I am about to invest in a brake for home and was just wondering if you guys have any preferences in them in regards to the bench top models compared to floor models or the foot clamping style. Just looking for opinions and I know I can get them here! Thank you
dont mess with the bench mounted - I did a lot with a HF free standing one - it was pretty cheap IIRC
I'm going to say it may depend on what you plan to do with it and how big of panels you plan to bend. The little bench top units like the HF one I have are ok for occasional use but that one wouldn't be anything I would suggest for steady use on a daily basis. Too much fiddling and fooling getting it set up right for serious use. No more than I do with it it works and hides away when I am not using it. If I had the money and space I'd haunt Craigslist and FB marketplace for an older used Pexto or similar unit. One popped up on the local adds and lasted about a day. It was about a 4 ft unit and they had the matching shear in another add. Not cheap but a real good price on both for someone who could actually use them on a regular basis, When I can catch my buddy at home when his girlfriend isn't dragging him off around the country He has at least one of every type of metal working tools known to man in his shop and a nice brake and shear sitting there. He also has the skills to fab anything made of metal.
This is the one I had https://www.harborfreight.com/36-in-metal-brake-with-stand-62518.html for the $$$ you're talking about you could get a "finger" box and pan style brake - Try Baileigh, they seem to have good stuff at decent prices....
GEZ I would get a used Pexto or Niagara and a 4' not an 8'. Used 8 footers tend to be really used and bent. A finger brake is useful for making boxes. You don't list your area, I wouldn't want to ship one. Pat
I saw a bunch of brakes over on that facebook marketplace last night. Might look at that in your area.
not asking where to find one just what the guys that use them regularly use and experience with the different styles
I am currently looking as well and have pretty much come to the conclusion that the 48" 16 gauge box and pan brakes will do 99% of what I would ever need done. I would love a magnetic brake but they are ridiculously priced.
You could also build one; do a search engine for Dave Gingery's Shop From Scrap series. One of his books details building a sheet metal brake.
3 foot brakes are cheap. 4 foot brakes get expensive. It is nice to not have to cut the material to fit the brake. I also noticed they get much heavier. 4 foot takes 2 guys to move. It takes a lot to bend that extra foot of material. I recently got a HF brake like mentioned above. It has worked nice for what I needed so far. I can move it around the shop as needed. That can be a plus at times.
If bending 16 gauge your going to want a 8 foot brake. My 4 foot grizzly will bend 18 gauge if it's not very long. They are rated for it but not full length of brake. I have the pan and box brake. More useful . If you need a big piece of 16 gauge bent up talk to a local heating and cooling shop. They have the brake and won't charge much.
I'd say that the number of us who have the room for an 8 ft brake in our home shop is extremely limited and the number of us who have room for a 4 footer floor model isn't that much larger. You usually buy what you need to do most of what you do and then might upgrade when you either find or need a better piece of equipment or outgrow what you have work wise. That little 3 ft HF table top thing I have is a pain in the butt if you are in a hurry and pretty well useless for production work but it works ok for most of what I will be doing. I can take bigger projects over to my buddy or get in touch with my friend who teaches high school AG and take it out to the school shop where I would probably end up putting on a little teaching session if the students were there. That shop has some incredible Govt surplus shop equipment including an 8 ft slip roll that the previous shop teacher didn't understand how to use right.
I can honestly say, I'm glad I bought this machine. It does most of what I need and it handles 16 ga whan you need it. It truly is built to do this. I built a tube frame with casters on it, so that I can move it around. It also takes up a helluva lot less space than the 3 machines it replaces. At the time I bought it, it was about $2500, plus I got a HAMB alliance discount. https://www.baileigh.com/shear-brake-roll-sbr-5216
The problem with a press brake of any kind is you're limited to basically a 90 degree bend. It's impossible to get a much smaller bend with a sharp edge, and very tough to get repeatability if you're willing to settle for a rounded bend. Don't get me wrong, these have their uses (I've got a 3' HF version that I use regularly) but there's some things that are flat-out impossible to do with these compared to a pan or finger brake.
I would like to have something like this. https://www.baileigh.com/sheet-metal-brake-bb-4816e Box and Pan is a necessity unless you are making guttering.
With 2 to 3 grand to spend. Not sure why people are mentioning HF. Unless you buy 4 of them. Buy the biggest unit you can find. Finding someone with a 8 footer is hard to find. And using someone else`s is a pain when you have to move a piece of metal across town 4 times to get the piece just right. For example. Buying a little air compressor is fine if you want to use a nail gun. But a bigger one is more suitable when you pick up a sand blast cabinet and need more airflow. Space is limited, but you can always find room if needed.
2-3 grand to spend. I would look at used National, Chicago,Pexto, DreesKrupp, ....... Or used a 6 foot Tin Smith box and pan, I have needed pieces longer than 48’’ but not over 72, yet. 16 gauge would be a minimum. You may get lucky on a used 12 gauge bender. I have a China special in my shop at school. I walk to the HVAC shop and use his Tinsmith quality in bends isn’t close.
https://www.trick-tools.com/Box_Pan_Brakes_107 here is a used 6 foot straight bender. According to the add, the tag says 14 gauge.
Just sold a 10' brake that I had for about 10 years. Bought it at an auction for $800. Sold it for $2500 and that was too cheap. Had 3 people wanting it. It was an old Drees&Krump and worth the money. The point is that when you put your money into good sheet metal machines, you are investing rather than spending.......keep that in mind. I have bought and sold several brakes and shears......improving what I had each time. Same thing for a slip roll. Buy one and watch for a better one. Buy it and then sell the one you have for the same price or something close. Here is a 14 Footer I had.....but it would only bend 22 gage because of its length. Bought it to make some 13 ft airplane spars.......never did though. Then here is a 10' that I had. They take up a lot of space and when you try to bend something ten foot long, it takes a lot of oomph......meaning a helper on the other end. I also started with this brake for my first one. Little one I bought at a car show. It wasn't much but better than nothing. Found a better one at an auction. It was like the Baileigh pictured above. Gave $6/700 for it. It was decent and I liked it. Sold it a few years later for $700 because I picked up a Tiawanese brute that had fingers and did 12 gage. It was well used and missing a couple fingers, but you could bend almost anything with it. Just looked kinda bad and dingy. The thing was, I got this brake and a couple other things at an auction dirt cheap. Couldn't belive my luck. Gave something like $300 for it. Later I came across an Enco 12 gage that was brand new on Ebay. Guy had two of them and wanted $2200. Think I gave him $2k but I sold the Tiawan unit for $1500. (That guy will still be able to get $1500 when/if he resells.) I bought the brand new Enco, and I love it. Having the 12 gage capability is great and you don't have to force the machine to bend things when they are 16 gage. Remember 16 gage is maximum capacity so if you buy the lighter machine you will often be working at its maximum capacity. Now I'm a confessed toolaholic......and I'll tell you that if you can find one of these you will love it. You can find 8 foot brakes that are lighter than some other 8 ft brakes but usually don't have the sterength. They are usually leaf brakes. I'd go for a 4' finger brake and the 12 gage capacity..........You most likely won't be bending full 8' sheets. The only thing someone might want is a 6' brake with fingers. That could be handier for rocker panels but the 4' will do most anything most of the time.
I have a 4' Grizzly finger brake bought used $1,200 it will bend up to 12 ga. however I have never tried full width in that thickness. Sold the antique 8' Chicago because took up to much space and I found I never bent anything longer than 3 - 4 feet, plus the finger brake gives you a lot more options.
How many bends on a car are sharp? Nearly none. Most are rounded. Works for me. I sometimes need to hammer and dolly a break into a sharper bend but its no big deal. For the money and the space required, it is a good tool for auto restoration.
I have the 48" ENCO (are they still in business?) you have pictured, I lucked into it. ENCO had a free shipping deal going on at the same time as a % off thing, as I recall 20+ years ago it was 300 plus/minus to my door. Good brake
ENCO got bought out by MSC Supply 3-4 years ago and the deals pretty much disappeared.... I used to buy a lot of stuff from ENCO.
You can’t go wrong with a Pexto or Niagra, HF and ENCO are ok for some people if the expectations are relatively low, Tennsmith and Baliegh seem to be the mid range and perform very well at a reasonable price. As mentioned above, you don’t want to work at the maximum capacity, so step up to the heavier model than you expect to need. I’ve done quite a bit of automotive sheet metal work over the years, and my Tennsmith 48” 16 ga. finger brake and stomp shear have done nicely
When I was looking for a brake for general use in my shop, (hobby, not pro) I talked to the HAMB guy who sells Baileigh. He talked me into the 4' magnetic brake. the clamping bar is sucked down by an electromagnet, rather than mechanically, therefore there is no structure above it. Hence it is very versatile, it can do a lot of things a normal brake can't. It came with a bunch of clamping bars, including a variety of shorter ones for box and pan work. The only 2 downsides are that it needs to be plugged in, and the clamping force is not enuff to smash hems shut in heavier material. I'd recommend taking a look at it. https://www.baileigh.com/magnetic-brake-bb-4816m
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