Three Metalworking Tools In One
By Benjamen Johnson
For a Toolmonger looking to do some metalworking with limited space or budget the M1045 three-in-one metalworking tool from Shop Fox might be just the ticket. This 12″ capacity machine can bend, shear, and roll metal up to 22ga.
Extras include section fingers for forming pans and boxes with the brake and different-sized grooves for rolling wire in the 1-1/2″ diameter roller.
You can find the 12″ machine for somewhere between $220 and $290. For metal up to 24″ wide, you can also buy Shop Fox’s M1042 for closer to $400.
Sheet Metal Machine [Woodstock International]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
March 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
22 Ga?? Cool idea, but man, that really limits what can be done.
March 9th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
@Scuba Steve:
That 22 gauge limitation is for mild sheet steel. I wonder if it’s a thickness limitation or a structural limitation — that is if requires too much force to roll shear, or bend anything over that thickness. So could you bend a thicker gauge aluminum for instance?
Shop fox isn’t clear if the 22ga. applies to all three machines or it’s just a limitation of one of the tools like the shear?
March 9th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
I downloaded the manual and the mild steel capacities are 22ga for the rolls and brake but only 28ga for the shear. So it’s a case of salesman’s truth. If you really want to work with sheet metal using only this tool you’d be limited to 28ga.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:14 am
This looks okay to me. I have been looking for a small brake and shear for working sheet aluminum for structural elements of RC aircraft and robot projects. Would this be good for those kinds of projects?
March 11th, 2009 at 6:50 am
[...] Toolmonger » Blog Archive » Three Metalworking Tools In One [...]
March 13th, 2009 at 10:17 am
[...] Three Metalworking Tools In One For a Toolmonger looking to do some metalworking with limited space or budget the M1045 three-in-one metalworking tool from Shop Fox might be just the ticket. This 12″ capacity machine can bend, shear, and roll metal up to 22ga. [...]
May 24th, 2009 at 1:50 am
For a hobbyist, working on light projects like RC aircraft, this might be fine. For larger projects and working on full-size aircraft, this just ain’t gonna cut it.
12″ or 24″ width, and 22/28 gauge is far too limiting, and I suspect the brake portion of this will do 90 degree bends only.