Tube Bender Recomendations?

[4BYnTacoma]

I am looing to get a tube bender. Not opening a fab shop here, just want to build the occasional bumper, slider that sort of thing for friends and myself. Anyone have a recomendation on a brand or model? I was thinking along the lines of this...

http://www.vansantent.com/model_3_bender.htm

Anybody have an idea on what dies I might need?

[jon_7248]

Damn boy, talk about bling! I just have bender from northerntools and it works fine as long as you go slow and dont rush it. As far as dies, get what your going to need to start off with (1.5" or 2".. depending on what you are gonig to bend).

[4BYnTacoma]

Well crap I don't know what the hell I need. That one was between the expensive hydraulic ones and the cheap harbor freight-bottle jack ones, so I figured that was a good middle ground.

[jon_7248]

in the long run, if you do alot of work, the cheap bottle jack one may break down on ya... I'll find out in time. What I want is the $3K ones that I punch in an angle and they bend it for me... but an army of umpa-lumpas is more affordable to me

[knoxtaco]

www.mtechsupply.com has the same bender for $370 plus shipping.

[Trevor 3blacktoys]

not to steal the post.....but how does this one look?
I am p/u shortly for $75.00 used.........
Trevor

[Trevor 3blacktoys]

also comes w/ dies from 1/2" to 2 1/2"

[Dick Foster]

That is about what most folks use.

[Trevor 3blacktoys]

Thanks Dick - Now I just need to figure out how to bend.........
Trevor

[Dick Foster]

There is a nice piece on the Pirate Board. It begins with throw the instructions that come with the bender away. It is based on test bending some tubing and getting some real world numbers based on that.

[tacotoy]

thats a harbor freight pipe bender from the looks of it............. let the harassing begin lol...... they aren't very good for dom or hrew bending though........

[freejake3]

Well crap I don't know what the hell I need. That one was between the expensive hydraulic ones and the cheap harbor freight-bottle jack ones, so I figured that was a good middle ground.

Here's another website to check out:

http://www.tubing-benders.com/index.html

Hope this helps to confuse you.
AG

[toycrf]

try this on ebay,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7175953805&fromMakeTrack=true

[STOMPER]

Thats a pipe bender like the other guys said. There is a diffrence between a Pipe bender and a Tube bender. That bender will do fine bending black iron pipe Ive seen bumpers and sliders made out of that stuff.

[Toyotakrawler]

Go with the nicer "Tube Bender" it will pay for itself in the quality of bends that it makes. I tried one of those cheap harbor freight benders and it does ok, but on certain bends it will put dimples in the metal.

:2cents:
N8

[tbplus10]

A pipe bender or cheap Harbor Freight bender can make quality looking bends. The trick is to pack the tube with sand and cap the ends. Its alotta work but the bends come out looking like you used a quality hydraulic machine. Sometimes ya gotta work with what ya got or can afford.

Tim

[Bear]

Hey Tim, you forgot to mention along with using the sand, you also have to take your time and do mulitiple adjustments, but you are right it can be done and come out looking purty!

My "budget garage shop" employees one and I can get okay bends out of it. I have a 25 gallon drum full of sand specifically for packing the tubes with.

In fact my little cheapo, harbor freight bender has even bent "sleeved", sand filled 2" tubing into horse shoe angles. the only thing it took was patience.

[tbplus10]

Yep lots of adjustments.
I've also tried heating tubing in a Harbor Freight bender to a cherry red while its packed with sand, it works a little better, and the sand helps to retain heat for more working time, but it gets uncomfortable trying to reposition your work.

Tim

[bigd9247]

look on harbor frieght tools and i think maybe northern tool supply because i am pretty sure i saw one of those non-bottle jack benders on there for a lot less than that one that is like $370. i just bought a 12 ton bottle jack bender off of ebay so any tips besides packing it with sand?

[Trevor 3blacktoys]

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=342992&highlight=pipe+bender
(am I allowed to do that)
Anyway - It's a pretty dam'd funny thread on using a pipe bender and pipe to do a cage......(tips ect.) There was some tip on a certain size tube to use w/ a different size die that fit perfectly. do a search on pirate for tube/pipe bending......
I put the seller off on the pipe bender untill I crunch some numbers on cost/time/quality on a tube bender........
Trevor

[Bear]

like I said before, you have to use patience when working with this type of bender, as well has when you pack the tubes with sand.

when packing the sand in the tube, make sure it is extremely compressed, when you think the tube is full, bang it on the ground a few minutes to compress the sand even more. What you are trying to do is eliminate any voids in space, basically making the tube a solid.

As Tim noted above, you want to cap the ends once you have the sand inside.Otherwise as you can imagine all you are going to do is push the sand out as you make your bends.

You can weld an endcap on the ends, which is the best way of capping them off, or you can fab up some temporary PVC cap. But whatever you use, it HAS TO secure. I have even used Duck Tape in the past, but if you do it that way, be prepared to make multiple wraps with the tape. the sand will push right through it especially if you are making anywhere near an acute angle with your bend.

Oh! one other suggestion, make sure the sand is damp, it will help keep it compacted.

After you are finished with your bends you have options for the sand, you can keep a container for it all to be reused, or you can leave the sand inside the tube, depending if you can afford the extra weight. It won't be as strong as 4130 chromoly steel, but it will be stronger than a hollow tube. Definitely leave a mark on the rear deck lid of a Honda, if you use the bar as a stinger or front bumper.

[tbplus10]

I have a supply of different size metal pipe caps I use to cap ends with. I bought a pipe threader and dies real cheap at a pawn shop a few years ago. When I'm going to bend a tube I thread a few inches on each end of the tube, like Bear said pack it with damp sand, then screw the cap on. Yea it wastes a little tube when your done cause you have to cut off the threaded end, but the results are hard to tell from an expensive hydraulic machine.

Tim

[Kyota]

Oh! one other suggestion, make sure the sand is damp, it will help keep it compacted.

Anyone who takes that advise:

DO NOT HEAT IT IN ANY WAY!!!

Especially if you weld caps on. The water will expand and it can be very dangerous. The soft spot on a completely sealed tube would be the hottest part.

[tbplus10]

Good point
If you use any heat with sand you should drill tiny vent holes in the caps whether the sands wet or dry. Your actually creating steam that will build pressure, or burn when you let it out.
If properly vented you dont have this problem.
I unfortunately assumed most people would realise heat and water in a confined space would make pressurized steam.

Tim

[jamarquardt22]

Go with the nicer "Tube Bender" it will pay for itself in the quality of bends that it makes. I tried one of those cheap harbor freight benders and it does ok, but on certain bends it will put dimples in the metal.

:2cents:
N8
theres a reason for that. pipe and tubing are different sizes. 1.5" sch 40 pipe is really 1 7/8 OD and about 3/16 wall. when talking tubing 1.5" is 1.5"OD and thickness is not measured by schedual. at work we have sch 40 (heavy), 80 (really heavy) and ive seen 160!(dont try and lift it by hand) Bottom line Different OD's need different Dies

[DrVic@BallisticFab]

Build one, It comes out alot cheaper, and anyone who is planning on making tube benders in the future should have the fab skills to pull one off.


This is mine, I have since changed it to a air ram and does a complete bend in 1 3/4" .120 in about a minute @ 135 psi.
http://www.members.cox.net/drvic852/bender1.JPG

Here's my latest project all bent on the home made bender:
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/buggy_files/buggy1.JPG

http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/buggy_files/buggy11.JPG

You can buy the plans on ebay, search "tube bender plans"

[zszac111]

Build one, It comes out alot cheaper, and anyone who is planning on making tube benders in the future should have the fab skills to pull one off.


This is mine, I have since changed it to a air ram and does a complete bend in 1 3/4" .120 in about a minute @ 135 psi.


Here's my latest project all bent on the home made bender:


You can buy the plans on ebay, search "tube bender plans"

pretty cool. ever thought of doing electic hyro instead of air over hydro? electric is much faster but whos in a race right. good work as always..

[surfpunk]

i just ordered the jd(squared) model 3 bender last week from vansent (trick-tools.com). it should be here tuesday, ill let you know how i like it. its a really good budget bender, and a lot of reputable shops use them. i ordered the "model 3 package" dealy, and the package deal is actually a rip off lol. like a retard i didnt add up all the numbers to see how good of a deal i was getting, and it turns out to be only like 13 dollars off. and the "magnetic angle" thing they give you is a joke, and IMO useless. i thought it was something else, which is why i got it, but oh well, if i bought it all seperately, without the package deal, it wouldve been like 7 dollars cheaper, and i wouldnt have gotten the useless magnetic angle peice of shit.

not sure if you noticed, but dies are almost as expensive as the bender itself. i bought a 1.75" die for 260 and shipping was about 100 dollars. so, to get the whole bender, the stand, cheater bar, a die, a tube of bending lube, and a POS useless peice of shit metal attached to a magnet, shipped to my door was 807 dollars...

as far as the harbor freight goes, like has been said its a PIPE bender, we use TUBE. pipes measured by ID, tube is measured by OD (inside dimension, outside dimension). so that means that the dies for pipe arent the right size for tube. it causes it to crunk, crinkle, and fuck up the tube. i will admit, there ARE people who have made modifications and stuff and can get them to bend OK, but regardless, its NOT the right tool for the job and if you can afford to, do it right and get a TUBE bender...

[zszac111]

I have a pro-tools 105hd, pretty much just like the JD2 model 3. the degree ring and pointer isnt acurate, so dont rely on that, just use it to get it close then put a contractors protractor up there to find what angle you have when its in the bender and then go maybe a 1/4-1/2 click to compensate for spring back. also when making repeated bends count the number of clicks you go through to get the angle. that way the next peice there's no guessing, just bend and check.

you can get something like this for multi axis bends,

http://vansantent.com/images/ALBsm.jpg

or do like i did and use some old lockrite parts to make a clamp for the degee finder to sit on

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2004-12/911175/Picture027.jpg

[DrVic@BallisticFab]

Hey Zac, the air over was my choice b/c it was $50. Help me find a cheap elecric setup and I'm all over it.

[JESSE_at_TLT]

Like surfpunk said, JD2's Model 3 bender is a great value. I just purchased a Model 4 bender (http://vansantent.com/model_4_bender.htm) with the electric/hydraulic ram and an assortment of dies from Van Sant Ent. (http://www.trick-tools.com) Great company to deal with.

Our rollcage is finally coming together. (http://www.trailslesstraveled.com/news.php?id=46)

http://www.trailslesstraveled.com/content/news/tacoma_fab_update13.jpg

[zszac111]

Hey Zac, the air over was my choice b/c it was $50. Help me find a cheap elecric setup and I'm all over it.

im trying to find the electric/hydo pumps now (for cheap) i know where their at all day long for 350 bucks :mad: , i just got done with a cage for my buddy and the manual bender just aint going to cut it. but like you said they are pricey because of the electric part. look for tommy gate lifts things like that if you ever go to the flee market, ive got the valve, ram, hoses, just need the pump and i wont be waking up sore from pulling on a 45" lever all damn day :D