2 1/2" 1/4" wall sq tube strong enough for press brake

admin

My press brake that i built out of scraps finally came apart, I got some 2 1/2" 1/4" wall square tube. Would that be strong enough for my uprights/sides of the brake? I had 2x3 1/8" wall on the old one, it was not what failed. I am using a 20 ton jack for it.
Reply:I think a picture of the failure would help people to respond.
Reply:Not real sure if these are clear or not, look blurry to me, but so does everything else tonight  Im thinking of maybe just building it alot bigger and going with a bigger ram, maybe porta power type setup. I  have to heat stuff up alot to get it to bend. I had some 3/8" x 12 bar in it when it broke. I thought i had it hot enough, guess not. Attached Images
Reply:Your uprights are in tension and should be strong enough. The problem is with the top cross  beam . Replace the flat plates with channel or straighten the flat plates and put the square tube across the top also to prevent twisting.
Reply:Im scraping the old one, its not wide enough anyway. thinking of maybe using a couple enerpac rams, I got 2 25ton rams.
Reply:Remember that the size of the opening in the bottom die will determine the force required to bend a given gage. The rule is that the opening should be 8 times the material thickness up to 1/2" and 10 times for heavier gages.
Reply:I'm thinking that if the top was boxed from the get go it would not have failed like that..Just my .02...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:It probably wouldn't have, the base is tweeked also, i built it out of scraps, the next will be alot stronger with an interchangeable bottom die. I got a bunch for 3/4"x4" 1"x3", and 3/4"x6"  flat bars to work with, I need to order a few more pieces before I get started on it.