harbor freight 3 in 1 shear problem

[briank]

I have a 40" harbor freight slip roll, brake and shear that has not been used much. Problem is when I went to shear a piece of sheetmetal...probably 18 or 20 ga the shear goes down,hits the metal and comes back up as I use the arm to make the cut. Anybody have problems with this before or have any suggestions?

[hotstuff]

I had to adjust mine in , out of the box .

[briank]

What did you exactly adjust? I tightened the bolts that hold the cutter but that didnt help. Im overlooking something I'm sure.

[hotstuff]

When you cycle , the blade should be below the the cut off edge all the way across . If yours was preassembled they may have the screwed up the cam and / or gear assy.

[briank]

Finally took the time today to see what I could do to remedy the problem as I hardly ever use it but have begun making patch panels. The damn frame is completely broken on the right side so when when you pull the handle down to sheer, the whole thing separates.....,complete junk. Gotta love chinese steel. Ill have to see of I can find central machinerys phone number and see what they say. Harbor freight said 90 day warranty. Ive had it since April 2009 but hardly have used it and only on thin sheet metal. If I can't fix this its now a $600 boat anchor.

[magicoolbus]

If H.F. still carries the exact same model, then buy a new one and return you old one for full price.

[A1971Blazer]

Disassemble it and find a good welding shop. The cast iron frame can be tig welded back together with Ni99 nickel rod for a good strong weld.

[briank]

Well my buddy fixed it using the nickel rod, looks good. I have now reassembled it and bolted it to a steel table so it should hold up since it cannot move.

[briank]

Well it broke again. Anynody know if I can get parts for this pig? I highly doubt I can buy the leg I need .

[franken]

Just curious, did it break near the weld? Cast is hard to weld w/o a new failure due to the need to preheat.
I'm no welder, but I doubt you'll find much nickel in Asian cast iron.
Pics?
Maybe fab a new part, from sheet built up? Troll some fab sites for inspiration. Still, no way to get parts for what you don't fab

[briank]

Contacted harbor freight for the right leg and low and behold its discontinued. I can get the left leg but thats not the weak side from what Ive read on various forums. It broke right at the weld, my buddy should have gussetted (sp?) it. Fabbing one is a tough job because of where the rollers slip in and the roller adjustment rod in the back.

[Preacher141]

Am trying to figure this out myself. Will have to look if ours cracked. I was so pissed when it said 20 guage sheet metal max. So, my next thing is, I may just break it down into 3 tools if I can't figure it out. My dad has been a fabricator for 70 years. Most worthless tool I ever bought, period. Can barely shear of bend an aluminum license plate.

[MySons68C20]

10 years later still a pos...

[raggedjim]

I know it sounds janky but you can drill and tap some holes on both sides of the crack and then bolt on a flat piece of steel across the crack. We had a press in the machine shop on my first ship that had been repaired like that and it saw a lot of use.