According to Leo Lichtman :

"knowone" wrote: Can a shear commonly be used as a brake, too?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
No. A brake has a pair of parallel jaws that grip the metal, and a third
"jaw" that does the bending. A shear has two "jaws," which are not
parallel, and which do not meet (like a pair of scissors, or *oddly,* like a
pair of shears.)

There are some which do the brake operation with only two jaws.
A "press brake" has a female V below the workpiece, and a male V pressed
into it from above to do the bending.

What you described is a "pan brake" or a "finger brake" or
similar.

So -- I *guess* that a shear could be modified to perform as a
press brake -- but it would need a lot of extra reenforcing. Not
something quick to change back and forth.

Enjoy,
DoN.
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