when adding gussetts to the build your own sheetmetal brake as described by just steve would it be better to add triangulr shaped gussets as shown in the bottom drawing or could a person cut pieces of strap and weld them in as shown in the top?
the more I think about it, if the strap would work could a person cut a piece the same length as the angle and weld it in essentially "boxing" the angle? that would saving cutting a bunch of individual gussets?? thanks-
I'm not sure of the engineering or physics behind it, but the SCTA rules for Bonneville INSIST that the gussets not go all the way into the corner. Their illustrations don't have the gusset shown as thin as your strap, but they say your other illustration of the full gusset wouldn't pass tech. Can anybody out there explain the reasoning?
why do you need to pass tech on a metal break?? you can't race it. I think the second gusset type would be just fine.
for what your doing any of the mentioned methods would do the trick. as for the full gusset passing tech i used to know the reason but my brain won't let go of it so i can tell you. there is a technical reason why it is not as strong. it might have to do with being able to flex a little but like i said. the brain thing.
If you weld the triangle gussets in every so many inches you still have lots of room to get your C-clamps on there. If you weld the strap in full length, no room for C-clamps. I'm always needing to clamp onto mine when I use it for some odd shape (homemade too). alchemy
I thought exactly that same thing later after the post! My main reason for wanting to use the strap rather than triangular gussets was to save the hassle of having to cut and form many little triangles. Maybe I could place gaps every so often in the stap for clamps?? Thanks for the input, that is a problem I probably might not have discovered till it was too late!
The roll cage gusset thing I am not real sure about, but having an open corner stops the build up of crud in that area, which left uncleaned, if the gusset went all the way into the corner can lead to rust, especially if you have run on the salt. It's amazing where that salt can accumulate. Just my thoughts and from experience with build up of salt on our race car and my coupe
Dan, how wide of a capacity are you building? As for the SCTA-BNI rules, they don't want you to use a gusset that reaches the corner because that can cause a stress riser at the corner. That's all.
Dan -- I think the long strap would make a stronger piece, but you also got Alchemy's point. Maybe leave 3 or 4 2-inch gaps in it, and you'd be set. Let me know how yours works! Steve.
I know this is close to 5 years old but its all I can find on build your own brake. Any one have pictures and plans?
Here is one that I built. It is a 4' model that I have bent 16 ga. steel on. But you had better have eaten your Wheaties before you try that by yourself. I have some drawings of it.
the tech that Just Steve did is in the Tech Archive . i built two of them from his basic plans and they work great. here it is: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2048
There are 8 pages of drawings that I have so far and there probably needs to be a couple more. I don't know how to post them so that it won't take a ton of space on this forum. I'd guess that it needs to be turned into a PDF file that can be downloaded, but I don't know how to do that. Here is a photo that shows the parts for the end assemblies. The rest is pretty much bar stock with drilled holes. This tool is probably overkill for most home shops. I tried to incorporate most of the features that you would find if you bought an industrial model.
GAB-KC, I have some pics of your brake saved from when you posted on another forum, but I couldn't remember where I'd gotten them. Thanks for sharing! I've been wanting to ask you a couple questions...mostly, what are the material sizes for the bed, the leaf, and the upper beam? How did you go about machining the bottom of the upper beam? Clamp to an angle plate in a milling machine? And...does it bend 16 gauge sharply in the center? I wondered about that because there aren't any truss rods... I am thinking about building a brake along the same lines. Thanks!
Can I ask what you guys are using for the 'knife" that does the actual contact bend with the stock you're braking? Thanks!
Graham08, The bed, clamp bar and leaf are all made of 3/8" x 6" hot rolled bar stock. There are 3 pieces that are 49-3/8" long and one that is 51-3/8". There is some corner notching and hole drilling and tapping to be done on these along with grinding the 45° angle on the clamp bar. There is additionally a piece of 1/2" x 2" cold rolled bar stock that is 48-3/8" long that has holes drilled and countersunk. Also a piece of 1/4" x 2" cold rolled bar stock 48-1/8" that gets a 45° bevel on it along with drilled and countersunk holes. Additionally, there are 2 pieces of angle iron necessary for the unit. A piece of 1/4" x 2-1/2" that is 48-1/8" long for one and a piece of 1/4" x 1-1/2" by 48-3/8" for the other. Ranunculous, The bottom of the clamp bar and the edge of the knife bar were done with a hand body grinder for roughing out and then a 12" disc sander for finishing. I clamped the bar to a piece of large angle iron for maintaining the angle. Going slow and checking often with a straight edge is how I did the one shown. I've also done it on a Bridgeport.
Thanks for the info! Last dumb question, I promise. Where do the 1/2" x 2" CR and the 1/4" x 2 1/2" angle go? I'm assuming the 1/4" x 2" CR goes on the bottom of the clamp bar due to the bevel, and the 1/4" x 1-1/2" angle is the apron angle shown in the pic. Thanks again!
Dude, you rule! Thank you very much. I want to build a brake like this, I really like that yours has a lot of setback adjustment so you can use a decent size radius bar with it. I will post some pics when I get it done.
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