Sheet metal shear/press brake

[VideoFlyer]

I plan to build a plane from plans and am going to purchase some tools. I
would like to have a sheet metal shear and bending brake. I would like to be
able to cut across a 48 inch sheet of aluminum. I found a 52 inch foot shear
at the Harbor Freight web site for about $900. But for about $70 more, I can
get a combination shear, press brake and slip roll. Neither one is cheap, but
they are less expensive than most. Has anyone ever used one of these combo
units? Are they any good? Am I wasting my money on anything less than a $3000
unit? I figure the unit will receive light use working predominately with
aluminum. Thanks for your input.

Dave

[Daniel]

VideoFlyer wrote...
> I plan to build a plane from plans and am going to purchase some tools. I
> would like to have a sheet metal shear and bending brake. I would like to be
> able to cut across a 48 inch sheet of aluminum. I found a 52 inch foot shear
> at the Harbor Freight web site for about $900. But for about $70 more, I can
> get a combination shear, press brake and slip roll. Neither one is cheap,
> but they are less expensive than most. Has anyone ever used one of these
> combo units? Are they any good? Am I wasting my money on anything less than
> a $3000 unit? I figure the unit will receive light use working predominately
> with aluminum. Thanks for your input.


Hi Dave,

I'm having a hard time getting your dilemma into perspective. I see
that you want to build "a plane" (singular) & expect only "light use".
Given those predicate qualifiers, I can't see spending ~$1K for a
shear or shear/brake combo. We're talking spare time building. The
time difference saved with a shear versus using snips/saws/nibblers is
notable but not great in the overall picture. When you need to cut a
strip of metal, most of your time is spent clearing the workspace,
pulling out the proper sheet, doing layout marking, tool setup,
putting away the remainder piece, etc. The actual cutting isn't all
that time consuming. As for a brake, one of the little bench top
units from HF is cheap & handy for the dinky pieces (but two blocks, a
vise & hammer do just fine). If you need to bend a long spar or
something, there are any number of homebuilt press brakes to be copied
off the web for a fraction of the cost. Not the answer you were
looking for, but I think your premise is off.

Daniel

[Corky Scott]

On 07 Oct 2003 06:11:53 GMT, (VideoFlyer) wrote:

>I plan to build a plane from plans and am going to purchase some tools. I
>would like to have a sheet metal shear and bending brake. I would like to be
>able to cut across a 48 inch sheet of aluminum. I found a 52 inch foot shear
>at the Harbor Freight web site for about $900. But for about $70 more, I can
>get a combination shear, press brake and slip roll. Neither one is cheap, but
>they are less expensive than most. Has anyone ever used one of these combo
>units? Are they any good? Am I wasting my money on anything less than a $3000
>unit? I figure the unit will receive light use working predominately with
>aluminum. Thanks for your input.
>
>Dave


When I needed to cut a sheet of aluminum that long, I laid it down on
the floor (indoor/outdoor carpeting) after I made sure it was vacuumed
and clean, and used a long stiff straightedge to gouge a line using a
carpenters knife. I kept going over the line again and again untill
it was deeply scribed.

Then I lifted the sheet up, bent it at that line using the
straightedge as a fulcrum and snapped it off. I had to dress the edge
with a file, but you pretty much have to do that anyway, regardless
the method used for cutting.

The carpenter's knife cost a lot less than a shear big enough to
handle the aluminum sheet. Took up less room too...

Corky Scott

[Rich S.]

"VideoFlyer" > wrote in message
...
> I plan to build a plane from plans and am going to purchase some tools. I
> would like to have a sheet metal shear and bending brake. I would like to
be
> able to cut across a 48 inch sheet of aluminum. I found a 52 inch foot
shear
> at the Harbor Freight web site for about $900. But for about $70 more, I
can
> get a combination shear, press brake and slip roll. Neither one is
cheap, but
> they are less expensive than most. Has anyone ever used one of these
combo
> units? Are they any good? Am I wasting my money on anything less than a
$3000
> unit? I figure the unit will receive light use working predominately with
> aluminum. Thanks for your input.

Dave...........

As others have said, you probably don't *need* it. But like me, if you
*want* a tool, any excuse will do <G>.

I have used the HF combo unit to fabricate LG fairings. It worked well in
all three guises. The important thing here is to wait until HF has a sale on
the model you want. You can easily get it for 30, 40, even 50% off the
regular price and get free shipping, too.

Rich "He who dies with the most tools wins" S.

[Leanne]

> Rich "He who dies with the most tools wins" S.

He who dies with the most tools is dead. Then the widow will sell them
for $.10 on the dollar so she can get them the hell out of the garage.

Leanne

[Rich S.]

"Leanne" > wrote in message
...
> > Rich "He who dies with the most tools wins" S.
>
> He who dies with the most tools is dead. Then the widow will sell them
> for $.10 on the dollar so she can get them the hell out of the garage.
>
> Leanne

She'll sell them to get cash to buy beer and moon pies for the hillbilly
that's sitting in the lazy-boy watchin' the big screen an hour after the
funeral.

Rich "Will she miss me when I'm gone?" S.

[Rick Pellicciotti]

"Leanne" > wrote in message
...
> > Rich "He who dies with the most tools wins" S.
>
> He who dies with the most tools is dead. Then the widow will sell them
> for $.10 on the dollar so she can get them the hell out of the garage.
>
> Leanne
>
And thus perpetuate the race when the surplus stuff is bought by the guy
that was dragged out to the yard sales by his wife.

Rick

[Bob Kuykendall]

I can't answer your specific question regarding the combo machine. But
I can contribute some small bits of info:

* Be sure to check Enco (http://www.use-enco.com) for similar machines
at similar prices. I've found that their metalworking machines are
about the same as Harbor Fright, but the customer service is a little
better.

* In 1999 I bought the standard Enco 48" pan brake and 52" foot shear.
It is great having them. Just about every time I go to the shop I end
up needing to slice out or bend some chunk of metal or other. Even
though I'm working more and more with composites, it's amazing how how
handy it can be to whip up some quick metal parts. I think that if you
have them, you'll find ways to keep them in use.

* The big thing for me is that they are both fairly large machines,
and take up a handful of room. So I'd suggest you check their
footprints against your workspace and make sure you really have room
for them. That consideration alone is sort of a vote in favor of the
combo machine.

* Most standard pan brakes are relatively useless with 2024-T3 over
about .020" thick because the have no provision for getting a good
inside radius. I solved that problem by having the local heavy-duty
metal shop (they specialize in Tempest chassis and prison furniture)
make me three nesting radius shoes out of 1/16" steel on their
zillion-ton press brake. The inside one has a radius of about 1/16",
the middle one 1/8", and the outer one is about 3/16". I have to
fiddle around with the setback when I change them, but I get nice
bends with no cracks.

I hope that helps a little.

Thanks, and best regards to all

Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com