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Siding brakes, or aluminum brakes, are sheet metal brakes frequently used by siding (aluminum or vinyl) installers to cut and bend flashing for windows and doors and cladding for fascias and soffits. They can typically be rented from an equipment or tool rental facility for about $75 per day. That’s not cheap, but it’s a small fraction of the cost of buying one!

The cutting on flashing or cladding is actually done not by the brake, but by a piece called the slitter, which mounts on top of the brake after the sheet of material is already locked into place. It’s only there for the cutting and is removed before any bending takes place. The slitter has a pair of sharp edged rollers that press against the sheet metal to make the cut. The cut is made a certain distance from the leading edge of the clamp, and this distance is called the offset. Before you make a real cut, clamp a piece of scrap metal into the brake and mount the slitter, then make a small cut on the edge of the scrap metal and measure the offset between the cut and the leading edge of the clamp. This width must be added to the desired width of the finished piece, as measured from the leading edge of the clamp, in order to end up with a piece cut to the correct width. When making the cut, push the slitter along the rails of the brake in a smooth, single motion. After the cut is complete, remove the slitter.

The most common thing you will need to do is to create a hem seam with a kick-out on a drip edging. These siding brake instructions describe the process of making such a seam. The hem seam starts with a full fold. You create the full fold in two steps. First, insert your sheet of metal 0.5 inches into the siding brake. Lock it in place by pulling the top handle forward. Next, lift the bending plate as high as it will go.

Next, release the piece from the siding brake, and then place the newly folded edge onto the siding brake’s hinge. In this position, fully engaging the bending plate should compress the fold completely. You have now created a hem seam.

Remove the piece again, and turn it over so that the folded edge is facing down. Lock the hem seam into the siding brake and lift the bending plate handle up thirty degrees. Remove the piece from the brake again, and rotate it so that the kick-up is facing up. This time when you insert it into the brake, leave 1.5 inches between the kick-out and the leading edge of the clamp. Now raise the bending plate to create a fold with an angle that matches the pitch of your roof. (This angle is approximate, but should be fairly close for good results.)

The last fold of the drip edge is made in two steps. First, lock the piece in the siding brake with the middle fold down, leaving one inch between the middle fold and the leading edge of the clamp. Again, lift the bending plate handle as high as it will go. Now remove the piece and flip it over so that the new fold is against the bending hinge. Fully engaging the bending plate should compress the fold and finish the drip edge.

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