Just as some of you want to make your own sheet metal bender, there are also those who want to do a homemade box and pan brake. And why not? The basis for it is the same as for a diy sheet metal brake, so it should be possible. I have a few ideas to how this could be done. Read below.

First, make the bed of the brake. This should be a relatively heavy piece of flat steel. A half inch thick and maybe two inches across – and as long as you want to be able to bend sheet metal. Remember, the bed should be basically be ridgid and completely level more than anything else. Now get another heavy, flat bar of steel. This could be something like one inch thick and perhaps four across, and again as long as the bed – or slightly shorter. This is your bending leaf. It could now be hinged to the underside of the bed, so that the side which is one inch thick is parallel to the top of the bed, when the bending leaf is not in use.

So far what we have might as well be the beginning of an ordinary sheet metal brake, but the next part is different. The fingers of this box and pan brake may be the tricky part of this. Again you need flat steel bar, which should be maybe a half inch thick and as wide as you want the fingers to be. Use a length of maybe 10 inches or so, and grind one end to a bevel of at least 45 degrees. Now weld two medium-sized threaded bolts to the side of the finger which has the bevel at one end. One bolt in the middle of the finger, and one bolt at the opposite end of the bevel. You now have your finished finger. What you have left, is to make a bracket which must be attached to the bed and angled upwards so that its angle is the same as that of the finger, when the finger is standing with its bevel facing down on the bed. Drill holes in the bracket which correspond to the bolts welded to the finger. You can now bolt the finger tightly to the bracket – enough to hold steady a piece of sheet metal between then finger and the bed. You also have your clamping leaf which you can bend upwards on its hinges, and bend sheet metal to a degree close to the angle of the finger

This is maybe the simplest possible solution to the problem. It does not make for fast setup or fast work, but it is easy to make. If you need other widths of fingers, you can either make different ones, or several of one width. The last solution would require more brackets on the bed of course.

Category: Box And Pan Brake

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