2022 - Volume #46, Issue #4, Page #35
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100-Ton Shop-Built Press Brake
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“I built it several years ago, when steel wasn’t nearly as costly as it is today, so my investment was probably a third of what it would’ve cost to buy one,” Burrington says.
He made the frame and side pieces for the 100-ton brake using 40 ft. of 12-in. wide by 1-in. thick flat bar steel, stacked vertically for added strength.
“I water jetted all the critical pieces like the slides and notches, then flux-core welded it all together,” Burrington says.
He bought the 7-in. dia. press cylinders, hoses and hydraulic pump from the Surplus Center in Lincoln, Neb. A friend gave him a 3-hp electric motor and a pump that produces 2,500 psi of working pressure to operate the press.
“I didn’t think I could fabricate the upper and lower dies, so I bought those from a manufacturer’s rep I met at the Fabtech trade show in Chicago. Those worked perfectly, and I’ve used them to bend all types of metal, even water flumes and custom high-strength cardboard boxes. I even made a set of dies to punch in/out the pins and bushings on my Deere MC crawler track instead of having the dealer do it,” Burrington says.
For a total cash outlay of about $4,000, plus his labor, Burrington says his custom-built press brake has paid for itself many times over.
“Better yet, if anything goes wrong, which it rarely has, I know exactly how to fix it and don’t need to call for repairs,” he adds.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Pat Burrington, Rapid Creek Cutters, 130 Garnet Dr. Hwy 93, Stevensville, Mont. 59870 (ph 406-642-3155; www.rapidcreekcutters.com).
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