DIY sheet metal bending brake for under $30

This is how I built a simple bending brake with just a skill saw, drill and some hand tools. It works great!

#bendingbrake
#diymachinery

[dropndeal]

I worked in the metals industry for 35 years as a quality and engineering manager. I can tell you for a fact that bed frame rails were (and are) made from the cheapest available scrap steel materials. Back in the day, the fully integrated mills (Bethlehem, and others) made their steel primarily from scratch with very little remelt if at all. This is how they controlled the chemistry so well.

Later, as no more fully integrated mills were built and the price of steel continued to rise, most new plants changed to what we called mini-mills, who primarily melted scrap. Chemistry (then) was not as tightly controlled, or rather, controllable due to the introduction of chrome, vanadium, molybdenum, and other constituents in the scrap materials.

Regardless, there aren’t enough “scrap” rail tracks in America to keep a primary or secondary melter in operation for a week, much less than that required to make miles of structural angle for bed frames. I also don’t know of any rolling mills that are shutting their lines down, adjusting furnace temperatures, and resetting rolling lines to turn a railroad track into a tiny master coil that still has to go to a slitter operation.

No, the rails are simply added to the master melt, then the metallurgist adjusts chemistry as required to meet whatever dirt-cheap specification as appropriate. Likely something along the lines as A36. Once it’s rolled into a master coil then slit, the coils are sold to whoever is roll forming the angle.

All of this cold working lends to the performance characteristics. Likewise, the steel is probably riddled with hard spots and inclusions which will give cutting tools the blues. You’ll notice that bed frame holes are punched and riveted. One because of the aforementioned drilling issues, and two because a punch and rivets is 100x faster with no soft spots caused by welding.

[scottanderson]

Thanks, Charlie! I needed to fabricate a hood vent for my kiln which was priced for $1, 600 online. I got a bid from a local guy for $900. Using your brake design, which I modified to make a 40" bend, I was able to build the hood for less than $400, and I got a hand-built brake and a drill press from Harbor Freight as a bonus.

[davidprins]

This is what I need out of a brake right now - simple and inexpensive to bend aluminum flashing. Thanks!

[gusruhl]

This is a great idea. Like you, I do this sort of thing maybe once a decade. Thanks for the tips!

[joshhead]

Wow that works great. Thanks for the help. Id like to put one of these together to do some sheet metal work on my boat.

[bobmangino]

Brilliant! After completely ruining a sheet of 48 x 48 26 gauge galvanized steel (big radius curve, hammer dents all over, profanity filling the air), and deciding to outsource the work (damn the cost!), this video made me reconsider. I think I will still leave the tabletop to the pros (just too huge and it needs to be right), but I may make this brake to bend four smaller pieces for the table sides and shelf. Hmmmm. Not sure if I should thank you or curse you for sending me down this path. I guess we'll see. Heck, it's for my wife, so she can't blame for spending another hour or two in the shop, can she?

[BuildBreakFix]

The pure fact he drilled a hole in Bed Frame Steel is Hilarious I would of paid cash on the spot to see that video footage! lol automatically gets a like! How many bits did that take? Cut off saw eats it up easy is funny part. Diamond glass bits work well. but normal Drill bits LOL Even carbide bits turn to dust in that stuff fast lol We always use to give the new guy a section of it and ask them to drill few holes in it just to bust there stones on the first day LOL For anyone that does not know: They use recycled railroad track sections to make bed frame rails. The railroad tracks are made from 6 types of steel in layers then heat treated on one side other mounting side is left made of a softer steel. When they melt down the steel from them and make bed frames you get a steel that gets a spring like tension to it. It also gets harder and harder as it heats up over very low temperature changes. drilling it is a nightmare. As it starts heating up as you drill a hole making it as hard as carbide by time you smoke the bit lol Seen many people having panic attacks as the blew out 5 bits on first day trying drill one hole as everyone is trying not to bust out laughing LOL

[thomasd]

Wow. Very cool project (& train) my friend.
I wish I had the tools to build this. I just rescued an old Honda ATV to help this old man make snow go away. It's kind of unsafe as it has no floor boards & if your foot comes off it goes right under the rear wheel.

[billtasker]

Thank you. It was 14 gauge stainless steel and it bent very well. It did required some good clamping.

[TheDradge]

Brilliant end result and well paced, well made video.

[chrisschmidt]

Nothing beats simplicity in the end. simple geneous Chris Schmidt

[lennymettie]

is it possible to cut finger slots in the back bar in order to bend pans and boxes? will it work

[Sgt_Plague]

Is this able to to cope with different thicknesses of material, or would oval holes be better on the top piece (that you secure the workpiece down with) so that it can slide a little forward and back.
Looks so easy to make. Think I’d use beefier hinges for longevity but great otherwise

[thedoingnotthedone.]

Thank you! Interesting to see how effective a wood and hinges design can be, and some good lessons learned in tge make.

[niklnikl]

Great simple solution. I'll definitely make one and it will be put to good use. Thank you!

[richdell]

Great idea! Would this work with 4X4 material? (Already have some)

[Camposdarko]

What if you made pockets for the hinges ? Wouldn’t that help with it splitting?

[alangrant]

Great punchline. Home railroad. Of course!

[percyjohnson]

This is nice. I need one to bend a piece of 1/8 aluminum 18 inches wide and 30 inches wide. Would this work?

[BBQTrader]

Good stuff! Enjoyed your personality too! Thanks for doing this for us!