Replies

1. 
   xMikeSmith | Dec 14, 2003 06:13am | #1

   betcha need a sheet metal brake..... usually the roofing supply place where you buy your coil stock will let you use theirs...

   Mike Smith   Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore

1. 
   betchacan | Dec 14, 2003 07:04am | #2

   Any advice on attaching it cleanly?

2. 
   misfit | Dec 14, 2003 10:54am | #3

   Bending ---Practice makes Perfect.  Patience helps too. Some of the more elaborate profiles require starting from the inside out and others from the outside in. Try google or yahoo search for illustrations and how to's. I have a Tapco pro III brake that came with some easy to follow illustrations for common trim pieces. With no previous training, just desire and a little practice, I was able to make simple 'L' trim, with a hem, for fascia and gable trim- 15' and 20' long. The 15's were 100% perfect and the 20's 98% perfect using a 10' 6" brake. Window trim is a little more involved and tricky.....but it can be done. Making clean false miters is an art.  But most important, you HAVE to allow for expansion/contraction or it will look hideous. If you want wrinkle free exposed cuts, use the score and snap method. Snips/shears leave wrinkles! I make ALL my cuts with this method...its a hassle sometimes, but the results are worth it!!! 

   Installing ---First and Foremost...Let the trimcoil acclimate to the outside ambient temperature...Cut and lay out your 'rough work' so as you work, the next piece will be ready to bend and install. Second...DON'T over nail...expansion and contraction are MAJOR factors.TOO many nails=TOO many wrinkles!! Aluminum trim coil does move, so keep this in mind when nailing! 

   Lastly ---Trimcoil is fragile stuff...you bend or kink it -its permanently scar'd. Use these tips and practice, and the job can look like a pro did it. I'm not a pro, but I can produce pro work.....Good Luck

1. 
   lunar | Dec 14, 2003 09:37pm | #8

   Bob,

   Just bought a Tapco myself and didn't realize you can make pieces 15' - 20'.  I've been making lengths at 10'5" laying them out, then trimming to length.

   Care to illuminate me?

   C  

1. 
   misfit | Dec 15, 2003 03:14am | #9

   Sure, be glad to....Start off with 'PATIENCE' and lots of it!! This is not an easy or quick kind of job. I made these lengths for my house, so it was my time. For a person making a living.....you'd have to charge by the hour if you want to eat!!

   >You need a fairly level area about 30' long to set up. Put the brake in the middle and set up 2 tables, one on each end of the brake. I used saw horses with 12' 1x10's on top, secured with screws...you don't want these moving around. Adjust both table heights so they are level with the brake....test it with a piece of trim coil --it needs to be as close to level as possible!!! Not the total working length, just the transition point from the brake to the tables.....20' lengths will flex real easily and kink, trust me I know!! Now mark your ref marks(for the bend)every 12" on the coil. The marks NEED to be CLEAN and VISIBLE....you'll use them alot! With half the length in the brake and the other on a table, start the bend. BUT ONLY bend just  to make a SLIGHT crease...too much and the ov'lap of the other end's bend will show. Now release the coil and slide the work to the opposite end leaving the ov'lap a few inches from the end of the brake...but ON the brake. Use the ref marks to realign and repeat the bend like the first one. This task REQUIRES practice so you'll end up with a STRAIGHT piece. When you reach the crease angle of the first bend(opposite end), increase this one slightly more(Like you did in the beginning) and then release. Now slide it back to the other end and repeat....each time increasing the bend SLIGHTLY till you hit 90* or whatever angle you need. This will work even for the 180*(hem). The key here is NOT rushing the bend....go slowly and creep up to the required angle. The ov'lap will vanish or almost vanish(98% with 20') if you spend the time on the very FIRST full length bend(crease). I found that it requires about 4 or 5 approaches to get to 90*.You'll also find that as the angle increases, the realignment becomes easier....but still watch the ref marks. If the marks don't seem to align end to end, either you marked it wrong, you err'd in realignment, or the piece slipped in the brake. If the coil slipped in the brake readjust the brake's clamp load at each anvil...this is CRITICAL, but I'm sure you must know this if you bought a brake.Sorry to say.... if the marks don't align end to end in the crease....the piece is not straight and will not fit snug. You always can salvage shorter lengths out of this, if you can use them....I did a few times, but not all ...until I perfected this technique. Do you need any scrap trim coil!!!!!!!!!Got plenty!!!!!!!!!

   Tip: practice with the non coated aluminum coil ....for flashing....its cheap at HD. Also, you can use shorter practice pieces like 5' just view them like 20' and move them from one end to the other end of the brake to practice how to produce no ov'lap kinks. As I said before...its not easy, but it CAN be done!!!!

   Sorry about the length of this, but attention to EVERY detail is critical for quality seamless work. I hope you are aware of expansion and contraction, because installing these lengths requires understanding this principal!!

   GOOD LUCK

   >BE PATIENT<

3. 
   MojoMan | Dec 14, 2003 04:41pm | #4

   This may seem obvious, but I see enough bad trim coil installations to know it happens a lot: Always try to install the aluminum so that water can't get behind it. This is particularly important on rakes, eaves and at the top of openings.

   When I need a break, I rent one. One rental place even lets me use it at their shop for $10 if I only have a few pieces to do.

   Al Mollitor, Sharon MA

1. 
   Sphere | Dec 14, 2003 06:22pm | #5

   One thing to watch out for also..I was helping a buddy do (groan) white vinyl siding and white Alum. trim. Usally when I get a coil one side is white the other brown..standard stuff. We noticed that both side were white with the coils we got at Lowes. Bent up enough fascia, window wraps, door wraps for the house..bright sunny day we had our shades on. when I put up the first fascia pc. on the house we said "Hmmm, not the same white"..took off our sunglasses and SH*&T it was GREY..just a little GREY, but GREY. His wife is an art teacher at the high school..No way to make HER think it was white...I looked at the box, read it with my own eyes, and thought well maybe it was just this pc. Nope TWO 50' coils all bent backwards. Back to Lowes.

   Another tip, when you open the box at the end, reach in and untape the coil...cut a slit down a corner of the box...duct tape the box end shut with the coil end fed out like a box of aluminum foil...pull out what you need on the ground or somewhere flat..then score and snap. Use a framing sq. keeps yer ends nice.

1. 
   misfit | Dec 14, 2003 08:53pm | #7

   >>Nope TWO 50' coils all bent backwards. Back to Lowes.<<

   That had to suck, big time!!

   Nice tip about...>>cut a slit down a corner of the box...duct tape the box end shut with the coil end fed out like a box of aluminum foil...pull out what you need on the ground or somewhere flat..then score and snap.<<

   I was always careful....but once though, the roll was taped ,out of the box sitting on the garage floor. I was bending a piece and....TWANG... that sucker let go. That stuff unwinds fast!! Marked it up pretty bad too! I'll use that tip with my next box.     Thanks again.

2. 
   misfit | Dec 14, 2003 08:33pm | #6

   Good point...I forgot the 'obvious'...thanks Mojo!

   >>When I need a break, I rent one. One rental place even lets me use it at their shop for $10 if I only have a few pieces to do.<<

   $10??? around here (CT) rental is big$$ for a brake. I did the math and to rent for 3 or 4 weekends was about half the $ for a new one. Then I lucked out...my father found a 'sweet' used one in NH for $500 and worth every dime to go get it. I did buy a tune up kit for it, but when I finish my house (someday I hope) I'll sell it and I'll still be ahead....maybe even make a little!!