Tube Bender Advice

[Irrelevant]

Anyone ever used one of these before? Maybe not the exact same one, but a tube bender of a similar design.

 

Do they bend the tube nicely or make a mess of it, e.g. like the bends in a cheapo Kwik Fit exhaust?

 

Seems hard to believe that these things can actually bend 3", pretty thick walled tube, and do a good job of it.

 

Any pearls of experience/wisdom appreciated

[DohNut]

 

My guess is that it will crinkle the tube

The nice ones have a die that sweeps the inside of the tube.

 

Nick

[Sheds Moderator]

Adam, it will work. However, re crinkling you are into a fundamental of geometry. You either stretch the outside of the tube or shrink the inside. Shrinking without crinkling is almost impossible, and stretching a big tube is hard, you need a x2 or better stretch. You will never do this cold. If you can heat the work to red-orange heat then things get better. I reckon this device would work as long as you can get oxy acet onto the workpiece before loading it and maybe a big propabe torch to keep everything hot.

[Richard Price]

Adam,

do I understand correctly? are you looking to bend thin walled stainless pipe to make an exhaust?

If so, the answer is "No" it won't (I tried a few years ago!).

These are designed for bending mild steel steam pipe.

[Irrelevant]

Ta for advice

 

Richard: It wasn't really for an exhaust, (although I'd have probably tried it anyway)....I was more interested in bending 2.5" to 3" (1.5/2mm wall) ally tube (for compressed air) and possibly 1" to 2" mild steel seamless tube for rollcages (if it doesn't stretch the tube too much)and maybe a rear suspension subframe.

 

Think I might get one anyway and see if stuffing the tube with sand, sealing the ends, and then heating it a lot will produce half decent bends. I don't think I'll need huge radius bends so maybe it'll be OK.

 

[Sheds Moderator]

Adam, for the money invloved in buying a bender, how about having a word with a local engineering co?

 

Maybe even Brent, I know he is ducting but he might know a man who can.

[metal mickey]

These type of benders do work on larger section tube but they reduce the od on the inside of the bend. Heating the tube will not help unless it is packed with a substance that will withstand considerable pressure. To obtain a true constant radius bend mandrel benders are needed and are not cheap.

[I.Mupferit]

I do, indeed, know a man who can or at least, I used to. I once did a lot of work with a company in Woking on the Sheerwater Industrial Estate called T & T Tubecraft. The tel number was 01483-773208 and the guy running it was called Bruce Turner.

 

This was quite a while ago and I'm not sure if they are still around but worth a try. Actually, Bozz might have more up to date info since he and I used to work at the same company and he would have used T & T long after I had left.

 

Brent

 

2.3 DURATEC SV Reassuringly Expensive

R 417.39 😬

[k.russell]

Adam, we have a bender similar to this at work although older and perhap a little sturdier, we use it for bending stainless steel and inconel tubes, mainly 1" - 2 1/2" nominal bore X sch40 tubes it does flatten these tubes slightly even on slight bends, we do often use springs inside, like the type used for copper pipe bending, but larger, think you will struggle to bend thin wall without flattening or crinkling. they do bend the pipe with little effort though and stainless is much tougher than ali or mild steel.

 

kevin R

black-ali HPC