Home Made Sheet Metal Brake

[nashville_bill]

I needed to make sills for my MGA that I'm restoring. The problem was that they need to be 53 inches long and sheet metal brakes of that size are very expensive. So, I decided to make my own brake. After a lot of research on Google, I decided to make the brake out of 4" x 1/4" angle iron, 60" wide.

After a trip to the local steel yard, and buying a new MIG welder, I made the brake in the attached pictures. It mounts to my workbench with two 1/2" bolts that were welded to the brake. The handle is removable, and I added trusses to prevent the center from bending when stressed. It is capable of 120 degree bends and should be able to bend 16 gauge metal.

 

[ghnl]

Nice. Now we need some photos of your MGA - before, during, after - we like them all.

 

[txvwnut]

That brake turned out nice.

 

[bonneyman]

That brake turned out nice.

Heck yeah it did!

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Very good brake. Mine was similar but 48" mounted to my rolling bench. Did 16ga sheet. Used to make the drawers on my first workbech/toolbox.

The challenge I found with my setup was securing my workpiece during bending so that it would not scoot back, this helped achieve an accurate, smallest radius bend possible. The best method was using a backstop to buttress the workpiece vs clamping it to the work surface.

Good luck with your project.

Edit: I used 1/4" angle, 4"x4" (?) If I remember right. Instead of the bracing I used 2"x strap to triangulate/box the backside of bending piece.

 

[oldgoaly]

One major change I made in my sills that I made was the "L" pc of 16 gauge I made a Z more like a 7 with weld flanges This stiffens the body a lot! Yes it has a full frame but so much stronger then original and less than 10 pounds more weight. Did this 25+ years ago. I let 2 "german car guys" carry it "oh we might twist it up" I laughed! Those 2 weaklings worked up a sweat trying to twist it. One came back and asked me to make his Vw rampside (corvair term) so it wouldn't bend like all the others. Btw he is a structural engineer, hehehe I do miss driving the MGA, my back doesn't miss the seats!

 

[nashville_bill]

Thanks for all of your replies. I've added a picture showing more detail of the brake and one of the MGA. The completed MGA is still a long time away.

 

[Jazz1]

Nice brAke. Used grader blades can be sourced at scrapyards and are excellent for building brakes capable of heavier gauge and length.

 

[larry4406]

nashville bill - nice job on the bending brake.

Did you grind the hold down angle such that it was parallel with the other angle faces?

What are the bolts behind the hold down angle? Back stop adjustment?

Also - use of nuts for the hinges is pretty clever.

 

[nashville_bill]

Larry,

Yes, I did grind the front of the clamp to be parallel with the stationary angle iron.

The bolts in the rear are to adjust the position of the clamp, so it can't be pushed back when bending.

Thanks for your comment about the nuts; I saw a post from someone saying that the simplest way to make the hinge was to use bolts and nuts, so I thought I would try it. I used 1/2", but would advise 3/4" for anyone making a heave duty brake.

 

[emeraldcoupe]

that's awesome, nice job