Mark, I just posted today about the one I just bought. A box/pan brake will have adjustable/movable/relocatable fingers on the upper portion that will allow you to do all 5 sides of a box.
Usually the fingers are multiples of 1", 2", 3", and 4". They will have enough fingers to span the entire length, or you can run any multiple to get the width you want.

A standard brake will have one solid upper, that will do good for long single bends/brakes, but when you try to do a box or a pan, they will not allow a complete bend.

Mine is a Roper Whitney Connecticut Pan & box brake and I would suggest a pan & box brake but they are more expensive than a flat brake. You can make you own flat brake but they are cheapish.

As for price, you will find that a pan & box brake new will run you $600 (Harbor Freight) to a couple thousand dollars. If you want to get fancy the a hydraulic brake is the way to go but the price is up there. One of the top manuf. is Jet but there are others. I would say try to find one used out of a machine shop or craigslist because they are very heavy and shipping is not cheap.
Josh

 

You might try Grizzly. I bought this one a 2 years ago on sale for under $450. delivered. They usually have pretty good sale around the holidays http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/products/48-Pan-Box-Brake-16-Gauge/G5769

 

Thanks for the info guys, thats what I thought the fingers were for Josh just wasn't sure. If you're going to buy one might as well go the extra nickle and get all the bells & whistles.

Thanks for the link Bruce i'll check it out. Grizzley has been around for quite awhile are they made in Korea or China?

I'll check out auctionzip.com see if there might be any on there ,buy local so I wont have to have it shipped.

Mark

 

Thanks for the info guys, thats what I thought the fingers were for Josh just wasn't sure. If you're going to buy one might as well go the extra nickle and get all the bells & whistles.

Thanks for the link Bruce i'll check it out. Grizzley has been around for quite awhile are they made in Korea or China?

I'll check out auctionzip.com see if there might be any on there ,buy local so I wont have to have it shipped.

Mark

Enco is another place much like Grizzly.I bought a 50'' slip roll from them. I use that more than the brake. I think it all imported from the same place and painted different colors. I bought a lathe and mill from Grizzly. It wouldn't be worth much if it was used every day but it's fine for wha I use it for and handy.

Here's a brake from Enco.

 

I bought a 30" bench mount brake from HF a few years ago. It's done all I need and cost about $150 delivered. If you want to do anything advanced with it, you have to trick it a bit (things like a generous bend radius). All in all I'm happy with it and it doesn't take up a lot of shop space, which is currently at a premium. I don't find myself wanting or building too many boxes so I can't justify a box/pan brake. And sometimes those boxes can be built other ways anyway with little or no extra effort, maybe a little extra welding, and they look and work just as nice.

One thing about those finger brakes, unless you have an assortment of trick fingers, you can't build anything but a sharp bend radius.

I sometime position a piece of round stock under the clamp to get a big radius.

There's lots of ways to use these tools, and for a one time deal you can be pretty innovative and not tie up a lot of expense in tooling - I find it easy to throw away a piece of sheet metal than to spend a bunch on tooling. On the other hand if I did these things more often or for profit then I'd do it different.

 

Since you are in Ohio try here:
http://www.buyused.com/q/dbsearch/=,3,0B6968,4610,,,2,2,dbsearch,
C W Wood Machinery had serveral Nationals and a Dries & Krump. Most of those are 14 gauge capacities. The bigger the gauge capacity the stronger it is built. Mine is rated at 22 gauge but it will do more because it was beefed up by PO. It will be bending 14 gauge this weekend. That's all my metal guy carries.
As far as radiused bends, that is fairly easy with a pan & box brake. My brake came with a set of fingers that had a bigger radius than the stock fingers. The fingers can be made as they are only steel plates and can replacements can be ordered if needed. I do agree with Rick that you can build boxes without a pan & box brake but as he said you have to basically bend 2 L's and weld then together and weld tops and bottoms. With a pan & box you can build the whole box and only weld one side and bottom or top but one joint one the top and bottom doesn't get welded.
I simply bought mine to form rockers and trunk sections and a couple floor pans. After it's first use this weekend it will save me several hundred dollars and that is what I gave for it ($250). If you have the space and money, get you a good one. These things can last forever and you want one that you can live with. I just happen to run up on this one and bought it. I would also recommend that you buy American and from a company that has been around a long time. that way you can get parts easier. Mine is made in IL and I can still get bushings for it. Oh, that reminds me, a good brake will have bearings and bushings at the pivot points on the brake. These are the areas that wear out so they put bearings and bushings so you can replace them and not have to replace the machine. Most American made has bearings and bushings. Hope this helps.
Josh

 

Since you are in Ohio try here:
http://www.buyused.com/q/dbsearch/=,3,0B6968,4610,,,2,2,dbsearch,
C W Wood Machinery had serveral Nationals and a Dries & Krump. Most of those are 14 gauge capacities. The bigger the gauge capacity the stronger it is built.


I agree with Josh. If I could find a good old used American made tool I would buy it before the others in a heart beat :tu

 

Thanks all for the help, Josh & Bruce thanks for the link, evidently you have to call them to get the price on the brakes. I think theres a place up in Cleveland that deals in used equipment like that can't remember the name. I have to go up to the Cleveland Clinic Monday If I could remember I could stop by and look around.

Mark