# Harbor Freight - 18" Sheet Metal Brake



## RobbieKnobbie (Jun 27, 2010)

I bought this brake for around $25 on sale and with a coupon from my local Harbor Freight store. It doesn't look like much - and I wasn't expecting much, but I had a small project that needed some steel flashing bent up so I gave it a try.

In the package: the brake, one clamp bar and two handles
Not in the package: any sort of base and a pair of C-clamps for holding down the clamp bar.:facepalm:

Before I could even think about using this thing I had to screw it down to a piece of 1x10 pine and dig out a pair of C-clamps to secure the clamp bar.  Not a big deal, but if I didn't have the stuff laying around, I would heve been very annoyed if I'd had to go out to the store to get it.

Once screwed down, you're ready to bend some sheet metal... almost.

There is no way to align the bends for perpendicularity or parallelism. You either eyeball it and hope for the best... or you hobble together some sort of side fence. For now I just eyeballed it.

Securing the sheetmetal is a chore because you need two hands to hold it in place and position the clamp bar. You need another two hands to put on the two c-clamps and tighten them down without de-aligning the workpiece. It's a pain, but its do-able.

Then the bend... With everything in place, you grab the two handles and bring them up to form a nice, easy 90 degree bend. Well actually you have to *estimate* a 90 degree bend because there's no stop, but that's simple enough.

The bend came out straight and crisp which completely made up for the hassle of getting all the extra stuff together.

All in all, if you do occasional one-off sheet metal bends in light gage material then this is a perfect little brake. It's small enough to hang on the wall when not needed, and (just) sturdy enough to do the job when it is needed.  It is absolutely NOT a production machine, but for a garage shop with occasional sheet metal bending needs, it's a perfect fit:thumbsup:


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## rustywrangler (Jun 27, 2010)

All in all, this does exactly what it was designed to do, with a few minor additons such as a pair of clamps or more, and a sturdy base.   It is by far, NOT A PRODUCTION tool.  It will work well for the one time or occasional use home hobbyist.


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## 1977Impala (Jul 5, 2010)

A shop I worked at had one of these from H/F
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa... ACCESSORIES&SubCategoryName=Metalwork Brakes
  they worked pretty good, But once again you had to make your own measurements and make sure it was square, but for being a 3-4 in 1 machine  it wasn't bad.


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