Hi all,

We've been looking for a small metal brake for quite a while and
stumbled across a Chicago BB2 (which appears to be about a 24" size)
with a full set of fingers plus some edge radius bends and on a floor
stand for $700.

It's close enough that we can pick it up and save shipping and looks
nice in the pictures but I'd like confirmation that this is worth the $$$.

American made heavy iron instead of recycled tomato cans from
Trashcanistan.

Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance,

Carla

I don't want a lot from politics. I just don't want people dumber than
me telling me what to do. I guess that's asking a lot, actually. -
George P. Burdell

Carla Fong wrote:

Hi all,

We've been looking for a small metal brake for quite a while and
stumbled across a Chicago BB2 (which appears to be about a 24" size)
with a full set of fingers plus some edge radius bends and on a floor
stand for $700.

It's close enough that we can pick it up and save shipping and looks
nice in the pictures but I'd like confirmation that this is worth the $$$.

American made heavy iron instead of recycled tomato cans from
Trashcanistan.
I have a 36" light-weight Chicago finger brake. About the only problem
I have with it is there is a bronze busing on the eccentric shaft that
clamps the brake bar, and that bushing sometimes works out of the hole
in the frame, and then I can't get it to clamp the work. It also has
a real limit on the depth of the box it can make. When you fold up
two sides of the box and then turn it to fold the other sides, the
first sides need to be no more than about 1/2" tall. Otherwise,
you have to fold it with the box outside the brake and just the one
side under the clamp bar. Then, you can get work with sides up to
about 3" tall, before they hit the beam of the brake bar.

Now, there are MUCH bigger finger brakes, usually wider, too, that have
more clearance for the side flanges. We have a HUGE one at work, it must
have 6" clearance under the brake beam.

Jon