Rent a Tube Bender?
- Thread starter barlowrs
- Start date
corax
Explorer
I've used my HF pipe bender for several projects and it's still holding up just fine, even got a whole bunch of madrels with it (including a monster 4" one that I'll never use). I didn't buy it, traded a buddy for some transmission work, but if I did have to buy one I wouldn't have a problem forking over the cash for it.
barlowrs
Explorer
Is it the same one in the link above? how tight of a radius can you get with 1" tubing?
Thanks
Backwoods Rambler
Explorer
I've always heard that the HF pipe benders will kink tubing. I've even heard of guys filling thier tube with sand to add rigidity & prevent kinking. If that's not the case, I'll be heading there for future projects.
barlowrs
Explorer
Thats a darn good idea! I go there a lot, as that is where my motorcycle mechanica and the D-store is! I was thinking about exhaust shops, but didn't think they woudl have anything for 1"....never thought about a boat rail builder! THANK!, off with some cash and guiness (not corona)!
jnelson4x4taco
Adventurer
I have had experience with the HF bender. Built 2 sets of jeep sliders, 1 set of tacoma sliders, 2 jeep bumpers, and the new bull bar addition for my tacoma. For the $79 I paid for it, I have gotten my moneys worth and then some. It will only kink if your trying to do a tight radius at 90 degrees. Even at 90 degrees on the side bars of my bull bar the kinks are very minor (tip:spray on bedliner and wrinkle finish spray paint do wonders for that) Also remember that it is a "pipe" bender not a "tube" bender so 1" tube will not fit the die properly.
Backwoods Rambler
Explorer
Good info, perhaps it's worth buying. What is a "tight" 90* bend?
jnelson4x4taco
Adventurer
Its kind of hard to explain but if you look at a pic of it you can see that the top plate has holes drilled along it. You can move the rollers to different widths to create what I consider a wide or tight radius. This is an extreme example but kind of gets the concept across, think of it as bending the tube around a pencil "tight" or around a telephone pole "wide". Does that make sense?
RHINO
Expedition Leader
the style of bender pictured from HF and similar places is good for PIPE, but will kink tube. i know many a roof rack built out of pipe with that type bender and they work great but are heavy, i also know many a roof rack built with electrical conduit and bent with an electricians foot bender, they too work great and are much lighter.
jesusgatos
Explorer
You don't want to use that POS. We refer to those as 'kinkers'. There are some tips online (dezertrangers.com and other places) that will allow you to get halfway decent bends, but they're still not great. And I'm talking about the bend you end up with, not the tool itself. Not like it's really going to matter for a roof-rack, but they're pretty ugly looking (like kinked exhaust tubing).Harbour freight 89.99..might have to go and grab one myself for the price,
or look on craigslist...
Are you talking about real mandrel benders or rotary-draw benders? I don't think a project like this warrants mandrel bends, but go for it if you can get 'em done for a 12-pack. I'd be looking for anybody with a JD2-type rotary-draw bender and the right sized dies. That'll get the job done nicely and shouldn't cost you more than $10/bend (+ materials). There are a TON of off-road fab shops and garage builders down around you. Try searching race-dezert.com, dezertrangers.com, pirate4x4.com, etc.
jesusgatos
Explorer
Would love to see see how you rolled those bends. Nice work. I've got a JD2 Model 4 bender that I've been really happy with, but I'd really like to build something that would allow me to roll tubing to create larger radiuseseses. But most of my tools are in storage now anyway.
pray4surf
Explorer
No experience, no affiliation
http://www.rentabender.com/index.html
I need some tube bent, but going to exhaust local (North San Diego Cnty) resources first
http://www.rentabender.com/index.html
I need some tube bent, but going to exhaust local (North San Diego Cnty) resources first
You can also build a wood jig to bend pipe and tubing, heating carefully with some steady pressure. We used a wire reel from a utility company, drilled holes to bolt down different jigs in different positions.
At the price of some rigs, making your own bars is a real option compared to buying them. Use the benders and sell it when you're done.
At the price of some rigs, making your own bars is a real option compared to buying them. Use the benders and sell it when you're done.
corax
Explorer
For basic bending, they're not bad - obviously if you want to build something structural, a better tool can be used. I figured out a simple solution for the "dimples" that my HF bender leaves in pipe. Here's an example from my old bumper - see the dimple just above the turn signal?
The fix was simple - I got a threaded pipe nipple big enough to fit over the 1.5" sch 40, cut in in half length wise and placed between the pipe and rollers. Now when I'm bending, the pressure isn't localized and there are no more dimples
