Engineer's Pocket Sheet Metal Bender

Just because it's called that doesn't mean you have to be an engineer to use it.

Goodness knows most of us have occasion to bend metal precisely on a daily basis — if that's not the case for you, you may be visiting the wrong website.

But I digress.

From Make: "There are several ways to bend small pieces of sheet metal. A quick option is to use a mallet, a clamp, and a wooden block, but this method can lead to large-radius and unsightly bends. A metal bending brake is your best bet for sharp, good-looking bends, but even the smallest and most economical brakes must be mounted to a dedicated spot on your workbench."

"This compact SUS420C stainless steel Japanese-made hand-held sheet metal bender can be used to bend aluminum up to 1.5mm (0.06") thick and 5cm (2") wide. It works on brass or copper sheets up to 1mm (0.04") thick. It's ideally used for making small brackets, holders, and enclosures that require clean 90° bends."

Because of its limitations in size and design, the Engineer pocket bender is more of a specialty tool than a general purpose one. Even so, it produces better bends than those achieved without a bench-top brake."     

$58.95.

I can say with 100% confidence that my crack L.A. correspondent will be adding one of these to his batterie de workshop in a City of Angels yoctosecond.

Yo GRO — am I right or am I right?

Thinking about this assertion as I type this at 7:45 a.m. today, it occurs to me that — to a limited extent and in special cases — it is quite possible for anyone, not just a fool like me, to predict the future.

It doesn't take a Nostradamus.

Think like a brain-dead treadmill-walking blogging anesthesiologist.