Hydraulic pump

Pump & muffler

Bend angle indicator

Hinge at 0 degrees

Hinge at 45 degrees

Hinge at 90 degrees

Open throat of the brake.

Front at 0 degrees

Front at 45 degrees.

Front at 90 degrees

Left front at 0 degrees

Left front at 45 degrees

Left front at 90 degrees

Side view at 0 degrees

Side view at 45 degrees

Side view at 90 degrees

First bends.

Mounted at the rear and underside of the bed is an air powered hydraulic pump that was an E-bay find. It will produce 70 times the pressure of the air supply that powers it.

Another view of the air powered pump. As I received the pump, the exhaust was just the pipe elbow. I was surprised at how much noise the pump makes while pumping. Sounds very similar to an old two cylinder JD tractor. As the output pressure increases, so does the sound, until it becomes very similar to a 12 ga. shotgun. I fashioned a muffler out of some 3/4" pipe and a length of 3.5" radiator hose.

The rock-shaft that pushes the bending member was salvaged from an old IHC swather. I attached a protractor to the bearings and tacked a metal pointer to the rock-shaft that would indicate the degree of bend.

A close up view of the hinge and control valve. The I-beam that clamps the metal to the bed is salvaged from an old IHC chisel plow. Tangle iron used to bend the sheet is from an old printing press.

A view of the hinge as it travels through it's range.

A view of the hinge as it completes the full range of it's travel. The hinge pin and it's bushings were salvaged from the same IHC chisel plow that donated the I-beam.

A frontal view of the brake with the bending mechanism raised above the bed approximately an inch. the cylinders were salvaged from an old set of JD hoe drills. The clamping cylinders are set away from the sides of the bed to allow clearance along the side of the bed for a previously bent side of a box I might want to form.

A view of the bending mechanism clamped to the bed and ready to start a bend.

A view as the bend approaches 45 degrees.

A frontal view of a full bend.

An angle view of the mechanism ready to start a bend. The arms that apply the bending forces are salvaged from an old JD ground drive rod-weeder. The push rods that connect the arms are schedule 40-3/4" black pipe. The end bearings are also fashioned from the same stock.

Partially through the bend.

The full range of motion

A view of the bending cylinder. The 1 inch pipe visible above the bed at the bottom of the picture extends with a screw. That moves the bending mechanism in relation to the bed and compensates for differing thicknesses and also allows a small radius to be added to bends where a sharp corner is not desired.

The brake as it moves through a bend.

The brake at the end of it's cycle.

I'll be the first to admit that this thing is crude, unnecessarily complicated and has some serious design flaws. For instance: you have to get on your hands and knees to see where to place the sheet before clamping.

I needed a 7 foot pan for my cleaner. A six foot section welded to a one foot section of 14 gauge sheet should do the trick! These bends were made effortlessly. I suspect the machine will handle thicker sheets with the same ease.

If I was doing this again, I'd do a lot of things differently, but it works and I guess that's good enough for now.