Sheet Metal Bending Brake
The possibilities for shop projects are endless with this simple jig for bending sheet metal.
Learning how to work with sheet metal can open up a lot of potential for practical projects. In this plan, we’ll show you how to build and use a simple bending brake like you see here. It makes crisp, clean bends on sheet metal (up to 22 ga.) for great-looking results. It’s made from a few pieces of hardwood to form the base and hinged handle. The sheet metal is clamped under a piece of angle iron that creates the bending point, or mandrel. As you lift the handle, the metal is easily formed into a tight bend between a metal breaker bar and mandrel. So, for minimal cost, you can build a tool you’ll use over and over again. As a matter of fact, we've included plans to make 5 simple sheet metal projects.
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What You Get:
- 17 printable (digital) pages of step-by-step instructions
- More than 50 full-color photos, illustrations and exploded views
- Shop-tested tips and techniques ensure your success
- Materials list
- Retail sources for project hardware and supplies
Product Recommendations
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Similar Woodsmith Plans
Imperial Plans
The United States Customary System of Units (USCS or USC), more commonly referred to as the English or Imperial system, is the standard set of units for our plans. It uses inches and feet for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are in the United States, and it is the one we have traditionally offered on this website.
Metric Plans
The International System of Units (SI), more commonly referred to as the metric system, is the alternative set of units that we have available for some of our plans. It uses millimeters, centimeters, and meters for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are outside the United States. These plans are provided by our business partner, Australian Woodsmith, and are based on the original Woodsmith plan. However, dimensions and other elements of the plan may vary between the metric and standard versions. Be sure to double-check the plan before building.
Premium Plans
All of the information that you need to build our plans can be found in the standard plan. However, if you want even more granular detail to make your job easier, you should consider our premium plans. These come with additional shop diagrams that we drew when creating the prototypes. Shop drawings are not available for every plan.