SWAG Off-Road Finger Break Upgrades

[BrooklynBravest]

Hey guys, thought I’d share a couple changes I made to my swag brake setup.

When I was in the market for this multiple members told me it’s useless and you can’t do any real bending with any precision with it. And I will say out of the box that was certainly the case. But now it functions as a real tool with a fairly good degree of precision.

Hopefully this will help other guys out there who don’t have the space or resources for a real brake.

Before going on I’ll address the main problems with the stock setup.

#1 the die (formed of 3” angle) requires nearly a 4” minimum piece to be able to catch both lips of the die for bending.
#2 It is very hard to gauge spring back with such a grossly exaggerated air bend due to problem #1
#3 it does not create tight radius bends again due to problem #1
#4 the hydraulic jack takes forever to use by hand.

So the first thing I did was convert the press to air over hydraulic. I chopped off the mounting plate for the stock jack and made a new one to fit the air jack. Then I converted the switch to a foot pedal so I could work with both hands while simultaneously adding pressure.

The next thing I did was purchased the “flat top” add on from SWAG for $140. This is supposed to address the problems above. It was a waste of money. It is completely worthless and makes horrible uneven bends because it essentially floats on top of the fixture and does not self align to the blade of the brake. It’s a complete disaster.

So the solution was making a stackable die out of 1/4” steel which i drew to have a flat alignment at the top to support the work. They were CNC cut and bent in place on tbe press. After this change i was able to use the press to make bend down to avoid 3/4” stickout with a tight radius.

On the smallest die i can bend up to 1/4” steel about 8” long.

[BrooklynBravest]

Here’s a couple recent bends for my plasma table project.

[Capt B]

Thanks, I have one that I use a good bit but have a lot of the issues you mentioned above. I am going to copy your idea for sure.

[BrooklynBravest]

Thanks, I have one that I use a good bit but have a lot of the issues you mentioned above. I am going to copy your idea for sure.

I can send you the file for cutting if you like. I drew it in 20 40 and 50 inch length.

[Capt B]

I can send you the file for cutting if you like. I drew it in 20 40 and 50 inch length.

That would be great!

[Dee_veloper]

You should make and sell your solution as an add-on kit....

[wb4rt]

I would like the file for the 20” pieces.

I agree on you making and selling these. Shipping may be an issue but better than trying to source locally for a one-off order.

[Reebz]

Im headed out the door. I need to look at this post.

[BrooklynBravest]

You should make and sell your solution as an add-on kit....

I sold the file to probably 25 people for $5 and sold a couple kits for the 20” for $100 shipped.

It isn’t really worthwhile to me other than some gas money.

[Dee_veloper]

I sold the file to probably 25 people for $5 and sold a couple kits for the 20” for $100 shipped.

It isn’t really worthwhile to me other than some gas money.

Most enterprises start small. SWAG didn't begin with a corporate scale operation either...

Anyway, thanks for sharing.

[Reebz]

I too would like a file. I will send you a private message. I use my brake frequently on my gym equipment builds. it clearly has its limitations. I need to reread the air hook up. I like that.

[akpolaris]

I inserted other 1/4" angle iron pieces in a similar manner.

[Tarmstrong]

Great post OP...very helpful with my plans for a press....

[Reebz]

What is the part numbers for the H.Freight air system?

[digitalmonk]

Does it work well, I imagine once you stack them they stick out past the original edge?
Also what sizes did you use ?

[BrooklynBravest]

Does it work well, I imagine once you stack them they stick out past the original edge?
Also what sizes did you use ?

They’re designed to stack with a flat surface across them.

[slodat]

Would you sell another 20T set?

[Rathersmart]

I would take a set of the 20”

[Fab54]

I tried to tell SWAG that their bender needed something like this. They sold me that stupid thing that goes on top. The above is fantastic. Wish I had them.

[BrooklynBravest]

I tried to tell SWAG that their bender needed something like this. They sold me that stupid thing that goes on top. The above is fantastic. Wish I had them.

I bought the top piece and its the biggest waste of $120 I ever spent.

[SlowBlues]

Most of their stuff is extremely over priced IMO (disclosure: I am cheap so it could be me), but they do fill a market need.

There really aren't many viable alternatives to their stuff, which seems strange.

Though it is a bit niche I would think if harbor freight makes enough money to still sell the base tools (hyd. press, tube roller) They would also profit from selling the accessories (dies, metal brake attachment, etc).

[Ohio Mike]

Found this while looking for a solution to make my SWAG brake workable. I'd love to get a copy of this file if its still available.

[Freedom_Fabwerx]

Bringing this thread back to life lol does anyone have the file for those 20” dies? I just picked up one of these and would love to bend a tighter radius

[robert-r]

bringing this thread back to life lol does anyone have the file for those 20” dies? I just picked up one of these and would love to bend a tighter radius

x2 .

[Country Metals]

I have a large press brake, but I was wondering how bad do the corners of the bend angle dies dig into to the metal your bending?

My press brake uses tool steel dies with rounded edges. But im asking because I'm interested in building this type of setup for misc jobs.