Re: FWIW first welding job, 2 years on

"Richard Smith"  wrote in message news:m1msh2szmg.fsf@void.com...
Funnily enough, was helping the boss on the press-brake today.  Ran out
of folded plate pressings and no other work, so did a run.  The boss had
me involved in his (our) measurements - getting the pressings from
"nearly" to matches drawing dimensions and angles.
Got some idea of the adjustable variables and what error can manifest as
on pressings.
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I have the 30" central Machinery 3-in-1 shear + brake + roll. Like the 4x6 bandsaw they can be terrible unless reworked. Mine had been orphaned in disgust by a shop that tried to shear plastic with it, without fine-tuning (overhauling) it first. After adjusting it repeatedly until it stopped shifting it has worked fairly well, as long as I stay below its claimed capacity. 0.050" 5052 aluminum is fine on it, 0.063" 6061 is almost too much.
It bends a radius by inverting the fingers and pressing a round rod down with the square back edges. I set its height to accept cardboard padding on the lower die to avoid scratching the stock. The supplied squaring guide makes a good clamp for a ruler.