was curious about the 30in brake as well since I have some projects that will be bending .05" aluminum. Would the 30in handle that thickness at 30 inches?

 

[crguy]

Buy a DiAcro 16 GA brake and you'll have no problem.

 

[90zcar]

Yeah sure I'll get right on that!!


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[BD1]

I bought a used HF 36'' for $75.00 and did do 24'' wide 20 gauge.
http://www.harborfreight.com/36-in-metal-brake-with-stand-62335.html

They do have a 25% off coupon for Mother's Day.

 

[royesses]

I've used the 18" for 16 gauge with good results. Funny thing is on 22 gauge it had a hard time. The most important thing is clamping down the tapered bending bar and workpiece. It takes a pair of very strong c-clamps to hold the parts in alignment while bending. That is where the 22 gauge problem was. Drilling and pinning the bending bar would help a lot. The 18" would not do the job for you.

 

[90zcar]

Yeah that's the problem with the 18". By the time u drill holes you are going to lose a couple inches so you would end up with only 15" or so available space


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[chris142]

Our 30inch one broke the first time we used it.

 

[crguy]

Yeah sure I'll get right on that!!


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Go ahead and buy the HF **** - then you can spend the rest of the time you own it apologizing for it.

 

[90zcar]

Our 30inch one broke the first time we used it.

What broke on it?


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[bmxdad]

Go ahead and buy the HF **** - then you can spend the rest of the time you own it apologizing for it.

For $7K , you could buy a lot of HF **** .... just saying.

 

[90zcar]

Go ahead and buy the HF **** - then you can spend the rest of the time you own it apologizing for it.

If I was using a brake every day or making a living with it sure....but making a couple bends every now and then in sheetmetal doesn't warrant a couple hundred dollar item.


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[justanengineer]

Buy a DiAcro 16 GA brake and you'll have no problem.

+1. The 36" Pexto I had until I moved weighed ~300 lbs without a stand, the 30" HF weighs 30 lbs according to the website. One will break, one won't. One will depreciate to nearly nothing the minute you leave the store, the other has a good chance of appreciating if bought correctly.

 

[arrowhead]

For all the HF hates I have no need / space or extra cash for a permanent floor mounted brake so this one will do just fine.

Yeah that's the problem with the 18". By the time u drill holes you are going to lose a couple inches so you would end up with only 15" or so available space

I'm thinking a welding a nut on the outside of the brackets and then run a stiffener all the way across welded to the top plate that extends past the end with clamping screws on each end. Something like that anyway.

 

[txvwnut]

I've got a couple of those styles of brakes, not bought from HF. My opinion is they're worthless. I haven't been able to get a good bend out of anything except poster board, and even that wasn't anything to brag about. You have to use c-clamps to attach the holding bar to the base, I drilled and tapped mine for 1/4-20 bolts but for shorter pieces I still had to use a c-clamp as the holding bar is just too weak. The bending bar flexes every time you try to make a full length bend or really any bend so you won't end up with a nice clean bend as you'll probably have to finish by hand. If your looking for a metal brake and have a HF budget get their floor model that is shown in post 9 or get one of their 3-in-1 metal machines you can mount on a bench.

 

[90zcar]

For all the HF hates I have no need / space or extra cash for a permanent floor mounted brake so this one will do just fine.







I'm thinking a welding a nut on the outside of the brackets and then run a stiffener all the way across welded to the top plate that extends past the end with clamping screws on each end. Something like that anyway.

That's not a bad idea either. For the bending plate I think any flex could be taken care of by welding a piece of angle on the backside of it


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[crguy]

For all you HF bottom feeders, and apologizers, think about this: If you only need something bent once or twice a year, you could go to a sheet metal shop and get it done right for less than the cost of a worthless HF bender.

 

[arrowhead]

For all you HF bottom feeders, and apologizers, think about this: If you only need something bent once or twice a year, you could go to a sheet metal shop and get it done right for less than the cost of a worthless HF bender.

WOW dude lighten up. Why would you wast your time on a clearly title HF thread just to bash anyway, you already made your point. Talk about bottom feeder.

 

[rockwithjason]

For all you HF bottom feeders, and apologizers, think about this: If you only need something bent once or twice a year, you could go to a sheet metal shop and get it done right for less than the cost of a worthless HF bender.

your opinion has been noted. come back when you have something constructive to add.

 

[rockwithjason]

i have the 30 inch version and it did a decent job on 20ga steel, not perfect but decent. when they rate it at 20ga they mean it. it doesn't like thicker material at all.

 

[90zcar]

WOW dude lighten up. Why would you wast your time on a clearly title HF thread just to bash anyway, you already made your point. Talk about bottom feeder.

Exactly. He's acting like the $30 dollar bender slept with his wife or something. Has some type of animosity towards it

Listen....it's a $30 and $50 Chinese sheet metal bender from horrible freight. I think I know what I'm dealing with and not expecting to build rocket ships with it. Simply asking about one of their products vs the other one plus possible modifications.


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[bmxdad]

Don't forget the $7000 price tag for the one he mentioned .... yikes.

 

[crguy]

Don't forget the $7000 price tag for the one he mentioned .... yikes.

BS - You can buy used ones, and box/pan models at that, for $300. - $600.

 

[ratdoggy]

How about one from Woodward Fab?
http://www.woodwardfab.com/product/wfb36-2/

 

[rsanter]

Where are you located?
I have a 48" box and pan brake I will be selling

 

[90zcar]

Near harrisburg pa


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[90zcar]

Called over today and they said they got 2 30" brakes in.
I went over and got one. I will update as I modify it. $45 out the door for the 30" one. I feel the 30" just has more overall bending area and isn't as much strain to bend something and is braced much more than the 18" one



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[90zcar]

Well I started on it. Rounded off all the corners and then welded the top inside edge of the bending plate pressing plate surface for extra strength

Next step is I cut about a half inch of the clamping plate off to clear the new welds and I got the plate layed and measured perfectly and takd it in place to drill and tap clamping bolts

More to continue


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[mikegt4]

We had a good old American iron break at work. The boss wanted new (had a spend it or lose it tool budget) and bought a HF 3 way break. Scrapped the old one and we were stuck with a real POS. It looked like a real break but it didn't work like one. More flex than a fishing rod.

IMHO, like many HF tools they are marketed to tool nubes who have never actually used a REAL piece of equipment.

 

[Corndoggeh]

We had a good old American iron break at work. The boss wanted new (had a spend it or lose it tool budget) and bought a HF 3 way break. Scrapped the old one and we were stuck with a real POS. It looked like a real break but it didn't work like one. More flex than a fishing rod.

IMHO, like many HF tools they are marketed to tool nubes who have never actually used a REAL piece of equipment.

How can you call someone a tool noob because they cant afford a 400+ brake for their at home projects?

Keep on posting 90zcar, I'd love to see how this turns out for you.

 

[bthucknall]

I've just got one of the 30" brakes and planned on doing the same things you are. keep posting pictures and what works for you.
I need to bend up some siding for a tool box I'm building, and wanted to be able to do 18 inches of 18 or 20 gauge. I did a dry run with some 24 ga and it turned out well enough after I found the right clearances for the radius I want.
I'm pretty sure I couldn't find a shop to do that work for 45 dollars, and this way I can be absolutely sure that I'm happy with what comes out.

 

[txvwnut]

Is that made of steel or aluminum? The 18" one that I have is aluminum, but I bought it from Enco.

 

[Corndoggeh]

Its made out of steel.

 

[90zcar]

We had a good old American iron break at work. The boss wanted new (had a spend it or lose it tool budget) and bought a HF 3 way break. Scrapped the old one and we were stuck with a real POS. It looked like a real break but it didn't work like one. More flex than a fishing rod.



IMHO, like many HF tools they are marketed to tool nubes who have never actually used a REAL piece of equipment.

Tool newbie?? Haha I highly doubt that. I have plenty of high end tools and a couple of cheap not so high end. I buy all my equipment/tools based on a "quality/price/amount of usage" ratio


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[90zcar]

How can you call someone a tool noob because they cant afford a 400+ brake for their at home projects?

Keep on posting 90zcar, I'd love to see how this turns out for you.

I'll get more done tomorro. Supposed to rain all day so I won't be doing much else


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[jgorm]

Swag makes some cool stuff for press brakes. http://www.swagoffroad.com/SWAG-Press-Brake-Kits_c_53.html
I have the wimpy HF bender, and it works for very thin sheet metal. It has it's purpose.