Does anyone know [OF!] a photoetch bending brake?? the type that is hinged [i.e. do not have to use a razor blade]
It seems that the “FenderBender” is no longer in production.
Alternatively, has anyone tried using a normal bending brake?
-sean
Seeing how as (1) suppliers near my home don’t want to stock such an expensive item and (2) I have a hard time justifying to myself as well as the wife the prices asked for such items, I decided to make one for myself.
I went to Canadian Tire and bought a 5" brass hinge. Cut one side back to the outside of the middle screw hole, used a file to create an angle of about 60 degrees, drilled a hole thru both pieces that can take a screw. I soldered the screw in place and found a wing nut that I can use to tighten the two sides together.
No It doesn’t look as fancy like the one that they sell for $60, but it holds the PE tight and I can bend the PE to any angle I want. Look at the pictures of the store boughten one and use your imagination. Hey thats why we do modeling isn’t it? To use our imagination.
John Vojtech at UMM-USA has just the type…check his website at umm-usa.com, you can call him to, contact info at his site. He has two sizes both are under $30. This is a new item for him but the quality is good, given John’s mastery of the hobby I wouldn’t expect anything less from or for him.
Any chance of some pictures?
Grizz
Hawkeye, yea - checked it out, looks nice and at a really reasonable price. but I was looking for something that had “fingers”
Mike - also good idea, but I am a little bit “funny” about tools, I would definately try, if I had access to a machine shop… but alas no. I don’t.
-sean
Then you might want to look at the Original PE benders which are from ‘The Small Shop’.
Yes - I did find these at one point, and they do look nice, but not hinged.
Thanks, but, the search continues.
I guess I’m missing a part of the puzzle. With the PE bender you use a razor blade or other piece of flat stock (I used brass) to achieve the fold/bend. I have several lengths to facilitate bending the parts I need to bend.
What are you trying to bend?
There are companies that do make small bench top brakes, but they are really expensive especially ones that have adjustable ‘fingers’.
Trying to bend PE [grin] … anything over a couple of centimeters I have problems with - especially if it is a long narrow fold…
I’ve seen the “smaller” bench brakes, as small as 18", but I’m guessing they would be too clumsy [i.e. not fine enough tolerance] to fold PE… [not that expensive either … $70/$80]
Then I would suggest that you find the one that best suits your needs from The Small Shop. Bending PE is part technique as well as having the right tool.
I also find the PE pliers from Xuron very useful for working with PE as well as other model parts.
There are some new tools for working with PE in the design stages…I wish I could share more [XX] but they will be a must have tool for modelers who routinely use PE.
Will these become part of your product line in the future?
Definitely!
Have a look at the Flip-R10:
http://www.aeroscale.co.uk/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3062
I wouldn’t expect the clamps to be tight enough on that. The fingers are not nearly tall enough either.
BTW, fenderbender has a really thin finger, thinner than other company had on their products. But it doesn’t have an open’ed side (or 180 degrees open front) and doesn’t allow reversed bending. If you’re looking for a primary bending brake this isn’t very good. It’s a heavy duty brake that would probably help you bend big and thick pieces.
yes - I had come across that one on a couple of occasions, it does look pretty flimsy.
I ordered a Flip-R10 yesterday, should get it the start of the week.
If your interested, i’ll let you know what it’s like, how robust etc…
sure thing… let us know.
Hi everyone,
I am the creator and manufacturer of the Flip-R10.
For those who do not know me, I have been builiding models for many years and I won numerous competitions. In addition to using photoetched parts, I have been designing photetched parts for many years (for a variety of manufacturers) and I am quite familiar with the material. Please visit my website to see some of my work www.radub.com
The Flip-R folding tools are made from 0.4mm high grade stainless steel and is quite tough. They were designed to be used only with photoetched parts. Photoetched parts are usually made in 0.15 to a maximum of 0.2mm brass. Most commercial brands such as Eduard or Part use 0.15 mm brass. White Ensign Models use a variety of thicknesses, from 0.1 to 0.2mm. Some parts for scale 1/16 tanks have thicker brass, but they are definitely not the norm. Brass is quite soft and flexible. Stainless steel used to be quite popular in the early 90s, but it is seldom used nowadays. Photoecthed parts are prepared for bending in the sense that they are weakened where the bending needs to take place. If a photoetched part is designed correctly (and they all are, with very rare exceptions), a folding tool will only need to keep the parts straight while folding along the pre-designed folding line, rather than provide the fold line in itself. Little force is needed to fold a photoetched part - you can actually fold them between your fingers (but that will not give you the straight edge you need). A flat nose pliers can do that. The difference between a Flip-R tool and a flat-nose pliers is that the Flip-R tool will provide a straight edge up to 10cm in length. As you probably noticed, I refer to this operation as folding not bending, because that is all you do with photoetched parts, you fold them along the in-built predesigned fold lines. Photoetched parts do not require space age aerospace-grade thick billet tools.
You can see a video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNxihh-86kc
So, here is what I am trying to say: If you are trying to fold commerically available photoetched parts, then a Flip-R tool is adequate.
However, if you are trying to bend unprepared metal, then you will need a workshop bending brake. To bend any unprepared metal thicker than 0,3 mm you will actually need a hydraulic press.
Hope this helps,
If anyone has any queries, please contact me directly and I will answer all questions.
Radu
The thickness of the PE isn’t of concern though, rather the thickness of the bending lines. Eduard brass is usually thin (not always 0.15mm, their tiger exhaust covers were at least 0.25mm), but they don’t always etch their lines very deep. Companies that use even sh*ttier brass sometimes leave the bend lines even thicker.
And with these manuel bending tools, it’s not always whether you could bend the piece. A lot of times the press let go first. Especially when there’s limited depth to grab onto, less pressure meant less static friction, and movements are nono for a sharp bend.
On a seperate note, bending tools can sometimes be used as press to flatten 180 degree folds. Industrial clamps would be necessary with your design, and that’s when the toughness of the 2 plates would really be tested.
Hi Rios,
The depth of the etched line is always 1/2 of the overall thickness of brass, i.e. when a part is etched in 0.25mm brass, the line is 0.125mm deep. The thing that makes all the difference is actually the width of the etched line. There are strict rules that govern the width of the lines depending on what you need to do. For 90 degrees bends, the line must be as wide as the thickness of the material.
When parts are poorly designed, no tool can help you. There will always be exceptions and yes, I agree that there will be times when any tool of any design will have difficulty bending certain types of photo etched parts. Those tend to be exceptions though, and exceptions do not make good rules. Most of the things around us are designed for optimum performance in the most usual situations, not exceptional situations. One may want his or her car to go 200 miles per hour, but what is the point when one just drives that car to work and back through traffic. 
That is why these tools are designed to work with the most usual/commonly met photoetched parts. If a tool performs in the optimum manner 99% of the times, then that is all that matters.
You mentioned that the part may slip out of the clamp… Well, if that happens, forget about it. If a part does not bend right away, that is a poorly designed part and no amount of pressure you apply can help. There is a point where the pressure will cause distorsion in either the tool or the part. In the case of the tools made from aluminium or composite material, brass may actually win. Cut your losses and start from scratch. Believe me, it is very easy to damage a 40 dollar tool with a poorly designed 2 dollar part.
When parts are stubborn and refuse to bend, you can anneal the part by heating it up until it glows red and letting it cool by itself (do not drop it into water, the rapid drop in temperature may buckle the part).
HTH
Radu