I am looking for information on what machines I should purchase first for sheet metal fabrication. Any help is appreciated.
We would be glad to help you out with choosing some equipment to set up a shop. The equipment you choose, though, depends on exactly what you will be doing.
A good box and pan brake of at least 4 ft. and a good powered bead roller are two things you will use no matter what. You will also need something to cut material. We use hand held Kett shears and a band saw to do almost all of our cutting. We also have a Sykes Pickavant rotary shear for fine trimming. Stomp shears are nice to have, especially if you are doing a lot of blanks or production type work, but they are not essential.
Also, welding capabilities are essential. We have a good TIG welder and Oxy/Acetylene set ups in our shop. MIG welders are good for certain things in steel, but if you are going to be doing mostly aluminum then I wouldn’t worry about one.
After that is where you will have to decide based on what you are doing. Slip rolls are great for simple 2D curves and rolling cones, tunnels, and the like. If you are going to be doing more simple things such as floors and trim panels a longer brake is also nice if you are working on larger sized panels. If you plan on doing body panels or anything with compound 3D shapes then a good English wheel and the knowledge of how to use it is essential. A Pullmax style machine is also a great tool, but you can get by without one if you have a good wheel, bead roller, and skills with hand tools.
A good collection of hand tools is essential as well. Body hammers, slappers, dollies, T-dollies, forming heads, snips, hand seamers, layout tools, files, etc.
If you can provide more detail on what work you plan on doing we can help guide you more specifically.