Friday, June 28, 2019

Chapter 18 Step 21 Canopy Handle

A hefty press brake is needed to bend 1/8" 2024 aluminum.   I have neighbors that offered to let me use their press brakes, but one put his back in storage and the other one cant bend 1/8" aluminum.   I bought most of the components to make a press brake off eBay that will fit in my 20 ton shop.  The 1" bars that hold the die in place were purchased from a local metal shop at scrap price.


Several practice pieces broke when exceeding the bend radius.   A scrap piece of thinner aluminum helped increase the bend radius of the blade by putting it between the work piece and the die.  The  removable bottom die was temporarily removed and replaced with angle iron to increase the bend radius.   I had to put some blocks under the press so the handle could hang down lower when doing the end bends.
 Heavy brackets for the oil cooler and throttle bracket parts are also needed so justified buying the press brake.    





Here's a chart for minimum bend radius for various thickness aluminum alloys & cladding:


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