Newbie from Ohio

**Savage11** · Mar 3, 2018, 05:16 AM

Hello all, I found this site by accident and was completely blown away. I do sheet metal fabrication for a living, but find it very boring. Making practical cool stuff at home is awesome. Here is a picture of my latest project, bottle jack press brake. I made it so top and bottom dies could be changed out.

**DIYer** · Mar 3, 2018, 06:35 AM

Thanks Savage11! We've added your Press Brake to our Brakes and Presses category,
as well as to your builder page: Savage11's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Press Brake by Savage11

tags: press brake

**Savage11** · Mar 3, 2018, 07:23 AM

Wow, thank you very much sir!

**Canobi** · Mar 3, 2018, 10:38 AM

Great job on the press, welcome to the forum

**Savage11** · Mar 3, 2018, 11:39 AM

Thank you very much sir!!

**Captainleeward** · Mar 3, 2018, 05:03 PM

A well thought out project my friend...Cap

**Savage11** · Mar 3, 2018, 05:11 PM

Thank you very much sir! The idea to build this has been floating around my head for a very long time.

**Frank S** · Mar 3, 2018, 06:14 PM

First off you have a nice looking build and welcome aboard.
Just one suggestive comment, and I am not being critical in any way. Not knowing what the materials are in the top rail, from the pictures it looks a bit under developed for the amount of tonnage the bottle jack is capable of due to the long span between vertical members and the gussets. If you ever experience any deformation in that area the easy fix would be to add a tension member. add a stand off about 8 to 10 inches tall then weld a strap over it bending down to the uprights forming a truss. Ideally the strap would have a cross section thickness yielding tensile strength equal to or greater than 2 times the the force the jack is capable of. IE a 20 ton jack x 2 =80,000 PSI /50,000 PSI ultimate yield would come to just over that of a 1/2" by 3" flat bar welded on both ends with gussets similar to those you have on the uprights.

**Savage11** · Mar 3, 2018, 06:21 PM

Thanks Frank, I will do just that. I am also adding a sturdy brace for the bottle jack plus a back guage and a lowering stops for precise repeatable breaks. Thanks for the great info and advice to make my brake even better.