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Thread: Efficient tube bender?
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26th Dec 2017, 03:40 PM #16Most Valued Member
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Hi Jordan, I'm pretty sure that as you're bending tube, if a circular "follower" is used, the tubing could be deformed, unless the follower is right up against the die, though more effort will be required to bring it around. If you get a chance, go to an exhaust place that bends tube and have a look at their machine, pretty sure you'll find it has a straight follower. All it does is spread the load over a larger area, so as not to deform the tube.
I have a pipe bender with a couple of roller followers that support but deform the pipe either side of the bends, also the dies supplied don't fit the pipe properly, have had to add shimming material to the dies so the pipe is a tight fit in them.
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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26th Dec 2017, 03:46 PM #17Banned
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I've often thought of making a tube bender, the sticking point is the dies, expensive to buy and expensive to make, particularly when you can buy a bender
for $200!
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26th Dec 2017, 05:12 PM #18Most Valued Member
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Tony, where can you buy a bender for $200.00, could I have the link please???
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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26th Dec 2017, 05:19 PM #19Diamond Member
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If he is only bending 16mm tube then quite easily. They are all over eBay.
Out of interest what type of bends will you be doing and how many on the item you are bending?
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26th Dec 2017, 05:33 PM #20Most Valued Member
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Found a couple that would be reasonably easy to make, one is quite simple, the other hydraulic. If you were to look at doing the Hydraulic one, I'd go air over Hydraulic, unless you wanted arms like Popeye. DAMHIKT.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10-25mm-...4AAOSwuD9ZygHX
$180 with FREE postage
H man Tube bender.jpg
Hyd Tube bender.jpg
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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26th Dec 2017, 05:41 PM #21Mechanical Butcher
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The job is for 90 degree bends on 16mm tubing. Super accuracy isn't needed, just neat so a little tube deformation is OK.
Required radius is less than what can be achieved with the $200 bender (bargain!).
I'm checking to see if that requirement can be changed though.
I guess I could make dies of any diameter, to suit the $200 bender.
Jordan
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26th Dec 2017, 06:14 PM #22Banned
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Nothing wrong with aly dies either, it's only 16mm tube. Plastics might also suit the purpose: Delrin for example is pretty darn hard!
I could probably bend 16mm tube over my knee, well maybe not, but the wife could if I asked nicely. She does all the hammer work I need now, but I learn't yesterday, don't hang onto the bit you want hammered. She doesn't even complain, about hammering my hand that is???
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30th Dec 2017, 08:53 PM #23Mechanical Butcher
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Groovy Baby
I'm making a die using the method shown on YouTube as above.
This is a smaller than usual diameter at 100mm, hopefully not too tight for the thin walled tubing.
The intention is to use it with one of the "$200" benders, which has a 16mm die but too large a bend diameter for my job.
Jordan
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30th Dec 2017, 11:09 PM #24Diamond Member
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Should have made the complete bender if you are going to all the trouble of making the die. I would have thought making the die would be the most difficult part.
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31st Dec 2017, 12:39 AM #25New Member
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If you need to put together the whole bender, you could do much worse than the plans from Rorty.net
Rorty was the nickname of a guy who built off-road buggies and sold plans for them then sold plans for various tools that he had built for himself. New ownership now but plans still available.
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31st Dec 2017, 09:21 AM #26Mechanical Butcher
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31st Dec 2017, 09:22 AM #27Mechanical Butcher
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31st Dec 2017, 09:34 AM #28New Member
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....and maybe modify it if you feel game, to use the commercially available dies. One can learn a bit from the detail in Rorty’s plans - simple but show pragmatism from experience. He was physically constrained, maybe mentioning a wheelchair from my memory when I bought a plan back over a decade ago - plans were a way to stay involved.
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7th Jan 2018, 02:25 PM #29Mechanical Butcher
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Result
I finished the new, small diameter die to use with a commercial $200 type of bender. The supplied die for 16mm tube is 150mm diameter - bigger than required.
I also used the grooving tool (internal radius turner) to deepen the follower wheel's groove that came with bender, as it was only about half as deep as it could have been.
The resulting bends are OK, probably on the tight side for the 16mm tube diameter but distortion is acceptable.
Tube wall thickness is 1mm, in galvanised steel with a welded seam.
Shown is method to help gauge when depth is reached, using an 8mm bar and straight edge.
The tube stop is mounted on the supplied dies, but I kept it simple by having it on a separate support angle.
A groove has been milled on underside of the die, to engage with a lug that stops it from turning. The supplied dies are not full circle.
Possibly not necessary as mine is a full circle die, but needs to clear the lug anyway.
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15th Jan 2018, 09:18 PM #30Mechanical Butcher
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There was a little slipping of the tube during bending.
That wasn't good, because several bends had to be done in succession, with fixed distances between them.
To stop it slipping I added a clamp.
The original restrainer (painted black) was left in place near the die. I thought it could keep the tube from bowing out, as the new clamp is too thick to fit in its place.
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