Bend Almost Anything With This DIY Finger Brake Press

Turn Your Harbor Freight 20 Ton Press Into a Heavy Duty Finger Brake with this kit from SWAG Off Road. TIG or MIG Weld Yourself.

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[mattspevak]

Highly underrated tool. I made a radius upper die for mine by welding a piece of 1" dia round cold rolled to a block of 3/4x3 flat bar. Made a gooseneck die by laminating 1/4 thick steel cut on the plasma. Have even done some sketchy stuff on a raised lower die to get tight z-bend offsets. I've bent 1/2 x 4 to 90 deg on mine without issue. Stout and simple, easy to customize, great bit of kit for the shop. I built mine on a cart with a bottom shelf that holds hydraulic tools like bottle jacks and my power puller, and a higher shelf that sits under the crossbar and holds things that go with the press brake.

[nvlvdave]

Everything about this video screams Quality and Attention To Detail - from your videography, to the tools you use, to the effort you put in to making a quality product to the cleanliness of everything. TOP-NOTCH!!!

[larelare]

Highly recommend the foot pedal for a pneumatic bottle jack. Having two hands on the metal helps with solid alignment.

[MethodWelding]

Finally... someone with impeccable attention to detail. Recently bought a Vulcan multiprocess but I'm seriously thinking about taking the loss on 20% restock fee and grabbing the Everlast equivalent.

[CraigHollabaugh]

I added casters and pneumatic bottle jack to my same setup, then 3D printed a thumb wheel for jack release. Now it's faster to overbend everything. Thanks for the video.

[KennyB]

Dude that plunger can is freaking bad ass! 🤯 I’ve needed something like that for years!

[kyleroberts]

Now go back to Harbor Freight and get the air to Hydraulic 20 ton bottle jack and save the workout for the gym.

[mess_it_up_matt]

Been in sheet metal for almost a decade - never once considered using a piece of angle to tighten a die. That's frigging clever.

[Pilinchi]

@ your comment at 15:30.... All standard angle iron are 90 degrees. The reason you got more than 90 degree on your first bend is because the angle iron is very large and the die is very narrow so the object bend past 90 degree as it had nothing pressing the sides against the angle iron.

[MatthewHeiskell]

Thanks for making this video! I'll be putting mine together this weekend.

[johnw]

I have the finger brake.. but modified it to accommodate a 4way die. It now produces really nice bends! The die cost a 💪🦵but worth the investment.

[RealityCheckThat]

I'm welding up the same kit this weekend so this video comes in very handy! You mentioned a couple of assembly tips that I hadn't thought of. Thanks

[mrmidnight]

The reason that collar was sparking is because it’s a Chinese made piece. It’s either a cheap bi metal or it’s just the sub standard Chinese steel that’s got more filler than carbon in it which keeps costs down. Gatta watch out a lot of US metal supplies buy this metal too. Not all steel is the same.

[randytravis]

I have the same press 10 years old now . I also built a solid break about 8 years ago ..not as wide as that the best thing I did was replace the factory jack on the press and put one of there air over hydraulic jacks on it had to change the base where the jack bolts to the press but was worth the work, , saves on time running the jack I don't work due to a injury at work but still putter in my shop when I am up to it, , like I was saying the air jack is faster too close the gap, , time is money .. I will need to get the finger brake soon there has been times I could have used it ..

[jeremynelson]

I have to say, I love your attention to detail, especially with cleaning!

[melgross]

What I found with mine is that the dies are not hard. Generally this doesn’t matter. But if you’re bending something narrow but thick, as their specs say you can do, you dent the die. These are not barely seen dents, but real dents. They don’t affect wide bends, but it shouldn’t be happening. I’m trying to remember without going and finding the manual, but I think they say the dues are 4041. That’s fine if they’re hardened and tempered, but it’s not all that hard if they’re not.

Also, be careful about over bending. It tough to get a true 90 degree bend. I take a thin piece that I know it 90 degree. Then I slightly open the press and put this in and check the bend.I also machine and stack smaller angle to get tighter bends. But they’re soft too, so narrow material will dent them as well.

[stronghandtools]

Great video! So stoked to see you using your new BuildPro table! Perfect for this project!

[bigwave_dave]

good stuff. you can disolve the mill scale by soaking in vinegar overnight.

[dusanmatkovic]

I can write one recommendation. What is the width of V die ? The best way to calculate which V die is the best. So that the thickness of the material, if it is bent 2mm thick, x 8 - 10 so that the width V die = 16mm.
If the V die is, for example, 16mm wide, and you bend the thickness of the material 4mm, you will damage the upper punch tool.
If the V die is wide, you will get a large radius.

[shanek]

Perfect jig for bending and building AK receivers.