No more perimeter kits!

[Adam Wright]

Some days it's the little things. Every time we would do a floor pan we used a perimeter kit, either from Stoddard or Restoration Design. We can shape a lot of metal here but I didn't have a sheet metal brake to make the 90 degree angle in the perimeter pieces.
Traditional brakes run between $1000-3000 on the open market and they tend to be big and heavy. I wasn't interested in spending that kind of money or giving a big piece of equipment a lot of shop real estate. Enter Harbor Freight, where some things are good and some are junk. I was wary of the brake they sold so I looked into reviews and youtube videos of different mods people did to improve it. The reviews were generally good and it looked like it would work for the main job I needed so I took the plunge. $250 with coupon, figured it was worth the risk.
The piece on the left is from Stoddard, the one on the right is mine, still a little rough but it was the first one. But the brake did great. I put it on wheels so I can make a bunch of the perimeter pieces and then bury it somewhere in a dark corner of the shop.
The only mod I did so far is the front step. People on youtube said it helped to have some leverage when pulling up on the brake. The only other mod I might do is people added longer handles to get more leverage, but the ones that it came with work pretty well.
Like a lot of things at HF, roll the dice and sometimes win!

[Mike Wilson]

Mike

[Martin Benade]

This afternoon I made part of the inner and outer rocker on my old Lexus. I bet that brake would have been even better than the 2x4 and a hammer that I used.

[Adam Wright]

This afternoon I made part of the inner and outer rocker on my old Lexus. I bet that brake would have been even better than the 2x4 and a hammer that I used.

I know they have HF in Ohio, our mutual friend Mr. King was a big fan of the place.

[Martin Benade]

Yes unfortunately they just opened one up 6 miles from me, used to be they were too far away.

[Adam Wright]

Final mod was extending the pull-up handles to give more leverage. The pipe I used was the perfect diameter to slip over the existing handles, a very tight fit. That and a weld and it's there for life.

[Glen Getchell]

You'll save the price of the tool in Stoddard's shipping cost almost instantly.

I still don't understand why I can get a box the size of a pickup truck from one vendor for $15 shipping, but an envelope from Stoddards costs $25. I won't even address those vendors that offer free shipping.

Alas, I probably digressed didn't I?

Glen
64Cx2