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View Full Version : Building my own hand bender look and tell me what you think



LowBuckX
02-28-2007, 11:06 PM
Kinda like a conduit bender but heavy duty anf LowBuck

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/noimg.gif
Here are they main parts
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By interchanging the wood/nylon parts I can vary what it will bend.
As drawn will bend 1" tube .109 wall
Let me know what you think.

dannyho
03-01-2007, 01:04 AM
I'm not sure if the flat piece of steel in the center is such a good idea, it would seem to be that you want the die to follow the metal as closely as possible.
here are some sites on DIY benders you should take a look at
http://reference.toolandfab.com/writeups/hydrobender_webpage/index.htm
http://favoriteprojects.com/how_to_build_a_tube_bender.htm
http://www.metalgeek.com/archives/2005/05/01/000047.php

good luck, and post updates, this is something I've been thinking about doing as well!

LowBuckX
03-01-2007, 07:56 AM
I cannot for the life of me figure out why people dont under stand that I dont want to spend money on some thing I can build for free?
on those build shows they bend pipe over plywood forms so how is 1/4 inch section going to do any harm.

Camaro Zach
03-01-2007, 12:03 PM
I cannot for the life of me figure out why people dont under stand that I dont want to spend money on some thing I can build for free?
on those build shows they bend pipe over plywood forms so how is 1/4 inch section going to do any harm.on "those shows" have you noticed how tight of a bend they they do? nothing close to what you are trying to do. I don't think you will have a problem with a 1/4" flat spot but you will have a problem with consistancy and getting the tubing to follow the die because there is nothing holding it against the die.. except maybe the concrete.

And im sure everyone here knows that you are cheap. The guy was just posting some links trying to lead you in the right direction instead of hacking some wood bender together. Do it right, do it once, and you wont have any problems in the end. Some things... like tools you dont always have to cheap out on. If you want to build something that you can use forever, produce nice consistant bends with and be reliable i'd look into building something a bit more advanced. But obviously you already have a plan and know what you are doing so ill leave you to it.

dannyho
03-01-2007, 12:34 PM
well there are designs out there for making a manual tubing bender, and they really aren't that complicated. True, the real hydraulic benders have three dies, one on the short side radius and two on the ouside of the bend, but in this case, there are two dies crushing themselves together, thereby holding the pipe in place. to keep the pipe from sliding out through the opening between the dies you have to come up with a way to secur it to the base. if it comes down to it, i believe a tack weld or two would do the trick. so to give you a picture, imagine a flat piece of steel with the die attatched so that the axis of the circular die is perpendicular to the steel bar. Now there is a hole cut in the steel bar to slip the tubing to be bent through and it comes up such that it sits inside the curve shaped into the die. the second die sits right on the other side of that attatched to the center axis of the first die, and other side the attatchments point join to form a large handle. now tilt the entire thing on it's side.

ok, call it the engineer in me, but that wasn't worded as well as it could have been. I'll try to make up a picture. If i had CATIA on this computer it'd be a snap, but gimme a while to figure out the program i have here.

dannyho
03-01-2007, 01:42 PM
here, its a pretty simple idea, and simple hasa tendancy to work. Not saying it would compare to an industrial hydraulic bender, but it would get the job done. also im not sure nylon is a good choice for the die material. just because you may want to lightly heat the metal as you bend it. I've heard of people using hardwood supported by steel discs on the OUTSIDE. and packing the pipe with sand is a pretty common practice.

so here's what i was TRYING to describe a moment ago. I'd think tacking a weld where the pipe comes through and then grinding it down to get the pipe out would be the easiest way of securing everything.

LowBuckX
03-01-2007, 02:47 PM
That gives me an Idea. thanks. Critiques usually involve ideas of inprovements not just beat some one up.

By the way zach Im not cheap IM on a budget big diff.
Changes Ive come up with

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71dusterdan
03-01-2007, 04:40 PM
brother you are a cheap @$$, but i love it, i could not have come up with any of those ideas. good luck, keep in touch and let me know, by the way i will keep our secret from your wife.hahaha! Dan

dannyho
03-01-2007, 07:35 PM
I guess my design is more for something like a roll cage or more HD stuff. good luck though

LowBuckX
03-01-2007, 08:27 PM
I guess my design is more for something like a roll cage or more HD stuff. good luck though

No I realy like your idea.I like the plate that holds the tube inplace but the dies are out of my ability range because Im layed off now and have no access to machines. But I plyed on that Idea with the roller Ive added.

I took your advice and played on it.

dannyho
03-04-2007, 05:44 PM
well I've been brainstorming a little more on this idea, and basically the hardest part of this is finding the dies. cheapest way is always to make your own, so why not. You'd have to find a material hard enough to bend the metal, and a way to reform it. I think it would be possible to use either some solid rubber wheels, provided you can get one with hard enough rubber, or perhaps better yet, those hard urethane rollers that are used on boat trailers. they might need to be cut down though. to form it I'd think about modifying my bench grinder to spin the wheels, then cut into it using some sort of scraping tool, very slowly getting the profile you want. perhaps use some sort of guide, like you would to cut a key. of course if you wanted to bend square or rectangular tubing, you could just use varius diameter wheels and sandwich them together.
you can't heat the pipe while you're bending it, but thats what you have to give up when cutting corners like this.

parsonsj
03-04-2007, 09:35 PM
Me, I bought a tubing bender and a couple of dies. It uses a 1/2" ratchet to apply the force to the tube. The bender isn't all that expensive, but the dies sure do add up fast.

jp

David Pozzi
04-25-2007, 07:14 PM
Hossfeld makes cheaper dies, base your bender on them and seach the net for that brand at the best price.

RobM
07-01-2007, 03:19 PM
what type and size tube are you wanting to bend?