Anyone use a northern industrial 3in1 brake,shear,roll

Im thinking about buying a northern industrial 3in1 brake, shear, and roll from northern tool. I plan on using it to do minor sheet metal work such as replacing floor pans and stuff like that. Has anyone used one of these or one like it to do this type of stuff? Or is there something different out there that i should consider? Any help is greatly appreciated. Here is the one that i was thinking about getting

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_21800_21800

or maybe this one

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_623_623

 

while those look like a good deal, they arent.

its one of those things that sorta works. the shear sorta cuts, the brake sorta bends, the slip roll is the only thing that does what its supposed to, but only for the first couple uses.

 

Many suppliers sell the same Chinese combo tool. Balliegh, Enco, Harbour Frieght, ect. It does not equal the quality or performance of individual shear, break and slip roller, but for a home shop and if carefully set up it will function with light gauge sheet metal. I've seen them for $300.00

 

A friend of mine bought one and he wanted my opinion on it.....'Your shittin' me, RIGHT?'

Its a poor attemp for a company to try to sell a cheap tool to a person that don't have the money to get a quality product.....

Oh....you could do stuff with it.....like make stuff outta 28 ga., but thats about it.....its just too light for any serious work......

 

I have a version of said tool...was purchased when I was starting my shop (motorcycle work primarily)and it did ok....but keep in mind I have machine tools to fix/modify as needed....and they were needed. first thing to break was the shear table...on a piece of 20 ga, that is should have sheared..solution, make a new table out of 1" cr barstock, works like a charm now...well almost , until I slid a piece of 16 ga 4130 in it about 6" wide....broke another casting, this time the side plate, which is gonna take a little more doing to fix. and the press brake/ finger break takes some shimming of the fingers to get it right. The roller worked as advertised , no issues with that.So if you are willing to work under the capacity of the machines supposed ratings, it may work ok with some fiddleing, but it will not replace the single purpose floor machines....but you can't buy all 3 of those used for the price of this one...Alternatives ...do you own a 12 to 20 ton shop press???if so , build a break attachment for it, most press legs are 24-30" apart, so it will be in the ballpark on that end. If you need to bend longer than that in sheetmetal, clean off that workbench, and use it along with a 2x4/6/8 and a couple of clamps, working the bend with a short 2x4 and rawhide/plastic mallet. Shears , I have a set of Kett shears I use with a strait edge, or one of the cheap rotary shears from grizzly ....I was amazed what 20 bucks can do...and the roller....well that one you either have to buy ,or build....http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/slip/index.html he also has a book on building a small strait break....hope this helps Shawn

 

I think those are good for learning... learning you wasted your money and should have bought something better!

 

I bought a rolling table with an enco box and pan brake, a corner notcher, a vintage 36" slip roll and one of those combo deals like the Northern one you are looking at all bolted to it. $200 bucks.. hell of a deal.

the upper cast part of the brake was cracked clean through. when I looked online to see who made it I found several that were exactly the same thing. I'd be really suprised if I found out it was not out of the same factory as the Harbor Freight one with a differnt paint job. the HF one is much cheaper.

not sure what caused the piece to crack, but if it were a quality tool that shit would never happen no matter what you did .

sold it for 40 bucks on Craigslist.

 

Junk. There is enough good used Pexto, Tennsmith, etc. out there for everybody. Just make sure to buy a good quality American or even European tool that will last, and do nice work until you retire. Then sell it at a profit.

 

Ill buy a good one but is there a good all in one out there? My space is limited that is why i was looking at it or am i going to need to buy all them seperate

 

I've got the 50 inch version, much stiffer, works fine, but if you have the room old Pexto stuff is the way to go.

 

My HF one which looks the same is Junk. It can be made to work but if you're gonna spend 7 hun on one might as well look into a good quality roller or brake. The brake on the thing is usless.

 

i got a Hf one was trying to brake a 90 degree flange on a piece of 18 guage about 12 inchs long and broke the big arm on the side of it that holds every thing together, they're great if your making stuff outta beer cans.

 

I've got one that came from northern tool about 10 or 12 years ago. Someone (not me) tried to shear something and broke the casing. It will do a good job on light weight stuff and aluminum but nothing heavier than about 18 gauge. Looks cool sitting by the wall.....it was a waste of $500+

 

My experience as well. I have one taking up space as we speak. $100 out the door...

 

My neighbor has one. Pure junk.

My question is, why would you bother? If you are working as a hobbyist at home, save your money and buddy up with somebody who has the real deal. It's easier on the wallet and good for the community.

If you are planning on using the hell out of such tools, you are better off with the real deal.

Used pro equipment is out there, and for not too much green, you just have to dig and be patient. Better that you rescue it than it be melted down and sent to China to make more HF stuff.

 

Hey thanks for the input i appreciate it, i figured that it was going to be junk. I was hoping that it might do some small jobs but I will definitly look for some good used stuff.

 

I have used a Jet brand built for 16 ga that werked just fine in all 3 operations.
harbor freight, and northern generic tools are all junk, get what you pay for.

I have this on order, looks like it werkz fine http://www.bii1.com/videos/shear-brake-roll-sbr-5216-video.php.

no matter brand, try to find a place where you can use one, to see how you like it befor you buy

 

I've got the 50" wide one.. it took some time to get it dialed in, but now that it is it works fine. Have worked quite a bit of 18ga and 16ga with it without a problem. It's true that there are WAY better machines out there, but for the price (I paid $300 used) and the size it's hard to beat for the home user that likes to have the capabilities in house.

 

Yeah,,spent about 695 bucks and lasted about 2 days!,,JUNK!,,HRP

 

Scour Craigslist everyday and watch for school districts that are selling off (sadly) metal shop tools...a few of my friends have sprung for the HF stuff and now they just set their mail down on it...pass on it

 

Hey dude....I think you get the picture of our opinion onthis junk. We're serious about our tools and what we do with them. Our money is hard earned and we ain't gonna be throwin' it away on crap.

There are tons of businesses going out of business....keep your ear to the ground and you cna pick up a good piece outta someones sheetmetal section for a song.....that is the best way. Get something good that'll last ya......

 

We had one in the shop at the college I teach at, the shear didn't work from the start and the arm broke just like the picture above, so I ground back the paint to weld it, and found they had used bondo to fill craters in the casting!

 

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/tls/1491973281.html
Check this link from today...and a 48" to boot

 

I paid $100 off CL which is what it's worth.
The 30" is rated only 20 gauge, the 40" only 18 ga. and 50" 16 ga. IIRC.
Violate these limits and you'll kill it dead and maybe hurt yourself.
I wouldn't buy one new.

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its a great feeling when you buy the right tool that you will know will do the best job and last a long,long time... great functioning equipment helps you to quickly forget how much you spent and is a pleasure to use... a shitty tool will remind you EVERY time you use it that you bought a shitty tool... even if you got it cheap, you'll feel ripped off and frustrated.

 

btt

 

really, what more could you need to know?

 

Getting excited?

We are!

 

Shane , you might want to add a detachable handle between the two ends to add an even force when using the shear and brake. There is a post on the Metal meet site about modifing the lessor brands and it adds greatly to the uality of the work the machine does.

jim h

 

Thanks!

I will pass it along to my engineers.