How-To: Tubing Bender

[Mad4Rnr]

I decided to post my first How-To since there seems to be plenty of threads here about which tubing benders or methods yield the best results but no threads on how to build a bender.

When I first started fabbing with tubing I bought a couple different benders that I found at the local autopart store. The following examples work well when you need large radius bends:





I have also used the bench vise but for me it only works well with solid rod.

To give credit where due I designed the following bender off a pic I saw in an old build thread that I cant seem to find right now.

This bender is meant to work with 1/8" through 1/4 tubing or solid rod. Care must be given when bending thin wall tube becasue it is easy to kink the tubing at the apex of the bend.

Required Materials:
- 3/4" thick x 3" wide 6061 Aluminum bar stock.
- 3/8" diameter stainless steel rod stock (I guess colded rolled steel could be substituted)

Required Tools:
- Band or Hack saw
- Drill press with vise
- Cut off wheel, metal chop saw or lathe
- "U" size drill bit
- 25/64" drill bit
- Oven
- Freezer
- Bearing Press or BFH (if you need to ask...)

Step 1) Cut your material to the following dimensions using the appropriate tool above:

(Note: use the U size drill bit for the .368 hole and 25/64" bit for the .375)



Step 2) Put the lever and base into the oven at its lowest setting (approximatly 200 deg F). Also put all the studs into the freezer. Leave them both for a half hour or so.

Step 3) Pull parts from oven / freezer and quickly press or pound the studs into the appropriate holes:


Step 4) Assemble handle onto base:


Now to use the bender there are few things to remember:

A) Secure bender in bench vise:


B) Place material inbetween two studs on base:


C) Swing handle over tubing:


D) Bend to desired angle:


Here is a sample 90* I made from 3/16" Stainless tubing from McMaster:



Tricks to reduce kinkage are as follows:

1) MAKE THE BEND SLOWLY! This is the best thing to help reduce kinks.
2) Use sand or rice in the tube during the bend.
3) Hit tubing with a hammer when done to make it round again.

[metomwhou]

Its about time...J/K Nice write up, I appreciate it. I think this is was a Juggster design, I remember seeing it in 1BJB's Clone build. I was always wondering how it worked!

[BigRocks]

Mad4Rnr- Thanks for the insperation dude!

Looky what I did

Now I've got 12 ft of mat'l, a TIG, and no excuse

EDIT: It bent up 5/16 and 3/8 solid Alum. rod like a coat hanger, and didn't deform the strait legs after bending.

That just 1/4 next to the square.

[rcprojectz]

nice trick man, btw where i can find that thick aluminum for lever and the base? Thanks

[Mad4Rnr]

Originally Posted by metomwhou

Its about time...J/K Nice write up, I appreciate it. I think this is was a Juggster design, I remember seeing it in 1BJB's Clone build. I was always wondering how it worked!

OH yes that must be where I saw it, well hats off to Juggster!

Originally Posted by BigRocks

Mad4Rnr- Thanks for the insperation dude!

Looky what I did

Now I've got 12 ft of mat'l, a TIG, and no excuse

EDIT: It bent up 5/16 and 3/8 solid Alum. rod like a coat hanger, and didn't deform the strait legs after bending.

That just 1/4 next to the square.

Nice, I love the twist on the idea

Originally Posted by rcprojectz

nice trick man, btw where i can find that thick aluminum for lever and the base? Thanks

Hard to say, I got mine from work, you can try Mcmaster or a local metal suppy store.

[rcprojectz]

@mad4rnr are you willing to sell your homebrew tubing bender??

[BigRocks]

x2. I got mine out of the scrap bin at work.
I'll make you one for sale if you want.

The base is 3/4". Check McMaster. The arm was tooling that got scrapped, and that started life as one big billet

[rcprojectz]

Originally Posted by BigRocks

x2. I got mine out of the scrap bin at work.
I'll make you one for sale if you want.

The base is 3/4". Check McMaster. The arm was tooling that got scrapped, and that started life as one big billet

pm me if you already make another one for me, thanks bro

[bigflex]

thanks bud! I will be making one of these next week! I will post up pics when I'm done!

edit:well I actually made it today! I hade a little free time at work so I gathered up the matereal and made it. I will post pics of it tonight!

[bob1961]

where can one find small dia mandrell wheels like the first picture one in this thread that will fit 1/8", 3/16" and so tube and rods.................bob

....

[bigflex]

heres the one I built today at work!





Thanks for sharing the prints!

[Mad4Rnr]

Originally Posted by bob1961

where can one find small dia mandrell wheels like the first picture one in this thread that will fit 1/8", 3/16" and so tube and rods.................bob

....

^ I got both those benders at the autoparts store

Originally Posted by bigflex

heres the one I built today at work!





Thanks for sharing the prints!

^Dude, super nice

[sevacko]

that is very nice bender but dose it have to be made out of alum. can it made out of any metal or alloy or dose the alum have somthing to do with the nice bends that it makes

[Mad4Rnr]

Originally Posted by sevacko

that is very nice bender but dose it have to be made out of alum. can it made out of any metal or alloy or dose the alum have somthing to do with the nice bends that it makes

You can make it out of almost any material you want. You just have to be aware of the strength of the materials you use and the function of the individual components (studs need to be stronger than the base and handle). You could probably even make it out of wood if you did it right, not sure how many bends it would last though.

[jetboat]

dragging this thread back up....

If you put the center stud in a mill or even a drill and "cut" a round groove at the same diameter as the material you are bending, wouldnt that work to support the material and keep it from kinking?

[Renslipevol]

Originally Posted by jetboat

dragging this thread back up....

If you put the center stud in a mill or even a drill and "cut" a round groove at the same diameter as the material you are bending, wouldnt that would to support the material and keep it from kinking?

Im sure that would help. I could not get a nice 90 with tube with this bender. Solid on the other hand, it does it perfectly.

[Mad4Rnr]

Originally Posted by jetboat

dragging this thread back up....

If you put the center stud in a mill or even a drill and "cut" a round groove at the same diameter as the material you are bending, wouldnt that would to support the material and keep it from kinking?

I believe it would help some, take a look at the comercial benders I have, both have a groove that contours the tubing during the bend

Originally Posted by Renslipevol

Im sure that would help. I could not get a nice 90 with tube with this bender. Solid on the other hand, it does it perfectly.

true but the best method to reduce kinking tubing is to make the bend slowly, another way to minimize kinks is to increase the bend radius by increasing the diameter of the center stud to say 0.5in

[Flip]

A good tubing bender will have a mandrel that will support the sides of the tubing to prevent kinking. Thin wall tubing is more prone to kinking than thick wall or solid. A good example would be the tubing benders used at a muffler shop, they support the sides of the tubing.

Yes, there is a difference between tubing and pipe benders.

[SnoopMaxx]

I will show my boss the drawing tomorrow

We use 1/8" and 4mm copper tube at work

Originally Posted by jetboat
dragging this thread back up....

If you put the center stud in a mill or even a drill and "cut" a round groove at the same diameter as the material you are bending, wouldnt that would to support the material and keep it from kinking?

and I have a lathe at work so I can make small rollers with grooves to fit the tube

[a1racer]

if anybody decides to start making these let me know. i will purchase one i have a mountaineer that needs some bumpers and other parts.