good pipe bender

[thkoutsidthebox]

Also.......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.

[massajamesb]

Originally Posted by thkoutsidthebox Also.......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.....

[massajamesb]

Originally Posted by thkoutsidthebox Also.......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.

[massajamesb]

try this link, maybe it will help
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44094

[thkoutsidthebox]

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 ....Im sure Im missing something in what you meant?

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?

[massajamesb]

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.

[massajamesb]

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?

[thkoutsidthebox]

Specifically Im looking for all the attachments! 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.

[massajamesb]

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.

[EPAUTOWELDING]

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.