Saturday, February 18, 2012

Picked up a used compact (12") 3 in 1 sheet metal press brake/shear/slip roll tool today, after checking out a large (and incredibly flexible) homebrew bending brake yesterday. The apparently NLA Central Machinery 35696 is, for all intents and purposes, nearly identical to the Grizzly T21320 which has a posted manual for operations and adjustments.

A span of time in which lubricating oil skins over and becomes a tacky varnish has passed since this thing was used last.

We're a bit beyond waxy build up here.

I really don't grasp what would inspire someone to lubricated EVERY surface of something. Perhaps there was a spill...

...cleans up fine with a razor though.

I think I still need to work on adjustment, polish & cleaning due to the chew marks around the bend. Of course, this is a piece of 16ga aluminium and the tool is rated for up to 22ga, so stressing may have contributed.

At any rate, it'll be nice to bang out full custom metal enclosures. The plan is to dig through the weathered sheet stock come Monday. I prefer the look of it without the protective shroud, but I'd hate to get my beard caught in those tacky wheels while bending something (all functions run simultaneous).

No comments: