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Brad Wilkinson, Bearhawk #1062
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Date: 6-20-2009
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Number of Hours: 1.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Grizzly Brake = Mistake
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Set-up the brake for bending the instrument panel top bow.
I decided to get a sheet metal brake to bend the aluminum and stainless pieces for my airplane. I felt it would be the best way to do this, even though it is a considerable expense.
So, to save a little money, instead of getting a Tennsmith or something, I ordered a Grizzly Tools 48" pan & box brake. It looked OK, and I thought it would work just fine. But I was wrong. When I got it, the clamping fingers all appeared (and felt to the touch) to be aligned very well and machined cleanly. I didn't find any burrs or anything noticable. But, after cleaning the packing/shipping grease, I could never get them re-aligned. What I realized was that the paint, debris and pieces of wood I found under the fingers must have been there when they finish-machined the fingers - so none had the same angle or position. A cheap and dirty way to make them seem right to a casual inspector - just to get it out the door I suspect. I called Grizzly, and they told me that this couldn't be the case, they'd never heard of this - but they wouldn't send me replacement fingers and made me ship the entire brake back to them. A major pain in the butt!! (especially since I had thrown the box away - it fell apart anyhow so it wasn't worth saving - but I could have sent it back to them)
Long story short: I never got it back. Nor did I get a replacement - seems that this model was 'discontinued' - although it's still in the catalog. I did get my money back though so that's something. But now I have no brake. I did manage to bend the top bow for the instrument panel before I sent it back by using a sacrificial piece of aluminum flashing between the part and the brake.
Lesson: Buy American! (Even Central American)
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The Grizzly Brake Mistake
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