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