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vintage metal brake

1930

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Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
2,808
Location
Florida
Im looking for a vintage metal brake, have very little experience with these things, do not know what makes one better than another, dont want a Harbor freight model type, would like a quality piece.

Any suggestions on where I should be looking, what I should be looking for.

Nothing huge, maybe 36 inch max ( maybe )
 
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yaidunno

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Feb 10, 2011
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1,336
Location
WI
Dreis & krump (Chicago) will offer one of the nicest breaks out there. DiAcro and Pexto both make very nice 24" brakes, if you could afford to go down in width. What gauge material are you looking to fold? These wont be on the cheap side. Expect to pay $1000-3000 depending on size and condition.
 

countryroad82

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Mar 18, 2011
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3,447
Location
Kentucky
Mainly when you go to look at one, take a couple pieces of sheetmetal with you to check that it's not going to chew your folds up due to being jacked up somewhere. It will also give you an idea if it will clamp right, bend correctly, etc. Mine needs a little TLC, it's an old Diarco that was getting ready to be thrown away for scrap. But it makes bends and it was free!
 
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OP
1

1930

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May 18, 2011
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2,808
Location
Florida
Sorry that I had forgotten that I had even made this post, thanks for the replies, just now reading them.
 

EdT

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Sep 21, 2010
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1,104
Location
North Georgia
Depends a lot on what you want to do. You need to figure that out before you start searching. Basically, the cost goes up with the width of the machine and the thickness it will bend. If you look on ebay under PEXTO, DiAcro, Dries and Crump and few others you can get an idea of what prices run. If you scour Craig's list every day you might get lucky. I did, picking up a nice 24" DiAcro finger break for $250. Against market price, that was a good deal, but it took a lot of searching. Compared to other areas of the country, Florida is not going to be overflowing with surplus manufacturing equipment. That said, you only need one and I'm sure that, somewhere in Florida, there's one of whatever you need for sale right now. If you're determined to get a US made machine, brace yourself for some sticker shock whether used or new. DiAcro is still in business and makes some nice stuff, but IIR their 12" finger break is something north of $1000 and used ones aren't a lot cheaper. School auctions are a good place to pick up some of this stuff too. School machines fall into two groups; fairly abused and seldom touched. A break is likely to be in the first group so do some research to find out what can go wrong. I'd guess that the most common problem with a break would be that some budding genius decided to try bending a piece of 1/4" plate and ended up bending the tool instead. Pretty easy to detect if you know what to look for.
 

theoldwizard1

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Feb 22, 2011
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43,478
Location
SE MI
Inspect all cast parts closely of cracks. Use brake cleaner and rags to clean any suspect areas. Many old brakes and shear have been abused and have cracks.
 
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