In the last two years I am trying to figure out how to construct a complicated Automaton machine. It involve few wooden human figure (in small scale obviously), that interact between themselves, in synchronised movement. It involve a lot of cogs and pulleys. Some of the cogs seats on axel that supported by thin brass sheet bracket.
One can bend the brass sheet using his vice, or hammer it maybe. I did try both but, it is very difficult to do it accurately and consistently. So I decided to built myself a Sheet Metal Bender.
It is small and primitive but it work for me and, it was easy to build out of material that I found around my workshop. I won’t bore you with the exact dimension, as you can adjust it to your own needs. Instead I show you all the parts that I used and if you zoom in you will be able to see the shape of the various elements. See below. The mug of coffee is essential part of it, yes.
And here is how it works.
My Homemade Metal Sheet Bender.
If you want to repeat the same dimension on few pieces, then you need to set the length of the sheet that you want to bend. Lock the adjuster fence and the sheet clump using the knobs (next week post, is how I built the knobs hades). All you have to do now, is to bend the free plate (on the right) upwards (right angle to the fixed plate) (fixed on to a vice).
Note the shape of the clump metal strip (on the fixed plate), it is chamfered to 45 degrees to allow for sharp right-angled bend. You may say that, from the photos, it doesn’t look as if it worked. You will be wrights but, it is not because of the metal strip hedge angle. It is because I used a very flimsy hinges and when I bend the free plate there is a slight gap between the two plates.
It is simple to rectify the problem by using more robust hinges and a better quality wood for the plate.
Well that I will do next.
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