sorry if this questions been answered. i looked through here for about twenty minutes and didn't see a thread for this.

i'm looking into buying a brake. i am a gutter contractor and usually only cap fascias/gables. there are many different brakes to choose from. can anyone give me some good insight as to which one is better and for what? i don't mind spending the money for a nice piece of equipment if i'm sure it's the last one i'm going to buy. thanks.

We bought a van mark about 2 years ago and have been pleased with it and the service of the company with questions, issues, etc. Spent about 1200 on it delivered. Cant remember the model but professional 10' model.
If you get informed about specific makes, models, etc. this time of year you can find good used brakes at pawn shops and ebay. I would never buy one sight unseen. If it's close enough you could see it that be the way to go. We almost got a hold of a good lightly used but in a rural area it's hard to find something close. ABC sells brakes. Tapcon another major brake name.
You got the idea, don't buy a light duty cheapo

 

Hey fred I've only had 2 brakes in my life. My old one was a Tapco "windy" 12'6" long. It was a good brake, it was probly about 14 years old or so when I got rid of it. I have a Vanmark "Mark 1" 10'6" now and it 100 times better. A few tips that I can suggest are, get a brake with a center lock as opposed to an end lock mecanisim so you can do return bends on either end. And get a brake that is capable of doing hems (bending the aluminum all the way around its self doubling up) I could be wrong but I believe only center lock brakes can do this. I really can't think of much else.


Dave

 

Hey fred I've only had 2 brakes in my life. My old one was a Tapco "windy" 12'6" long.

Dave

I didn't think the Windy ever came in a 12'6'

 

thnx. i've only started bending recently and one thing i definitely need is a coil stand/holder. i just looked at the one from van mark and it appears to be a two piece setup.

i have some questions about this because i've run into problems. i see that there is a slitter or cutter to cut the width of the aluminum. is there also one to cut the length? i have been using snips and am left with edges that need trimming even when using good snips. do i just turn the coil holder sideways and feed through to the front of the brake and then use the slitter?

what i'm looking for is complete ease of use. i want the brake that's going to save me the most time and mental energy. i don't want to be beat up anymore by my equipment.

 

Why couldn't you use an electric metal shear as opposed to snips? I cut sheet steel with one all the time with no jagged edges.

 

I have the 10'6" Tapco pro 19 and love it. It's nice to be able to put 24" coil in it and cut off 6" instead of having it in the reverse. Since you always need a work table, I use a ½ sheet of osb laid on 2 2x4-10s on saw horses. Then I set my coil on the exposed 2' of 2x4 with a 2x4 block behind it. Pull out the length of coil that I need, using a square, score it and break it, make my cut and bend marks and put it in the brake. No need for a coil holder.

 

I have the same setup, I have a 10' long table with folding table legs on it. I added 3/8 foam to the top to keep the coil from scratching i change the foam every 4 houses or so. I also have a brand new used only once $400 vanmark stand alone coil dispenser which has been sitting in my garage unused for the last 4 years!! I like the table that much.

 

Also make sure you replace the two bending handles on the Tapco with a one piece C shaped handle so no one gets their balls whacked

 

well if the customer is standing next to you watching you brake aluminum they deserve to have their balls whacked. I think Tapco did that on purpose. I remember the first time i set up and used the pro. I called the builder and asked... Bob.. Where the hell are the handles ?? DUH!! (they are on the ends of the brake for carrying)

 

Tapco pro 3. I've only needed the 19 like 3 times so I don't think it's worth the extra weight. I've tried all the other's and nothing comes close. I've rebuilt this one like a dozen times but it gets abused 40-50 hrs a week constantly.

This is my setup for the last 5 or so years.

 

Tapco pro 3. I've only needed the 19 like 3 times so I don't think it's worth the extra weight. I've tried all the other's and nothing comes close. I've rebuilt this one like a dozen times but it gets abused 40-50 hrs a week constantly.

This is my setup for the last 5 or so years.

My slapper resides permanently on my truck with a masons plank tied to the top of it. I never take the coil completely out of the box i just hold the box between my feet or toes and pull what I need out. Then cut it on foam scrap on the ground with my knife and square. i use the bench (mason plank) on the horses behind my brake to store my complete bends and scrap cut offs. I bought legs for my brake not long after I bought the brake. They lasted five days until the legs got snagged on my utility cap rack and smacked me on the side of my head as i was loading/unloading it. I unscrewed the legs and attached them to a solid door for a workbench in my basement.

 

AW the way you described is fine for making repairs or quick small jobs.

No way in hell would I bend 900ft of overhang like that. Not to mention it's hard to keep you quality up. Sure I can do it you way but it's much easier to take 5 minutes and set up what I use.

Ive burnt up a dozen rolls of coil in a day before. There's no way I could have done that using your method.

 

Anyone that needs a stand alone coiler is more than welcome to mine, Ill sell it cheap. I paid $400 for it, but prefer to use a $10 table instead Its just takin up space and collecting dust in the garage.

 

if i were to do 900 feet of rake cap and facia sure i would set up a wide workstation with something to hold my coil. And hell I wouldnt use a slapper either. within the past five years I have started to sub out my siding so I only use my brake for window jobs and repairs or addtions. For that a pair of horses with a plank works for me.

 

Yea I don't use any accessories. Just utility knife and a table.

 

Im thinkin about getting a pro cut off whadda ya think?

 

That would be the only one I would consider. Just because I'm tired of switching blades on my knife.

It would just be another thing in my toolbox and I'd still have to carry a knife so...

 

The ONLY blades I buy now are Irwin blades. The blue one, they are the only ones that dont crack on me right away. Im seriously lookin at the cut off though, does it leave a scar on one side like a utility blade does? I have a brake buddy but that sits in the garage collecting dust too, I can bend faster by hand

 

I use irwins also. But the damn sleeve fell apart on my current batch.

The ONLY blades I buy now are Irwin blades. The blue one, they are the only ones that dont crack on me right away. Im seriously lookin at the cut off though, does it leave a scar on one side like a utility blade does? I have a brake buddy but that sits in the garage collecting dust too, I can bend faster by hand

if you snap the very tip of the blade off you can cut off about 1/4 inch of the blade with a snip and you will have a stronger blade with new virgin edge.

Contractor friend of mine bought a cut off wheel. problem is hes left handed and can never get the hang of it with him running off track and messin up the coil. I had no problem with it.

 

nothin like a virgin edge :thumbup:

As for you title, I dumped mine into a coffee can, although some dip, keeps putting the old blades back into the coffee can

 

Funny. I don't find myself trying to find a safe place to dump the old blade. Since I mainly do new construction I stick in a electric box and let the sparky deal with it. lol

 

or you can go into the house and put the old dull blades into that slot in the back of the medicine cabinet. Years later when they open the wall they will wonder who the heck shaved with utility knife blades.

 

this is great. this forum is really fantastic. i've gotten all of these different responses and all under a day.

i am kinda surprised that there have been this many responses suggesting the coil holder is unnecessary. i thought for sure this was a must have. it's good to know, though. i'm going to take your words for it and see how i fare with a setup of my own as far as that aspect goes. i was under the impression that a brake was one of those tools where every single amenity was the way to go. what about the foot pedal?

i'm doubly surprised that some of you are still using a knife instead of the cutter. i've never used a cutter before and have only bent about a thousand feet of capping in my life but it seemed like that thing was a godsend. as long as it works as quickly and easily and it looks like it does, i don't think i can be talked out of buying that. thanks for your opinions, though.

sidingpro - your photo is kinda dark so let me make sure i understand your setup. you just have that table behind the brake. the brake and your table are sharing the same horses. looks like your coil is completely out of the box. what is keeping it from uncoiling? what's keeping the aluminum from scatching when sliding across that table?

about the razor blades - i have found it's actually easier for me to score the metal while in the brake after the tip of the blade is broken off. i don't know why but it just works better.

i was planning on coming on here and getting a few vague answers. since i've gotten this plethora of information i'm going to try get as much as i can here and ask some more questions. if anyone thinks i should start another thread i will be more than happy to.

has anyone had a few different kind of brakes in their time and have any noteworthy likes or dislikes. have you gotten rid of one for some specific reason? if you've only ever had a tapco, then sure your going to recommend it. that's usually how that stuff goes. don't get me wrong, it's all good info but if there's any info out there that says one is better than another, i wan it. this is really the only place that i would be able to come across any solid, unbiased (monetarily speaking) info like this. i'm sure as hell not going to get it from the brake companies.

also, can anyone provide more info or tips on how they go about bending a few hundred feet of fascia cap using a 24 inch roll? for instance, do you cut all of the pieces first, then lay them down and mark the bends in some way and then continue to bend them all? is it practical to bend two pieces at the same time when only bending an inch return or something small like that?

theres more i've been using some crappy brake with a lever on one side. the thing sucks in many ways but something i like about it is the measurement on the horseshoes themselves. i thought this was standard thing but i thought i remembered seeing a tapco brake at my supply shop and i couldn't locate the marks on there. did i just miss them or were they missing? if missing, how the hell do you measure?

i thought i had a good idea to make some kind of movable stops on the horseshoes. maybe just on the two end shoes. something that i could easily adjust to stop the metal at certain measurements. is this feasible or am i missing some big reason that this isn't done?

i promise all of you that i have looked through this forum on the sections that thought were relevant to this and i couldn't find answers sufficient enough to all of these questions. i didn't just join and start posting questions without looking for answers first. i realize just wrote sh**load here and i hope it's not a burden. i can't tell you how much i appreciate all of your help. you're going to help me get on the right track with all of this and save me a lot of time and mistakes, though i'm going to make some anyway. so in the end it should kinda work out like this: you help me like you shoulda been helped in the beginning and i'll end up making less mistakes, making more money, and having an easier time than all of you did. if that's not enticing enough...i have a smoking hot sister who i'm sure i could convince to talk to you on the phone for a few minutes. how's that? no, it will not be my grandmother. yes, it may sound like her.

 

what about the foot pedal?

also, can anyone provide more info or tips on how they go about bending a few hundred feet of fascia cap using a 24 inch roll? for instance, do you cut all of the pieces first, then lay them down and mark the bends in some way and then continue to bend them all? is it practical to bend two pieces at the same time when only bending an inch return or something small like that?

i thought i had a good idea to make some kind of movable stops on the horseshoes. maybe just on the two end shoes. something that i could easily adjust to stop the metal at certain measurements. is this feasible or am i missing some big reason that this isn't done?

You only need a foot pedal if you are bending really heavy stuff. Like if a hotel specs the wrapping to be gutter metal

I roll out 10 feet on the table, make my measurements on the coil, roll out another 10 feet, mark it, roll out another ten feet so on and so forth till I have enough marked and then I go to town bending.

As far as sizes go make it easy on yourself by making the number come out even. If your facia is 6-1/2 make your return 1-1/2 so you get an even 8. If your facia is 6-3/4 make your return 1-1/4. etc. You can have different size returns on different sides of the house no one will notice. I never liked the idea of those measuring tools that came with the brake. to easy for them to get moved without you knowing. Its pretty fast just marking the coil. Always make sure you cut on the back side of your piece so you cant see the scar when the trim is up.

 

Fred.. try the decaf..


just kidding.

I cant speak for others but i love answering questions. please don't apologize for asking. I have only used three different types of breaks over the years. My Tapco windy is beat up and due for replacement. I have never been what you call a production sider. Its just one of the many things I do. Patrick or TheSiding Pro will better advise you. What I can say which pretty much applies to all carpentry work is the less time you spend moving material around the more productive you will be. This means if the material is already in the brake from slitting. You should probably continue to bend it while it's in the break.


(edit to add) my tapco windy has those sliding stops you mention above. I never bothered to use them

 

I reach right over the brake. The only time I have to walk around is when I prepping my coil. I use 1/4" cuts and make patterns for all my boards. I start on the table side get all my metal ready on the table and then walk around and bend it.

 

I've kept by work bench (1'2" finished plywood screwed to an old chunk of aluminum ladder)for cutting behind me as I'm facing my brake.Just spin around and switch from cutting to bending.

One short cut I've used,when bending window trim and short pieces with similar profiles,is to cut the coil to twice the length of what you need,cut the width,and then score a mark at the halfway point with your knife.This way you're actually bending two pieces at once ,and ,depending on the number of bends,after a quick snip,the parts can be ripped apart easily.
This works good when bending J's into window trim.You can do one side and one top piece in half the time.
As for holding my coil stock on the workbench,a spring clamp work great.On windy days ,use them to hold the lengths down to the work bench.It also keeps the coil from unraveling so it's easier to put back in the box at the end of the day.

There are so many bends that can be done with a good brake,that you're only limited by your imagination.By bending the J's into your trim work you alleviate one passage for water to get behind the siding.Bending the J into the facia returns looks better than those short pieces of vinyl J

 

I use a Van Mark, and have a slitter and brake buddy (roll former) both. When taking stock off the coil, I just use the slitter in a jig we made, and that is it. I too wanted a coil slitter, but decided it wasn't worth the bother. I wish my brake was 12-6 instead of 10-6, but that is just a preference.

 

I bought a coil slitter for a big commercial job 10 years ago.There was a lot of repetitive dimensions and I used 150 rolls of coil.It's been sitting ever since.
No need to spend the money here.It's Ok in the shop,but too bulky to tote out to the normal sized job.

 

This brake is awesome. I have the whole setup, coiler, slitters and work table. It sets up quick and is easy to move around. http://alumapole.com/alumabrakemain.html

 

I have a trim, a break 2 10.6 footer for 700.

 

10'6" Windy. Works just fine for me.