Harbor freight bending brake 18"vs30"

[ADSR]

Watching

 

[90zcar]

Well the wife had other plans today so all I got done was drilled and tapd my work bench for 4 hold down bolts. Also picked up a long turnbuckle which I'm going to weld to the end for an angle/depth stop




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[Corndoggeh]

Were the welds originally looking too weak or did you decide to just beef it up?

 

[90zcar]

Actually there were no welds at all where I welded it. It's only welded on the bottom sides


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[90zcar]

Got a little done this morning. Got all the holes drilled on the brake and tapped them for 3/8-16 bolts. I then drilled the clamping plate to 7/16 to give a little bit of play so I can shift the plate around according to sheet metal thickness. I threw a piece of 18g in there quickly and tightened the bolts down slightly just to get an idea on things.




Tomorrow hopefully I'm going to weld some nuts on the bottom of where I tapped holes on the brake. This way I can really crank down the bolts and not worry about stripping out the threads I tapped on the 3/16 steel.
Also I'm going to weld on the turnbuckle but for my angle depth stop it's going to have


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[firworks]

Interesting build so far. Looks like it can get a fairly crisp bend. The sheet metal brake I have makes a radiused corner always because of the design. It is a handmade jobby I got from a garage sale for 20$ along with a big old tube radio. I don't really use it because of that but this thread has me thinking I should pull it back out of the shed and see if I can make some modifications to get it working better!

 

[90zcar]

Like I said.....I literally just threw that piece of 18g in there and folded her up. With adjustments and it could be made even crisper or more radiused


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[bmxdad]

Take that nay sayers ...

Nice job on the mods. What about some angle iron on the top plate? Wouldn't that help on keeping it flat when clamping?

 

[ADSR]

That looks like a pretty tight bend.

 

[90zcar]

Take that nay sayers ...

Nice job on the mods. What about some angle iron on the top plate? Wouldn't that help on keeping it flat when clamping?

I did actually think of taking a smaller piece of angle and welding it to the top of the clamping plate but at this point I don't plan on it. Once I'm all finished with it and actually make some legit bends I'll know for sure.
Also once I weld the nuts on the bottom of it I'll really be able to go balls to the wall when tightening the top plate down


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[90zcar]

Got the nuts welded on the backside. Now I have well over a 1/2" of thread to really clamp down on the sheet metal. No slipping over here!



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[90zcar]

Well here's the final product. Got the angle stop welded on. Need to get a much longer bolt to go in it. Cleaned it all up and sprayed some acid etch black on it. I think it's gonna be a nice little piece of equipment. $45 for it and I put in another $5 for misc. bolts and things for it. It's pretty much fail proof now and going to do what it needs to do.
Enjoy




The clamping plate is still drying that's why it isn't in the pics


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[Virgil Cain]

Nice job.

 

[Carves]

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

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

Well the wife had other plans today so all I got done was drilled and tapd my work bench for 4 hold down bolts. Also picked up a long turnbuckle which I'm going to weld to the end for an angle/depth stop

Keep the improvements coming ..



I got given one of the things a while back,
... I presume a HF is the same as a Millers Falls ..


Intend to use it for some toolbox dividers/socket trays/whatever,
... and Im waiting to see if your upgrade ideas - work out the same/similiar, as what I had planned.


... coz without beefing it up, I'm not game to stress it any more than this ..

 

[90zcar]

Thanks. If assume it's the same as yours. Chinese made for a lot of brands most likely


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[90zcar]

Finally got the right size bolt for the angle stop. Works nice



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