Harbor Freight sells an 18” sheet metal brake for about forty bucks. I’ve used a lot of Harbor Freight tools. Some of them require a bit of tweaking to work perfectly, but they’re generally good enough right out of the box.
Dale W5OHM > On Sep 22, 2015, at 1:22 PM, James Bennett <w6...@me.com> wrote: > > I built that W6PQL 80 watt amp last year. Built the aluminum chassis, too. I > did not have a sheet metal brake, but a few minutes on Google turned up quite > a few home-brew brake plans. I built one of them and used it to form the > chassis for my amp, and later on a couple other small boxes for shack utility > projects. If you enjoy building stuff, creating your own brake is worth the > effort. I think I made mine for less than $25. And it works pretty darn well! > > Jim / W6JHB > > >> On Tuesday, Sep 22, 2015, at Tuesday, 10:47 AM, P.J.Hicks >> <hickspj...@comcast.net> wrote: >> >> >> >> Crafting a case very similar to the one pictured on the sited page is >> relatively easy. While I do have a brake and no problem crafting cases I >> will tell you how I would do it without major tools. >> >> 1. Do a drawing of the case with sizes and flanges laid out piece by piece; >> top, bottom, sides, ends, etc. >> >> 2. Locate the nearest Metal Supermarket. I use them as they are close and >> reasonable and I know them and their stock. They will cut your metal pieces >> to size very cheaply. Often free. >> >> 3. Contact them for a quote and order. They may mail your order, I do not >> know. There are other places who do the same type business; small orders >> with cutting. >> >> 4. Cut 2 hardwood blocks that just fits inside the lines of the front and >> rear panels. They should be smaller by the thickness of the metal material >> plus a smidgeon. >> >> 5. Carefully fit the blocks within the lines of the panel you are bending >> and clamp in a vice. The blocks should be aligned as well as with in the >> panel lines; Use double sided tape if necessary. >> >> 6. Use another hardwood block as a "push block" and gently push and hammer >> against the flange all along its length until it is bent 90 deg. bending >> only a small part of the angle at a time. >> >> 7. The blocks are also useful when drilling the holes. Some may prefer to >> drill first but that makes hole alignment very difficult. >> >> PJH, N7PXY >> ______________________________________________________________ >> Elecraft mailing list >> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft >> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm >> Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net >> >> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net >> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html >> Message delivered to w6...@me.com > > ______________________________________________________________ > Elecraft mailing list > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm > Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net > > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html > Message delivered to dled...@camtel.net ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:Elecraft@mailman.qth.net This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html Message delivered to arch...@mail-archive.com
