Homemade ultimate bending machine - videos

[barts metalwork]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for sharing my video. I found this forum a few days ago and joint so I can share some more of my homemade tools and answer some questions.

About the bending machine. After one year of use I still like the design. I have a small shop and for me this really is the ultimate version. All the different bending tools exist but not in one small machine. And I agree with the distance of the rollers. If I would change one thing, that would be it. But on the other hand, I didn’t have any real problems with it so far. I do use different size rollers. But there is also a benefit to it, the bending force is much greater because the contact points are further apart. That makes it easier to do heavy work.

I am now moving to a bigger shop. There I will make a big welding table where I can bolt the machine on to if I need to do heavy work. But until now it worked out fine with the extra arm to hold it in place. And when I use the Hossfeld type bender I use the extra leverage arm that counters the force on the big mounting plate. Then the machine won't move.

One weak point in my design is the mounting of the big round plate with the hole pattern. It is strong but not meant to be used with very high forces. Bolting the machine to the floor will mean that the forces will more likely go through this plate mounting. Using the counter arm or the extra leverage arm, and getting a feel for the forces when its moving a little bit on the floor helps to minimize the risk of putting to much force on it.

The design was all in my head, step by step. Doing it again I would change a few other things (like the guiding of the rollers). But most of it worked out great. And I make new tools / dies when I need them.

If you guys have any questions about the build process or need some dimensions (I don’t have any plans) then let me know.

Greetings from the Netherlands, Bart