Sheet Metal Brake and other forming tools for body work

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gzig5

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I've got a lot of body work in front of me and I know I could use a good brake, but I would like to get as much versatility out of my tools as I can so I'm looking at the 3 in 1 brake, shear, rolling tools. The 30" ones would be more than enough, but I see the 12" jobs are a lot less and take up less space. Looking for input on usability of these things, ones to avoid, etc.. Space is a major consideration or I'd get individual tools. Also looking at getting a shrinker/stretcher. English wheel is not in the cards at the moment unless I fall into a small one cheaply.
 
I built a crude sheet metal brake.48”.
I also built a planishing hammer.
Its a c shaped stand that holds my air hammer. It will push metal around and with some creativity to make various dies it will work similar to a bead roller.
Bead roller is handy too.
I found a cheap english wheel as well as shrinker-stretcher.
It has taken years to accumulate tools,and i dont use them often, but nice to have around.
 
If I could only choose one tool to do auto metal-fab...a shrinker/stretcher. I've been using them my whole life and won't even scratch the surface of what they can do. I'm just ok at best. If you gave me sometime without kids or customers...I could build damn dear any panel on a car.
 
valiantwagonguy said:
Shop Tools and Machinery at Grizzly.com
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If I have some extra material from building my welding bench, I think I might make one like that. I've got plenty of material and a lathe to make the wheels for it. Truth be told, I could make all the machines I need, a brake pretty easy. But I'd never have time to work on the car because I'd be building "stuff"....
 
The time you spend building stuff, will be well spent. Saving time pounding metal and fighting to get the shape you want. I had my bead roller 5 years before i built a stand and powered it.
Could have used it so many times.
 
Those Chinese 3 in 1 machines are junk. I know of several that didn't last one project.

Find a good quality import or a vintage usa made piece. I have an 80 year old Chicago finger brake that still works fine.
 
My south bend lathe was made in 1947. I use it to make other tools too.
 
Krooser said:
Those Chinese 3 in 1 machines are junk. I know of several that didn't last one project.

Find a good quality import or a vintage usa made piece. I have an 80 year old Chicago finger brake that still works fine.
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No doubt, but finding a quality brake under 3' wide and at a reasonable price has been a challenge. I've been looking for years. I have a hard limit on available space
 
I use the front of my car trailer as a brake, it is a simple dal of angle iron siting on a few angle iron legs, some C clamps and a hammer, maybe a piece of angle held on with couple vice grips. I have no tools, but I know the shrinker/stretcher tool would be my first choice.
A sand bag comes in handy too.
 
barbee6043 said:
I use the front of my car trailer as a brake, it is a simple dal of angle iron siting on a few angle iron legs, some C clamps and a hammer, maybe a piece of angle held on with couple vice grips. I have no tools, but I know the shrinker/stretcher tool would be my first choice.
A sand bag comes in handy too.
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I used my wife's foam garden kneeling pad as a "sandbag" to do some forming. Got a tanned deer hide I'm going to try as a bag. I used the hillbilly brake method to shape the 3' wide pan for the trunk. It worked, but I don't want to have to do that again. This is a placeholder until i do the quarters and the trunk will get a new pan. I think I agree with the shrinker/stretcher comment. No easy substitute for them I'm aware of

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I bought one of those 30" 3 in 1 brakes from Woodward Fab. IIRC, it was around 800 bucks. It's a decent piece, but the shear is only good for 20 or 22 gauge if you're making a cut longer than about 12 inches. The shear is the weakest feature, in my opinion. If you need to shear longer lengths of anything over 22 gauge, it won't do it.
The brake works fine up to 90 degrees, and has removable fingers if you need to make a box. You can't bend tighter than 90 degrees with it.
I've only used the slip roll twice on 18 gauge, but it worked okay.
My takeaway... this is not a top quality tool, nor is it built for everyday heavy use. It's not something you'd want to earn a living using. But for the dollars invested, and given limitations, for just the occasional project, it's decent.
 
For body work, the first thing I'd get is a good hammer and dolly set. Quality pays off here, don't buy cheap junk. Martin, Covell and others have nice stuff that'll last a lifetime.
I have the small shrinker/stretcher setup from Eastwood. It works quite well as long as you don't need to go deeper in than about an inch. One thing I would do different next time, is to get the stand and foot operated setup. Mine are vise mounted and sometimes you need an extra set of hands to hold the work, instead of having to press on the handle. If you work alone, consider the foot operated ones.
Using an English wheel looks easy, but it isn't. It takes a lot of practice to make things shaped the way you want them. I compare learning wheeling techniques to learning to TIG weld well. It's all about practice.
 
I wouldn't use the shear much if at all. There is one at work I can use if I have to or I'll keep using the bandsaw for narrow stuff and handsaw/grinder for the wider stuff. I'm thinking mainly the brake and slip roll and the shear occasionally for little stuff. I got a cheap hammer and dolly set but I put some time into shaping and polishing the faces so they are nicer than they started out.
 
gzig5 said:
No doubt, but finding a quality brake under 3' wide and at a reasonable price has been a challenge. I've been looking for years. I have a hard limit on available space
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Ill sell you mine for $600.00 with free delivery.

You need to find industrial auctions to find good deals on tools.
 
Thanks, but I'll keep looking. I have a friend who does the auctions and I'll have him keep an eye out. There's only so much I can pay attention to and trolling more auction sites isn't one of them.
 
barbee6043 said:
I use the front of my car trailer as a brake, it is a simple dal of angle iron siting on a few angle iron legs, some C clamps and a hammer, maybe a piece of angle held on with couple vice grips. I have no tools, but I know the shrinker/stretcher tool would be my first choice.
A sand bag comes in handy too.
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Have done that quite a few times my self . I sure could have used a brake making the new air pan, to run a filter on the throttle body that is up in my scoop now , setting on a victor intake. Pretty funky !!
 
HF 30"press brake shear slip roll working up to my satisfaction so far:D

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be careful...these tools are evil :mob: they will make you make things:D
 
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The Craigslist gods smiled on me this weekend and I nabbed the brand new stuff in the pic for forty cents on the dollar. Eastwood Bead Roller, Eastwood Slip Roll, HF shrinker/stretcher, and Ingersol sander. Think I'm going to weld up an English wheel and make a simple finger brake if I don't fall into a deal.

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Nice find!
OK...its been a few days....
what did you make?:D
 
gzig5 said:
The Craigslist gods smiled on me this weekend and I nabbed the brand new stuff in the pic for forty cents on the dollar. Eastwood Bead Roller, Eastwood Slip Roll, HF shrinker/stretcher, and Ingersol sander. Think I'm going to weld up an English wheel and make a simple finger brake if I don't fall into a deal.

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I think there are still a few videos on youtube on how to reinforce those Chi-Com bead rollers to make them useful. As-is they seem to flex and bend and don't make the nicest of beads but they kinda work.

I have one at home that I haven't modified... not sure I will get the time.
 
Krooser said:
I think there are still a few videos on youtube on how to reinforce those Chi-Com bead rollers to make them useful. As-is they seem to flex and bend and don't make the nicest of beads but they kinda work.

I have one at home that I haven't modified... not sure I will get the time.
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I saw a couple of those videos when I was contemplating making a roller. I'll see how it goes but I have plenty of plate to either reinforce or make a new body.

Just picked up a cheap English wheel off Ebay that was on sale. It's a little on the small side and the reviews were not very good but I consider anything like that a kit that needs adjustment or modification. I think it was worth the $140 if the rollers are worth a crap and I can learn on it. Should have a chance to try it later in the week.

English Shaping Wheel Sturdy Workbench Sheet Metal Sharper Benchtop Machine HD 728821480466 | eBay
 
gzig5 said:
I saw a couple of those videos when I was contemplating making a roller. I'll see how it goes but I have plenty of plate to either reinforce or make a new body.

Just picked up a cheap English wheel off Ebay that was on sale. It's a little on the small side and the reviews were not very good but I consider anything like that a kit that needs adjustment or modification. I think it was worth the $140 if the rollers are worth a crap and I can learn on it. Should have a chance to try it later in the week.

English Shaping Wheel Sturdy Workbench Sheet Metal Sharper Benchtop Machine HD 728821480466 | eBay
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You will learn to buy a better tool next time....
 
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