Hello, I am looking for a good pipe bender to bend 1 1/4" chrome moly steel.

Where can I get one?

No such thing.

You want/need a TUBING bender, especially for race car roll bar tubing (which I almost suspect this is for) - big difference between performamce potential.

Try "Lo-Buck Tools" as they have reasonably priced (as tubing benders go) for the racing enthusiast.

i have had a jd squared for three years this is by far the best bender for the money especially for home or small shop . the dies are very resonably priced and the whole set is fairly accurate mine is hydraulic

if you dont mind spending big money try rmd benders

i have had a jd squared for three years this is by far the best bender for the money especially for home or small shop . the dies are very resonably priced and the whole set is fairly accurate mine is hydraulic

if you dont mind spending big money try rmd benders

What exactly is big money?

No such thing.

You want/need a TUBING bender, especially for race car roll bar tubing (which I almost suspect this is for) - big difference between performamce potential.

Try "Lo-Buck Tools" as they have reasonably priced (as tubing benders go) for the racing enthusiast.

ahh I probably messed up.. Ok then a tubing better.. Yes, this is for roll bar tubing..

http://www.rmdbender.com/index.htm

http://www.rmdbender.com/index.htm

About how much is the M100

About how much is the M100
Dont know. sorry.
dgalaxy....??

go to
www.tricktools.com
look up the model 3 bender. Complete bender (manual) ready to go with one die set will set you back about 600.
It is a manual bender, but it bends tubing surprisingly easily. I can bend 1.5" od DOM tubing without breaking a sweat.
I can't say enough good things about tricktools or their tools. Best stuff in the world.

ok soo... I need a tubing bender .. That would kink the inside of the metal..

What would I need a mandrel bender for?

perfect bends and want to spend minimum fifty grand

chemical flowing , perfect exhaust, turbo chargers ,,,,,, no bend marks

Parker Hannifin sells a hand crank mandrel bender. I looked into it about a year ago. Cost with all the bells and whistles was $3500. Quality bench mount or vice mount unit. Consider this the top end of manual with mandrel.

actually the model 3 bender will bend a 180 degree bend with no flat spots or kinks. And it is not a mandrel bender.

yeah, the jd squared bender is a very nice unit. the dies aren't bad considering they are very high quality. the bender makes very clean bends without crumpling and it will bend beyond 180 degrees. the dies are available all the way up to 2"

I have a Pro Tools tube bender.

ok everybody is confusing me.. Which one should I get?

http://vansantent.com/model_3_bender.htm
click on the video link. This is just a 90 degree bend, but it does 180 no problem.
If you are on a budget, model 3, pro tools bender, jd2 bender, they are all the same bender. Hundreds of race car builders can't be wrong, along with bike builders and home fabricators.
Besides, what else do you want for the 300-400 dollar range?
Smooth bends, no kinking, bends rounds, solids, and box tubing.
Dies are cheaper than any other bender I have seen,
initial investment is low,
upgradeable to hydraulic or air over hydraulic
very accurate with the degree ring that is included.
Toss in Bend-tech's bender program, and you have a professional setup for less than a grand.

ahh not to be an idiot or anything but how could you have a 180 degree bend? Wouldn't that just be flat? I could see 120 degrees or something like that..

One other thing how can I clap it to the ground? I am in a garage and rather not bolt it into the cement..

ahh not to be an idiot or anything but how could you have a 180 degree bend? Wouldn't that just be flat? I could see 120 degrees or something like that..

After 120 deg, just keep on bending until the two opposite ends are pointing the same direction but a few inches apart depending upon the diameter of the bend. Kinda like a 'U' shape.

Why not bolt into the cement using rawl bolts? If you decide to move it later you can buy a small 1 pound bag of ready mix cement to easily fill the holes. At least thats my plan.

If you want to see what a 180 deg bend looks like, check out the U tubes that comes in header kits.

Trying to bend pipe or tubing (you want a TUBING bender) without fastening it to SOMETHING (even the bed of the race car trailer) is asking for grief. Something has to provide the resistive force that your putting into it which is why it has to be fastened down.

Moreover and more importantly, when trying to make a compound bend or the halo bar for a roll cage, you need to have a ground plane to level off of - a constantly moving reference plane will do nothing but cause you to either scrap out tubing like crazy or have ugly, juvenile roll bar quality.

Spend a few bucks and mount the bender to the trailer, the floor or a big ass piece of plate to stand on but mount it to something robust and substantial you must.

Very well said, Nc. I forgot about it being level relative to ground.
MBG, you could make a rolling stand for it, and make the bender hydraulic activated. I have seen a couple of people do that, so they could move it around. All in all, the moveable stand and bender take up a 2'x2' area, roughly, and about the same if it is bolted to the floor for manual use.
Most people do not have any use for a 180 degree bend, short of ornamental metal work, and some custom chassis guys. It is just nice for me to know that the bender can go that far with such a clean bend. I will have to post some pics of some stuff I have made, so you can see how clean it bends.
A hydraulic pump rack I built
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a air ride chassis, a little disorganized in the pic, axle, 4 link, and air springs/shocks all out, frame was going to powdercoat. The round tubing next to the frame was for all the air lines and electrical wires. All tubing on this frame was bent with a TrickTools bender.

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:idea: Another thought would be to get some DOM tubing, thread 4 different 6" pieces and bolt them to the base of the bender stand. Drill the concrete for these DOM pieces, and cement them in flush. I know that most lag bolts expand to lock in place, but this way, you don't have studs sticking out of the floor.
Don't know that much about concrete, etc. but I think that would work, after having spent hundreds of hours behind my model 3 now. I know it has quite a bit of force behind it when bending manually, and the only way to completly absolve your self of the problem would be to go hydraulic. You can get a air over hydraulic pump at Harbor Freight for about 180 bucks, and a hydraulic cylinder at tractor supply or northern for around 80. A couple fittings and a hose, and you can mount that bad boy on your workbench, or a rolling cart.

Another cheapie option for hydraulics, port-a-power:idea:

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Found one pic of mobile bender stand. If anyone own this and does not want it here, notify me and I will remove it.
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go to
www.tricktools.com (http://www.tricktools.com)
look up the model 3 bender. Complete bender (manual) ready to go with one die set will set you back about 600.
It is a manual bender, but it bends tubing surprisingly easily. I can bend 1.5" od DOM tubing without breaking a sweat.
I can't say enough good things about tricktools or their tools. Best stuff in the world.

Hi all, two questions:

1) Can the model 3 bend mild steel bar, and if so, what would be its max diameter limits?

2) What is the difference between tube and pipe ? From what I see they are both hollow but pipe has a thicker wall.....:o

Thanks. :)

You can get dies for tube, box, or pipe with the model 3.
Tubing is generally measured by the OD
pipe is measured by the ID, roughly. 1" schedule 40 pipe is 1.315 od, which threads to 1"NPT. A lot of my tubing work is done with 1" schedule 40 pipe.
The largest the model 3 does is 2" diameter tubing and I think 1.5 or 1.75 square tube.
Yes, it can bend mild steel bar stock. It is not recommended, but it will do it. a little heat will help, too.

What kaind thickness it can bend tube in mild steel at 1,5'' and 2''.

massajamesb: Does it possible that you take measures from model 3 like on pic I want to build model 3.

I have bent 1/4 wall 1.5 inch wide dom with the manual bender.And I know that they advertise they have bent solid 1.5 round .
Yes, you could build one, it is not complicated. Their design is copyrighted, so I don't think you could copy it. You can, however design one that looks different and works the same.
Try this link
http://blindchickenracing.com/Tools/Tube%20Bender/Tubingbender.htm
Same dies, cheap frame, and cheap bottle jack.
I would just take the measurements from hole to hole on their bender, and drill some 5/8 or thicker flat plate to make the same thing, if nothing else.

Can model 3 bend tube 1,5'' thickness 1/16 in mild steel.

I will modification model 3 that looks different I only need basic measures from model 3 that I have something start from.

So what would be a good bender to use for solid bar?

Can model 3 bend tube 1,5'' thickness 1/16 in mild steel.

I will modification model 3 that looks different I only need basic measures from model 3 that I have something start from.

all day long! you could bend that with one hand!

So what would be a good bender to use for solid bar?

what size?

what size?

About 1.25" dia max capacity would be nice, but usually no bigger than 3/4".

I was hoping that something like the model 3 would be good at both, to save me buying two seperate benders for tubing and solid. After all, a bending die set for e.g: 1" OD, is 1" regarless of whether its tubing or solid being bent....right? :o

Correct.
Well, If I was bending solids with it on a regular basis, I would put a little heat on them if they were real thick.
I personally think the bender can take it just fine, The worst that can happen would be bending the solid pivot pieces, or the DOM pins. If any of that happens, just go to the steel yard and buy more, or order more from where ever you go the bender.
Another thought is, if you built your own, you could use stainless solid pins instead of high carbon mild steel like they have.
The dies should be able hold up, the follow bar die (2nd part of the die that is not a 180) has aluminum inserts to help with the tube alignment. Those would probably be the weakest point in the die, but they are replaceable.
I think the worst part would be the over development of muscle mass you are sure to see, bending 1.5" Dom tubing is not real hard, but solid is another matter. It is a little tough on you.

If you look at the manual lever design, you can see it uses a LOT of leverage to bend the tubing. When you put the handle on, and pull on the end of the handle, you will get about 2 feet of travel (roughly, never really measured it) in an arc ,for each notch in the ratchet lever (the piece on the bender with all the notches in it), and each notch travel equals out to roughly 5 degrees or so worth of bend.

ahh not to be an idiot or anything but how could you have a 180 degree bend? Wouldn't that just be flat? I could see 120 degrees or something like that..

If you look at the dies available, each one has a bend radius listed. That number is equal to the distance from the center of the bend to the tubing. Say for instance if you purchased a 3.5 bend radius die, and bent a 180 degree bend, the sections of tubing before the bend and after the bend will be 7 inches apart. Did I say that right?
Every die has a different radius, so make sure you are getting the one you need for sure, mistakes here get expensive, both in cost of material, and dies. Your first mistake (like mine) could cost you 350 dollars right off the bat.

10 feet of wasted DOM tubing : 100.00
3.5 inch radius die for model 3 : 250.00
bending an entire half stick of 10.00 a foot DOM and realizing that it did not meet the radius needed when you get to your final 180 degree bends
priceless
A piece of advice for anyone that cares, look into the bend tech software.
A lot of trial and error is neccesary other wise. With the cheap pipe bender, you know where the center of your bend is. with the model 3, you have to measure out exactly where it will be, depending on the degree of bend. Just my thoughts.

Thanks massa. So what does DOM and 1"NPT stand for?

Also....:rolleyes:...I was originally looking at this bender. But would it be possible to get attachments like the picket twister and basket attachment for the model 3 ? They look very alike...

http://www.shopoutfitters.com/PicketTwisting2.html

Thanks again for all the advice. Its much appreciated. :)

Also....:rolleyes:...I was originally looking at this bender. But would it be possible to get attachments like the picket twister and basket attachment for the model 3 ? They look very alike...

http://www.shopoutfitters.com/PicketTwisting2.html

Thanks again for all the advice. Its much appreciated. :)

Glad I can help. That is what we are all here for, right??

DOM = Drawn Over Mandrel, a cold roll-like process. Very tight tolerance tubing. Usually high in carbon as well, if my memory serves right. I have a variety of the stuff, from .5 inch to 2.5 inch. I use it for making threaded bungs, chassis stuff, roll cages, etc. You can get, for instance, 1" od DOM tubing with a 1/4" wall. Well, it comes perfectly ready to tap out to 9/16 coarse thread. I make shock bungs with this size. I also have 1" od DOM that has a .188 wall that comes ready to thread to 3/4 fine thread. I use this to make 4 link and ladder bars, because of the heims that thread into the ends.

If you had 1" od dom with a 1/4 wall, what they do is draw non-molten steel over a 1/2" mandrel. It is cold drawn, so there is no warping or stress relief.
It is also known as seamless tubing, because it is not electrostatically welded, as pipe and normal tubing are. Only problem.....it is expensive. you can buy 1" .125 normal tubing for about a buck a foot, whereas the same thing in DOM will run about 3 bucks a foot.

NPT is the acronym for National Pipe Thread. Used primarily here in the states, I believe. Whoever came up with this measuring system was either blind or never calibrated their tape measure.:) Pipe comes in schedule measures. Instead of saying "wall thickness", you say "schedule" Generally, the lower the schedule, the thinner the wall. Schedule 10 is right around sheetmetal thickness, Schedule 40 is usually .1" to .188 wall, and Schedule 80 is generally .188 to .375, depending on pipe size.
It is a screwball system. You buy 1" schedule 40, it has just about 1/8"wall. If you buy 4" schedule 40, it has 3/16" wall.
The crazy thing is, pipe size is supposed to go by the inside diameter, but the ID is never that exact number.
3/4" schedule 40 is like .8 ID, and around 1.05 OD.
1" schedule 40 has a ID of 1.1 give or take, and a OD of 1.315

So, 1" NPT is more like 1 3/8"
1/4" npt is almost a 1/2" hole
and so on and so forth.....

Also....:rolleyes:...I was originally looking at this bender. But would it be possible to get attachments like the picket twister and basket attachment for the model 3 ? They look very alike...

http://www.shopoutfitters.com/PicketTwisting2.html

Thanks again for all the advice. Its much appreciated. :)

Not sure. I would contact shop outfitters and ask them, or ask Tricktools. I know tricktools has always been very helpful to me. Very professional. I am sure someone has tried it before.
IMO, I would just go down to my local tractor supply store and buy one of those shop outfitters type bender. That way you could leave your decorative metal working tools on it, and not be constantly changing dies. I think you can buy those benders for 60-100 bucks at Tractor supply or Harbor freight, here anyway. Never been to Ireland, don't know what is available there.

try this link, maybe it will help
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44094

Thanks for all the info massa. Sounds like NPT is kinda like the opposite to using gauge except its pipe. I'll stick with metric! :)

Im not sure about buying it at a local tractor supply....do all tractor owners want to do decorative metal work in their spare time...maybe its just an american tractor owner thing :D ....Im sure Im missing something in what you meant? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the harbor freight link. I somehow had the idea that they could be bought cheaper, the shop outfitters site seems crazy expensive, but I can't find anywhere else that has the bender with all the attachments for sale. Maybe I could make some of the attachments out of 12mm mild steel plate if I bought the bender....

....if I had the bender then I could use it to make a bender....which came first, the chicken or the egg? ;)

Ooops. Sorry. Tractor Supply is a chain store, kinda like a country and western Wal Mart. They are pretty popular where I am at.They sell tools, on top of everything else.
There are a lot of farmers and ranchers here in Texas, and they like decorative metal work. Mainly I think they buy that bender to make brackets and other crap for their barns and what not...
why not see if shop outfitters just sells the dies you need? Which ones are you looking for, specifically? I am sure there is another alternative.

I watched the video on shopoutfitters. Honestly, I don't put half that amount of effort into bending 1/4 wall 1" dom.
I really think you would be better off making something yourself to do the same thing. That would not be complicated at all.
Upon further review of their site, they claim that it will not fit any of the Chinese benders. Who knows?

Specifically Im looking for all the attachments! :eek: At least I will need all of them eventually. Im thinking that the attachments would be the hardest things to make, especially for doing nests, but maybe after I spend hundreds of $ and receive them I'll see how simple they were :(.

I saw that comment about the Chinese benders. I'd say thats just up there to try and protect their main product. Im thinking I should buy the model 3 bender and try making some attachments to see how I get on. I can buy most of the nests and pickets pre made initially anyway, and just weld them on myself.

There you go. Although I think you could make those twisting dies yourself, or just get a good vice and go at it.
I personally prefer a heat wrench for twisting metal, though that method is a bit antiquated.

Is this 1 1/4" pipe or solid? What kind of raius and what angles? Check Medfordtools.com they have the model 3 bender and the model 4 bender. I own a model 3 and have built an electric hydraulic unit for it (for about 500 bucks in materials) that makes bending moly no problem. It works so well that I have put together a set of plans. If you would like a set of plans contact me.