Project Spotlight
Jimmy DiResta demonstrates how to build a practical bench-top press brake that delivers professional metal-forming capabilities without sacrificing shop space.
SAFETY FIRST
Before you start any project involving welding, make sure you have the right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which includes, at least, an ANSI-approved welding helmet, safety glasses, appropriate welding gloves for the process you’re using, and a flame-resistant shirt, jacket, or sleeves to protect from UV rays and burns. You should also keep a fire extinguisher close at hand. Use adequate ventilation when welding. Use an approved respirator if exposure to welding fume cannot be controlled, or if welding outside and natural air movement is not sufficient to keep welding fume out of your breathing zone.
REMEMBER:
Press brakes have pinch points that exert significant forces when used. Always keep your hands away from the jaw area when using the brake.
A Bench-Top Press Brake For Your Workshop
A press brake allows fabricators to bend sheet metal to a desired angle. It can be a very valuable tool in your workshop. But you don’t have to go out and purchase a press brake that takes up a lot of space in your shop to take advantage of its benefits.
In this project, craftsman and maker Jimmy DiResta builds a press brake out of scrap metal from around his shop that can be the perfect small-footprint addition to your shop.
Step 1: Column and Base
Using two lengths of 1 inch by 1/8 inch angle iron of the same length (approximately 18 inches), weld a series of 3/8-inch spacers to what will be the inner faces of each column half. Using a 2-foot length of 3/8-inch bar stock as a spacer, clamp the two faces together and weld the angle iron at 90 degrees to a base cut from 3/8-inch plate. This will create the connected column and base, with the space between the angle iron assemblies acting as a channel for the brake’s traveler. Using more 3/8-inch stock, weld a series of backing plates to the column.
Step 2: Lever Assembly
Cut two 4-inch lengths of 2½-inch angle iron and drill a centered 3/8-inch hole into the corresponding faces. These will act as the pivot for the lever. Using your lever (3/8 inch by 3 foot piece of bar stock) as a spacer, weld the angle pieces to your base, just behind the column. Using your predrilled holes as a guide, and keeping your lever off of the base by about 1/4 of an inch, mark the pivot hole on your lever, then drill a 3/8-inch hole through. The quarter-inch clearance helps create the necessary clearance to move the traveler. Create the pivot point using a piece of 3/8-inch round stock welded to each of the angle uprights. Knock off the end corners of the lever to create more clearance.
Step 3: Creating the Traveler
Cut two square pieces of 2 inch by 3/8 inch bar stock. To ensure perfect alignment when drilling, tack weld these pieces together, and then drill 3/8-inch holes into opposite corners. These holes will serve as the pivot points between the lever and traveler. Using the spacer stock from step one, knock off the corners of the end that will be pinned to the pivot point and drill a centered hole that corresponds with the pivot hole in this assembly. Once you’re satisfied with the fit, weld in a piece of 3/8-inch round stock to complete the traveler’s pivot assembly.
Step 4: Upper Jaw
Weld a piece of 1/2-inch angle iron to a piece of 1/2-inch bar stock of the same length so that the “point” of the angle iron is 90 degrees to the bar stock. This point becomes the blade of the upper jaw. Join this blade to the top of the traveler at a 90-degree angle.
Step 5: Lower Jaw
Cut a 90-degree angle into the end of a piece of 3/8-inch bar stock and weld to the column just below where the upper jaw will come to rest in the down position. Using this as a base, create the lower jaw from two pieces of angle iron. Weld into place at 90 degrees from the column. To ensure that this piece, which will carry the brunt of the downforce, does not deflect during use, weld a gusset made of bar stock that connects the outer lip of the lower jaw to the column assembly.
Step 6: Mini Jaw
For making bends in smaller stock, this addition to your benchtop brake will come in handy. Cut a 90-degree “V” from a piece of 3/8-inch or 1/2-inch bar stock and save the cutoff. With the lever of the brake in the down position, weld the female part of the V to the inner side of the column, about 1/3 up the length of the base. Place the male portion of the V in the mating surface and weld that into place.
Step 7: Spring Assembly
To make sure that the brake returns to the upright position after each bend, a spring mechanism needs to be installed. Weld a piece of tubing to the rear of the upper jaw assembly. Insert a length of bar stock into the tube and weld it at the top. Slide a length of spring over the bar stock and using another piece of tubing, clamp the spring into the closed position. Weld that piece of tubing to the lower jaw.
Step 8: Mounting Holes and Finish
Since you will be applying a good deal of downforce when bending metal, it’s advisable to drill mounting holes into the base plate to accept screws or bolts to secure it to the bench. To prevent rust, you may also want to consider applying a few coats of finish.
Materials
1½ inch by 1/4 inch angle iron
1½ inch by 1/8 inch angle iron
3/8-inch mild steel plate
1½ inch by 1/8 inch mild steel flat stock
1½ inch by 3/16 inch mild steel flat stock
3/8-inch round stock
1½ inch by 1/4 inch flat stock
2 inch by 3/8 inch flat stock
Welding/Cutting Equipment and Tools
Lincoln Electric POWER MIG® 210 MP
Bandsaw with metal-cutting blade
Angle grinder
Cutoff wheel
Flat grinding disc
36-grit sanding disc
Vice grips
Drill
Speed Square
Clamps
Hammer