DIY Sheet Metal Bending Brake

There are many ways to bend sheet metal. If you’re looking for crisp and clean right angles, a brake is your best option. There are small brakes, large brakes, and super-expensive high-quality production brakes. And let’s not forget about the many, many homebrew brakes.

Although we’ve seen quite a few DIY brakes, several recent designs caught our attention for their clean appearances and well-thought-out functionality.

Homemade Mini Bend Brake – A small easy-to-build design by Instructable member Improbable Construct. The brake is mounted to a 2×4 cut-off, which is then gripped by a bench vise. Pop the brake into a vise when you need it, store it away when you don’t.

Large Sheet Metal Bending Brake – This <$100 brake is large enough to bend large multi-foot spans of sheet metal. The brake was designed by Dave Clay to help with his DIY aircraft fabrication project. (via Make)

Elegant Brake for Bending Aluminum Plates – This brake, designed by Runaway Brainz, is capable of bending thicker aluminum plates. The article also offers tips, such as how to use a circular saw to cut channels into aluminum plates to facilitate bending.

Do you use a homemade metal bending brake? Tell us about it!