An inexpensive 36" bending brake

[george wilson]

I was in our local Tractor Supply yesterday to buy cat food. Looking around,I found a very substantial 36" bending brake for $299.00. It looked plenty rigid enough to bend brass saw backs. It was rated to bend a 1/4" x 2" wide piece of steel.

It didn't take up much floor space. I liked that feature. Also,it would bend the metal way past 90 degrees,into a "V" shape. Beyond that,careful progressive squeezing along the saw back with a non marring vise would complete the job.

If any of you aspiring saw makers want a way to bend the backs ( which I guess is a hurdle for many to over come),you might check out this brake. I don't know how many places have a Tractor Supply store,but they sell many useful things even if you don't have a tractor!!

I hope it isn't against TOS to mention a store.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I'm guessing it was this guy, George?

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/stor...-stand-36-in-l

Tractor supply is a pretty neat place; I can get lost in there for hours, even though I don't need most of what they sell.

They also have Evapo-rust at the one local to me, for folks who like using that stuff.

[Zach Dillinger]

Evaporust, Oil Eater, lots of files and taps, lots of tools. Grinding wheels of good quality. Steel, aluminum, brass stock. Ni99 welding rod. Lots of reasons to go into Tractor Supply. Fortunately I'm there at least once a week to buy chicken feed and I have one about two miles from my house.

[Steve Voigt]

Evaporust, Oil Eater, lots of files and taps, lots of tools. Grinding wheels of good quality. Steel, aluminum, brass stock. Ni99 welding rod.

Sounds like paradise !
There's one nearby, I don't know why I've never gone. I'll have to check it out.

[Jessica Pierce-LaRose]

I'll have to check again - I didn't see metal stock when I was last at ours, and the selection of files wasn't great, but ours hadn't been open that long when I went.

[george wilson]

They do sell hot rolled (black) steel rod and bars and square tubing. I DO NOT buy their plated steel bar stock. It is universally terrible steel,whatever it is.

I did see a quite nice looking FINE 8" Chinese made flat file. It was about $5.00. I thought about buying it,but really don't need it right now. I'll bet it's properly hardened,as opposed to Nicholson Mexican soft files. How well it would hold up,I don't know. The teeth looked perfectly nice. Usually I only see Chinese files in coarser cuts. This one was nice.

Joshua,yes,that is the bending brake. If you anneal the brass,as you SHOULD,to avoid cracking, I'm sure that brake will be fine for making saws. In fact,we annealed our backs twice. The second annealing was done after bending into a V shape. We had no trouble with cracked backs. We used 260 alloy. I didn't try 360 alloy,so can't recommend it. Our museum warehouse stocked 260.

[Paul Saffold]

Not to hijack the thread but Tractor Supply has rubber mat in rolls from recycled tires in 1/4" and 3/8" thicknesses X 4 feet wide. I got the 3/8" X 12 ' to go along my workbench. I love it. It isn't as easy to sweep clean as the cement floor but sure is easier on feet and knees (tools too). When I go back I'll pick up enough for the other side and ends.

[george wilson]

I just wear sneakers with extra Dr. Shoale's(sp?) rubber liners inside. I think I might trip over the edge of a floor mat. I haven't fallen in many years. I'm afraid I might jerk loose my back implant if I do.

[Zach Dillinger]

I just wear sneakers with extra Dr. Shoale's(sp?) rubber liners inside. I think I might trip over the edge of a floor mat. I haven't fallen in many years. I'm afraid I might jerk loose my back implant if I do.

And George wins the award for the heeby-jeebiest post of the day... holy moly that sounds awful.

[george wilson]

Whazzo hebbie-jeebie about sneakers with Dr. Shoales in them? Beats walking on concrete,and I get some ventilation for my feet.

[Jamie Bacon]

I have access to a heavy duty break at work that easily bends the brass to the V shape; where my trouble comes in is when I try to close the bend in a vise, the back always comes out looking like a sway-backed horse. I've never tried annealing the brass though. Maybe that would eliminate the problem? Is the proper way to anneal brass heating it to cherry red and letting it cool slowly, or quenching it quickly?

[Ryan Baker]

Heat it and quench. (Actually, I think slow cooling works too, just more slowly). It's kind of the opposite of steel. I'm sure George will chime in with details.

[george wilson]

Heat it just to red. Let it cool slowly to avoid distorting and cracking which I can guarantee if you quench while hot. It will get fully annealed left to cool slowly.

I haven't had the sway backed thing happen. Annealing might help that. I suggest careful,progressive closing of the back in small stages to prevent the bowing. I saw a guy hammering a brass back into a groove in hardwood just using a caulking(wide) chisel. Even that simple way works. It must be in your technique.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Speaking of the sway back, George, I picked up a vintage English back saw a few years ago. It has a minor sway back to the spine. The blade has a bit of a wave to it, which I attribute to the sway back.

Short of replacing the spine, what can be attempted to minimize the saw plate's wave?

[george wilson]

I suppose the sway back was caused by someone attempting to tighten the back's grip on the blade by hammering on it mostly on its open side. That would stretch the metal on the open side and make it a bit wider,producing the sway back.

Remove the saw back entirely and anneal it. With a soft mallet,lay the back's round (closed) side down on a piece of wood,and mallet it straight. Be careful to not get it distorted sideways. Or,with a smooth jawed vise,squeeze the back straight by holding it horizontally in the jaws and tightening,along with some careful malleting. In any case,annealing is necessary.

Re assemble the saw,handle and all. To get the waviness out of the blade,adjust a Crescent wrench,or make one of hard wood,that just fits the thickness of the back. Place the wrench right ACROSS the back. Twist (torque) the back while looking down the teeth. Twist until the cutting edge is straight. It helps to clamp the front end of the back in a vise while twisting the back. We did this to nearly every saw we made. I had to invent the technique,but it is probably exactly what other saw makers had done forever. I used a NON MARRING wooden wrench. It doesn't take a lot of force to twist an annealed back a small amount. Small amounts are all that is necessary,since the effect of the twist will be magnified by the width of the saw blade on its cutting edge.

The very minor twisting of the back in this manner will not be noticeable. Indeed,you might be straightening the back itself,except if your back was previously deformed by hammering it,no telling what is happening to it.