Can someone recommend a metal shear and brake that is budget friendly? It is a pain to use my 5" depth bandsaw and belt sander to cut sheet metal. I'd prefer made in the USA, but its not a deal breaker. No luck on CL so far.

Enco sells a $700.00 4 foot box brake that will do 16 ga. I have been looking at them since they were only $ 400 +. I have a electric KETT shear with an optimal nibbler head that I use to cut panels and sheets. I also bought a small plasma cutter years ago while building a steel sail boat that I use for cutting heavy stuff. Then I have the small Taiwan made 4 X 6 " horizontal band saw that I use upright with a larger table top installed. It is handy that way. I had thought about a 52 " shear for years , but always spend the money on go faster stuff instead. Let us know what you do?

Try using search tempest to look at the craigslist ads in your area and keep your eyes open as there can be some good used deals to be had.

I'll keep my eyes out on craigslist. I wonder what a local shop would cost to do the cuts in the interim.

the Diacro brakes, shears etc, are the gold standard in small sized but industrial quality. They are priced accordingly though, a nice used shear will be about $800-$1000. The older pexto stuff is also very nicely made. They were most common in industrial arts programs where the equipment had to be high quality and rugged, but not huge. I was lucky to get a lot of my equipment in 2008 when the economy went really sour and prices really dropped on old equipment. I noticed that they have since rebounded quite a bit.
I have a 24" shear, 24" finger brake, 24" slip roll, 30" bar folder, 6" corner notcher and a small beverly shear. They are all rated to 16g in steel, but will do about 1/8" in aluminum and thicker steel in shorter lengths.
You can get much larger stuff for about the same money, but then the problem is you have this huge equipment that takes up all your space which you use to its full capacity less than 1% of the time.

I have a nice 36" 16ga Pexto jump shear found on Craigslist. I think I swapped a small Di-acro shear and some cash. They come up frequently around here, but you definitely want to make sure the blades are in good shape, as sending those in for a grind was several hundred last I checked. The really old ones may not have the spring clamp, work stops, or sheet supports. Make sure you verify the gauge capacity, as they can vary.
Also have the 4ft Enco finger brake, kind of crude in the finish dept. but works very well. Also Craigslist, might have paid too much, but it was close by, and an older unit so possibly heavier duty than the newer ones?
Previously used one of those generic Horror Fright red-painted apron brakes. Works better than two pieces of angle stock clamped to the bench, but only just.

Kett shears are ok, but I prefer the Malco 'throatless' for better accuracy and less distortion.
Nibbers work well and are fast for roughing cuts, but you have to keep the chips out of your socks. Also the punches/dies may wear faster on thicker stock.
Missed out on a Beverly last summer.
Found a corner notcher also on Craiglist, looks like a Di-acro?

One of the problems you might find with good used American stuff is the shipping cost due to weight/bulk/awkwardness.

Enco, Baileigh's etc may have some kind of deal on shipping depending on the overall cost of the tool and/or promo offers, but watch the fine print as they'll probably charge you more for lift-gate service at your end.

Many of those tools have the same origin though, so be wary of paying more for a nice paint job.

I have seen a few pop up on Craigslist but mostly the massive impossible to move pieces. I had another person recommend nibblers, I will look into them as a stop gap.

Oh, also a Roper Whitney No. 5 Hand Punch, I have two of them, both found at yard sales. One is really old and appears to be forged, and its a workhorse, can put a pipe on the handle on that one and punch way thicker metal that its rated for, the newer one appears to be cast and works fine as well but isn't quite as stout. I keep a 3/16" punch in one and a 1/4" in the other, I use these all the time, once you have a good punch you'll only drill a hole in sheet metal if you really have to.

Trying to get my hands on a nice used Beverly Shear, but those suckers are like gold!

I may try out the HF unit just for giggles to see if it will fulfill my needs for now.

I recently purchased one of these. (8" version) http://www.woodwardfab.com/product-cate ... and-shear/

It was on sale which was nice. The 3/16" capacity is actually nice to have. Not as good at intricate work on thinner metal compared to the one other shear I have used.

I also bought a used hand punch after Luke made the recommendation, happy I did.

Thanks I will have to check that out. I've heard good things about some of their other products.

Here's a brief discussion on the HF version of the Beverly. A few other threads as well if you do a search under 'beverly shear'.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/beverly-shear.949455/

I'd suspect the Woodward Fab and Baileigh versions are more or less the same as the HF.
The real deal isn't cheap, but it's not like you'll have to replace it.

Went off in search of one last summer, and accidentally dragged home a Pullmax clone.

Scored BIG at an Estate sale in Napa on Friday.

Yah you did. Someone use that the snip grape vines? B3, about 1200$ and up for new ones.

Used, but new to me shop tool. Picked it up off the bay for a very fair price for the machine and shipping.
AllFab weld positioner with foot controller.

First project was to build a hand prop for the turntable. Welded the vertical pole to the base using the machine. Kinda guessed at the speed by holding the torch against the part and dry run visual.
A bit of a re-train of the muscle memory; do not drag the torch hand.


Not sure how much I will use it, but is sure is a dream to weld with.