Bending Steel Sheets

admin

Some guidance please.  I need to bend some 11ga mild steel sheets.  Sizes range from 18"x36" to 12"x12".  In some cases I want to bend on a straight line to about 30 degrees and in other cases I want to bend on an arc.  I've looked at some bending brakes but they seem to only go up to 16ga steel.  I also looked at the Harbor Freight standing model that says it goes to 12ga.  My need to do this is only a couple times/year so I don't want to invest $$$$ if possible.  Any suggestion on what I should look at to do this would be appreciated.  This is a great forum.  Thanks for the help.Jack
Reply:Pay to have it done. You will be a lot happier in the long run.Sure, they make brakes to do this- either manual leaf brakes, like my Chicago 4 foot finger brake- about 7 grand, new, usually at least 3 grand used, and not easy to find- or press brakes- hydraulic ones, new, run well over 10 grand, used at least 5, occasionally, depending on where you live, you can get a deal on an ancient mechanical press brake- still a few thousand dollars, will weigh 3 or 4 tons, and need 3 phase power.Arcs- you mean rolled? again, big rolls are made of big, heavy pieces of steel. My turkish made 4 foot rolls will do 11 ga- they cost 5 grand new, 6 or 8 years ago, I think about 7 grand now. And American made models go for twice that. Heavy, big, 3 phase- there is no way around weight, mass, and expense when you are talking about moving metal.So to do what you want, Used, even at really good prices, its thousands of dollars.Whereas in most places, there is a shop that will do this for you for not much. I have a shop down the road from me that has a good half million invested in machines- 75 bucks an hour, and they will roll or bend up to 1 1/4" thick, by 12 feet wide for me- its a bargain. That cheezy harbor freight stuff is not really even good for 16 ga- they stretch the specs just a bit. The heavy duty stuff is a joy to own, but if you arent doing it often, and dont have the big paying jobs, its hardly worth it.Like this- http://www.americanmachinetools.com/hand_brake.htm
Reply:You can make a homemade brake. I made one out of heavy C-channel. It works good, but I have not bent 11ga sheet. I have bent 1/8 bar stock strap no problem. These plans are good. I modded mine a little for extra strength. Nice little welding project. I have about 20.00 in scrap on this thing.Here is a pic of some alum sheet.
Reply:For what you're wanting to do I'd have to agree with Ries.... for the minimal cost of having it done for you it's not worth the trouble of fabbing something up especially for a limited amount of use._________________Chris
Reply:Where are you located? someone may be able to recommend a local shop..
Reply:Thanks very much for the replies.  I think I would like to try making a bending brake.  Always looking for a good welding project.  While I appreciate the suggestion of taking it somewhere to have it bent, I would like to do it in my shop to have control over any last minute modifications.There are many plans for metal brakes on the internet.  Anyone know of any plan that "stands out" above the rest?  Thinking of making it capable of handling an 18" wide piece and beefing up the design to handle 11ga steel.Thanks againJack
Reply:See next post.Last edited by Weldordie; 02-26-2007 at 09:58 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by jabramsThanks very much for the replies.  I think I would like to try making a bending brake.  Always looking for a good welding project.  While I appreciate the suggestion of taking it somewhere to have it bent, I would like to do it in my shop to have control over any last minute modifications.There are many plans for metal brakes on the internet.  Anyone know of any plan that "stands out" above the rest?  Thinking of making it capable of handling an 18" wide piece and beefing up the design to handle 11ga steel.Thanks againJack
Reply:Hinges are easy to beef up.  The difficulty is controlling the flex in the middle of the brake over a long span of metal.   I don't think you will have too much difficulty building a brake for 11gx18" and narrower.Take pictures of harbor freight and beef everything up.  What about a H-frame press with dies?
Reply:Here are some photos of my brake.  I built the hinge, so I could dismantle the brake to its component parts in case I needed to beef it up, but so far, it hasn't been necessary. Attached Images
Reply:Neat and simple design, how does it clamp down - with the bolts?John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Thanks to all who responded and Weldordie - thanks for the great photos.  I've started to layout the design.Jack
Reply:Hey Jack, I'd love to see what you come up with as you move along.  I also am interested in building a brake.Thanks  Brian MoyerMoyer Welding & Fabrication       LaSalle MI
Reply:I wonder if a log splitter could be used as a basis for a hydraulic power brake ?  use a small angle for male/female dies-welded to something solid under the cylender- just for narrow pieces like the 18" discussed here.
Reply:Originally Posted by MicroZoneNeat and simple design, how does it clamp down - with the bolts?
Reply:Correction:  plural of leaf is leaves, not leafs.  Damn, has it really been that long, since I took spelling in school.  And, what happened to spellcheck?
Reply:Does anyone have pictures of step by step bending? I see the machine, but I don't get how it operates. Pardon me for not seeing the obvious.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11Does anyone have pictures of step by step bending? I see the machine, but I don't get how it operates. Pardon me for not seeing the obvious.
Reply:Originally Posted by Joker11Does anyone have pictures of step by step bending? I see the machine, but I don't get how it operates. Pardon me for not seeing the obvious.
Reply:weldordie     Thats some super good stuff there.......   A welding project for me ?   This is a must .    Thanks for your detailed pics and instructions.   I'm going to add this to my project list.   As far as the advise on pay to have it done?   Yeah thats good advice as I found this out for me saving time and money w/ certain cuts. weld it like you own it
Reply:Well, NOW I get it. You are bending UP rather than down. Now you can see why I didn't get it. I just ASSumed the bend would be down since, well, I don't know, it made sense to me to bend down.Now the design is clear to me. Thanks.So, assuming that you could make the brake out of something beefier and you had Arnold's arms, you could conceivably bend something larger than 20gauge tin? what are the limitations? Who has the largest brake on this site? Let's exclude huge industrial machines....let's keep it under 10 grand. I just want to know what we have.Thanks guys!Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain
Reply:Well, my 12 ga finger brake is pretty big- it weighs in at just over 2000lbs, an even ton. 12 ga, or just under 1/8", is the biggest that commercial manufacturers have ever tried to make hand operated brakes.Over 12 ga, and they add motors. Chicago made motorised leaf brakes that will bend up to 3/4" plate- but they cost around a hundred grand, weigh as much as 57,000lbs, and use 25hp motors.12 ga, though is the top end for hand operated stuff.Roper Whitney, Tennsmith, National, and Chicago all make hand operated 4 foot brakes for that thickness. They tend to cost about 4 grand and up, new. You could certainly make your own- but it would be a major job- the forces involved tend to go up exponentially, which means twice the thickness requires 4 times the force- so doubling the weights and thicknesses of the materials is not enough.My 12 ga brake is mostly made from 1/2 and thicker steel. 1" bolts on all the adjustments. As I said, it weighs a ton.
Reply:That, right there, is some great information! Thanks!I just ordered a press brake from GreatPlains that is small. It has a 29inch width and is made for a 40ton shop press. I ordered a 50ton shop press that I am waiting for delivery on. Now what I am going to do if I want to bend something wider than the limits of this press brake? Sounds like a good time for a new project! I wish I would have had this setup years ago when I was bending 2inch wide x 3/8 flatstock repeatedly. Thanks guys! You always help me out with my questions.Lincoln Power Mig 210MP MIGLincoln Power Mig 350MP - MIG and Push-PullLincoln TIG 300-300Lincoln Hobby-Weld 110v  Thanks JLAMESCK TIG TORCH, gas diffuser, pyrex cupThermal Dynamics Cutmaster 101My brain