Pipe Benders
- Thread starter Storz
- Start date
chasespeed
Explorer
Is this for pipe? Or for tubing? what kind of bends are you looking to make?
Chase
Chase
emoddriver
New member
I searched for quite a while when I was looking for a tubing bender and decided that the JDSquared benders were the best route.
http://www.jd2.com/shop/
They are not completely inexpensive but very solid and you can get a bunch of different dies for the diameter and radius that you want to bend. I have the model 3 bender and love it. I used this when I fabricated the chassis in my "racecar" and couldnt be happier. Simple tubing benders you can get for conduit and pipe at the hardware store or harbor freight dont have the proper die sizes and radius control for lots of the actual tubing and dont tend to hold up as well.
-Mark
http://www.jd2.com/shop/
They are not completely inexpensive but very solid and you can get a bunch of different dies for the diameter and radius that you want to bend. I have the model 3 bender and love it. I used this when I fabricated the chassis in my "racecar" and couldnt be happier. Simple tubing benders you can get for conduit and pipe at the hardware store or harbor freight dont have the proper die sizes and radius control for lots of the actual tubing and dont tend to hold up as well.
-Mark
I Leak Oil
Expedition Leader
"Pipe is for poop" Pipe is measured by the I.D., tubing by the O.D. I suspect the HF or similar stuff will bend pipe just fine as that's what they're designed for. If someone buys it to bend tubing they will not be happy with the result if they have any pride in their workmanship.
Wyowanderer
Explorer
Look at Eastman. They sell all sorts of QUALITY consumer grade shop tools.
I'd avoid HF like the plague.
hillbillyjake
Explorer
my buddy has a pipe bender from harbor freight. pipe kinker would be a better description. put you rmoney towards something better.
You'll also want to look into tube bending software which will help you lay out the project and calculate the different bends. You could plan it out and take it to a pro shop like suggested above for the bends and cuts and weld it yourself.
Some people also get a tubing notcher and some people just use a grinder to make the notches, like where the brush guard meets the horizontal tube in the picture you posted.
There are plans out there for a DIY tube benders of different types although you usually need to buy the dies.
Some people also get a tubing notcher and some people just use a grinder to make the notches, like where the brush guard meets the horizontal tube in the picture you posted.
There are plans out there for a DIY tube benders of different types although you usually need to buy the dies.
wjeeper
Active member
Honestly buying a bender really depends on how many bends your planning on. A bender can run from a few hundred to easily a few thousand
I personally just purchased my second bender from Affordablebender.com @ http://www.tjdieselperformance.com They work great for the $300 that they cost. They are fairly small and don't take up a ton of room when not in use. This is about the cheapest way to get bending tube that I have found out there. The major draw back is that they have bend large radius bends, so sometimes its a bit of a hindrance in your design
If your planning on doing lots of bends I would spring for a JD2. You can add digital read outs, degree rings, hydraulic conversions that will make bending more repeatable and easier.......the sky is really the limit, if your wallet can handle it.
I would strongly reccomend getting a copy of Bend-Tech pro. It is a bit expensive up front but it will save you tons of $ in wasted tubing. Think as the software as in investment. One of the nicest things about bend-tech is digital tubing is free so you can play around with the part and try different ideas for free. Its a very user friendly program and is easy to figure out even if you dont have any CAD experience. Plus if you have any questions their customer support is out of this world! One of the few A+ companies I have dealt with.
I personally just purchased my second bender from Affordablebender.com @ http://www.tjdieselperformance.com They work great for the $300 that they cost. They are fairly small and don't take up a ton of room when not in use. This is about the cheapest way to get bending tube that I have found out there. The major draw back is that they have bend large radius bends, so sometimes its a bit of a hindrance in your design
If your planning on doing lots of bends I would spring for a JD2. You can add digital read outs, degree rings, hydraulic conversions that will make bending more repeatable and easier.......the sky is really the limit, if your wallet can handle it.
I would strongly reccomend getting a copy of Bend-Tech pro. It is a bit expensive up front but it will save you tons of $ in wasted tubing. Think as the software as in investment. One of the nicest things about bend-tech is digital tubing is free so you can play around with the part and try different ideas for free. Its a very user friendly program and is easy to figure out even if you dont have any CAD experience. Plus if you have any questions their customer support is out of this world! One of the few A+ companies I have dealt with.
goodtimes
Expedition Poseur
Also consider watching the classifieds, craigs list etc -- not just for used tools, but for a local looking for work.
I used to see an ad in the classifieds every week, a local guy charging $5 per bend. If your bumper design is simple, and you won't be using a bender too often, this can be considerably cheaper than buying your own.
I used to see an ad in the classifieds every week, a local guy charging $5 per bend. If your bumper design is simple, and you won't be using a bender too often, this can be considerably cheaper than buying your own.
Storz
Explorer
Not a bad idea at all