anyone Have/Use this HF bending brake ?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91012

its always on sale....it will bend 12g....so it'll handle all my jeep body needs

I need to redo rocker panels and door sills and i think this might be the ticket.


can anyone give comments on quality of the equipement and quality of the bend? I know its HF so it'll be cheap...but will t be "good enough"?

or if anyone knows of a combination roller, shear, brake that can handle 16g or thicker...let me know! cuz that would be perfect

thanks!

 

Schwing! I'd like to know too Good price!

 

It will bend 16 and 18 gage material fine, its never gonna bend 12 gage unless its small parts say 12" wide or narrower.

 

thats fine by me....i just need 16g for body panels.

hows the quality of the bend?

 

Sorry I got side tracked while typing my reply by my wife and a honey-do.
I have not used the Harbor freight unit but one that looks just like it, it is ok but don't expect to use it for a money maker. It is pretty decent for a hobby machine but it is just a lightweight machine and not intended for heavy use. I have looked at buying one several times just don't have the space until 2 other projects are finished.

 

cc

 

this is what Im looking at (http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_21800_21800)

 

yea i've seen that one too, but its only 20g....i'd buy it if i could find one that does 16g.....

maybe i'll grab a piece of sheet metal and take it to HF and test the bender there

 

I have one. Its well built by harbor freight standards. I don't bend 12 often but I have bent a few pieces with it. I will admit they were only about a foot wide. It worked a lot better than my cheap bender wich has also been forced to do the same 12g. I was not doing acurate bends either time and just needed a 90 ish degree bend. I helped the cheap little bender by warming the metal with the torch. The Harbor freight did not need help but I had to put some force on it to get it to bend.

Personally I go to my local metal shop and have them bend the bigger work for between $2 and $5 per bend. It adds up I suppose but I don't use it often. Besides they have a BIG BIG bender. I have watched them bend 1 inch plate like it was tin foil. Very cool but it is like a 3 story tall several ton machine.

 

Yeah, I've got one. Although they say it will handle 16 gauge steel, don't assume it can bend full width 16 gauge. I used it to bend the sides of my welding cart, which were 18 gauge and 27" long and it seemed to be all the brake could handle. By the way, HF calls it a 36" brake, but the longest piece that will fit in it is 34". There are a couple of stop blocks welded in it that prevent going any longer. I have successfully bent 12 gauge in it, but the piece was only about 3" long. It really worked well on bending the 18 gauge for my under floor hat sections, but they were only about a foot long or so. I haven't used the stand that it comes with, I don't have the floor space right now. I just C clamp the top section to a sturdy workbench and go from there. It's a good hobby tool, but I wouldn't try to do any production work with it. Or with any HF tool, for that matter.

tommy b