A Handy Shop Tool Combo

I found these two items at a nearby Harbor Freight store and they were on sale! The arbor press (a half-ton size) comes in handy for many jobs in the shop. The bending brake was designed for use in a large opening vise but, with the addition of a couple of flat crs pieces, the magnets can get a good grip on the arbor press and the combination makes a neat box brake.

I drilled and tapped a hole for a FH bolt in the bottom end of the rack-geared push bar of the press. This holds a 1/4” by 1” flat bar which the brake's built in magnets grab, thus  holding the movable part of the brake in place. In addition a 1/2” by 2” flat bar was placed on the magnets  in the fixed brake half and just sits on the cast bottom of the arbor press in line with the top die. (The V groove causes the bottom to move into exact position when the punch is lowered.)

A box up to 6 inches wide by 3 inches high and 6 inches long can be made with the combo assembly. Of course other bends with a good range of angles can be made as well.

It is a handy tool for all kinds of gadgets and I use it often.