New the metal press break .. help/info?

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Histarting to use the press break at work, a very large on, not computerized at allI was curious to know if anyone had any tips, hints or tricks to getting accurate bends and also if anyone knew of any books or tools that would greatly help in this process, angle finder , etcThanks very much in advance and is greatly appreciatedTy
Reply:The one I used to run was hard to get repeat bends as there's so many variables. The grain of the plate, tonnage setting on the machine, width of plate, thickness variations from plate to plate (even on the same plate sometimes). Usual die width is 8x the plate thickness. Once I found a setting that worked, i.e. stroke and tonnage, I wrote it down and used it as a basis for starting when I ran into the same requirements again. Make sure your top and bottom dies are parallel as well as straight (shimming along the length might be necessary). Do not stand over the top of the material being bent, should it break you're gonna loose a few teeth (if you're lucky). If you're making multiple bends in the same piece be sure you can get it in or more importantly get it out of the machine when you're done ( ask me how I know  ).Do not attempt to bend fingers, they won't, it hurts and the blood is a bi$$ch to get off the plate.Never having used a newer one that actually measures the bends I can just imagine it would be heaven.....Mike