Home Built Tubing Bender

[ccm]

Has anyone found and good plans on the web anywhere for something along these lines ?
I've got most of the hardware to build a ram style machine with two guide rollers on either side of a ram arm with a die on it.
I've got the steel stock, and hydraulic pump but need a cylinder and gang valve to construct one myself.
If no plans that anyone knows of ...... then can someone suggest some online links to some surplus hydraulics equipment ?

thanks all,

art

[Bloy2004]

try this site:

http://www.surpluscenter.com/hydraul...name=hydraulic

[Ken_Shea]

CCM,
Here is a link that may offer some ideas, no plans but lots of pictures and some advice.

Ken

http://www.blindchickenracing.com/to...bingbender.htm

[High Seas]

ccm -
if those bits (cylinder and gang valve) run you more than 70 bucks you can get a charlie-chan (chinese built - no offense intended!) thru Homier. Saw the whole set up today at the truck sale - looks usefull and had several sets of formers too - but for pipe bending. It was a 12 ton ram.
Jim

[vladdy]

depends on what you want to bend, pipe [thick wall] can be done on almost any type of bender..but tubing [thin wall, needs a 'mandrel' or similar style of bender, I've used a HOSSFELD, worked pretty good, a muffler shop style of machine 'squashes' the pipe down a bit at the bend points.. small stuff can be bent with an electrician style foot bender [one size, one die..]
enjoy..

[tpworks]

Harbor Freight $89.00 pipe or tubung bender, Bends 6 different diameter pipes from 1/2" to 2". Bending bars can be adjusted to distances of 8-1/2", 11-1/4", 12", 16-3/4", 19-1/2" and 22-1/4". 2" diameter 12 ton jack. Jack capacities: 13-1/4" minimum; 22-3/4" maximum; 9-1/2" stroke. Precision cast dies.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=32888

Tom

[Sanghera1]

Try Princess Auto, they should have some stuff there.

[mysterious]

The HF bender is good for heavy "pipe", but for actual tube it will kink the heck out of it. You will have to buy a "tube" bender for tube, or if you make your own at the very least buy some tube dies, which are pretty pricey themselves.

[Tazzer]

try minichopperplans dot com as they have two sets of plans that you can buy for twenty bucks they will bend .5" to 1.5" tubing. The only tricky thing is the die which can be machined easily.

I am currently making one out of scrap metal and so far has only cost me $10 for a 4 ton jack.

Give me a e-mail if you have any other questions about the plans.

[mikewood]

The HF bender is a rigid conduit/schedule 40 pipe bender. It is very accurate for rigid electrical conduit. It is slightly less accurate for schedule 40 aluminum. It is worthless for thin walled tubing. There are shoe-type benders that will work with standard electrical tubing, which is a great resource. There is also a hand held "pipe hickey" which pros use to bend rigid electrical conduit, but it takes a while to learn to master it.

[rc-cellar]

http://198.247.193.8/wwwroot/greenlee/bending.pdf

Here's what most all electricians use to bend conduit over 1" dia. There are some hydraulic ones like you describe further down. You'll need a different shoe for every pipe diameter. If it's wrong, the pipe will kink or flatten out.

[Senna]

How about making a roller bender??? I remembered a long while back Mother Earth News had one in their mag... I found it in the archives...

http://www.motherearthnews.com/arc/1857/

The size can be modified for the particular need...

Hope this helps...

Steve
Crooked River Ranch, OR