homemade sheetmetal brake

​Ive always wanted a sheet metal brake, but never really had the room to store such a big piece of equipment. Well, now that i have a decent workshop, and a pretty big project to work on (the bronco rebuild) i decided it was time to get one. But, didnt want a big press taking up space, so i decided to try and build a smaller compact press. So this is what i came up with:

One piece of 3" angle iron bolted to bench top, with a 2" piece of angle iron attached to that via 2 4" hinges. Both are 36" wide, which gives me 28" between the hinges. Thats got to be plenty big. The 2 ½" bolts secure it to the bench.

​So this is the basic motion. Those 2 3/8" studs sticking up with springs on them, will hold another piece of 2x¼" angle iron, which serves as the jaw that clamps the sheet metal in place

​Some slight trimming of the jaw to clear the hinges. Wing nuts to clamp it down w/o needing any special tools, and the springs will lift it back up when loosened to remove the piece or put another in.

​On the underside of the hinged piece of angle iron, is 2 pieces of pipe welded in place, for a pair of handles made out of ¾" bar stock

​test bend!

​​Removed from bench for 'storage' (actually i was cleaning). The handles fit under the clamping jaw for storage.

​Set back up, and im now ready to resume work on the bronco!

​Looks like its gonna work just fine!

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