How to Use an Aluminum Brake

An aluminum brake is a kind of brake people use when they want to put aluminum fascia on their house or trailer. You can either rent an aluminum brake or buy one, but if you're only going to use it once or twice it would be best to rent one from your local rental store. By following these simple step-by-step instructions, you will know how to use an aluminum brake.

Things You'll Need

  • Aluminum brake
  • Aluminum finish nails
  • A hammer
  • Rolls of aluminum
  • A tape measure
  • a pair of tin snips
  • Two saw horses

How to Use an Aluminum Brake

  • You can either pre-measure everything before renting the aluminum brake or you can measure everything once you get it. Some people say to pre-measure before hand so you can be sure to rent the aluminum brake for the shortest amount of time. Of course this all depends on how much you are paying to rent the aluminum brake and whether or not you are willing to pay for an extra day or two.

  • Then once you have your aluminum brake, using the two saw horses, set up the aluminum brake on the saw horses before you start the process. After the measurements are done and you know how much aluminum you will need, you will then put the aluminum in the brake. You can use big rolls of aluminum or you can choose to go with the smaller rolls that are packaged for do-it-yourselfer’s. The bigger rolls are better because the smaller rolls tend to curl more tightly. Make sure you use heavy enough aluminum.

  • After that is all done you can now place your aluminum in your designated area and nail it in place with the aluminum finish nails. This is not a hard task to do. A lot of people use aluminum brakes to wrap their windows or door frames with aluminum.