How to Make a Sheet Metal Press Brake
Sheet metal is used for car auto bodies, building truck beds, and other odds and ends around the house or yard. If you are a part-time or "recreational" metal worker, you may not have or have access to all of the workings of a metal shop, but may need a metal press brake. A press brake is a device that allows you to bend a piece of sheet metal at a particular angle. Metal shops have brakes mounted at different angles with automated braking arms; however, you can bend sheet metal at home without the use of high-tech equipment as well. Making a sheet metal press brake is simple with just a few tools lying around the workshop.
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Instructions
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Determine the angle you need and mark it on the protractor. Cut the section of metal out and prepare it to be bent by removing any burrs or sharp edges with a grinder.
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Slide the angle iron into the jaws of the vise so that it lays flat the length of the piece of metal you are going to bend. Sandwich the sheet metal into the jaws of the vise as well, so that as you bend it, the metal will be heading toward you.
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Use the butane torch to warm the metal along the section where the bend will take place. Get the metal glowing orange, grab the top of the metal with the pliers and pull it toward you gently at first. Only bend the metal as far as it goes without forcing it. If you need to reheat the metal and redo the bend, do so. Use the protractor to gauge the brake as you bend the metal little by little.
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Move on to other bends by removing the metal from the vise, repositioning it and repeating the previous steps.
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Tips & Warnings
If you heat the metal too hot, the torch could melt right through the sheet metal and create a hole.
